Its all in the details......Part I

This post was actually started quite a few months ago. I must confess I forgot about finishing it. But the message is the same, even this many months later...that the details are really what takes a space or room from beautiful to extraordinary, especially if like me you are very detail oriented.

Being a little more than obsessed with details feels like a blessing and at times a curse.  I don't know if that's good or bad, quite honestly. Sometimes, it feels like a curse because I will let something ridiculously small get to me to the point of losing sleep and obsessing non stop which is absurd and which most people could and would let go. On the other hand, it is those very details that can and has the ability to take something from pretty to extraordinary. I think its fair to say most detail oriented people must by the same token have some degree of patience, that they are able to dig out deep from within because details do not just appear, they requite lots of thinking, organization of thoughts and sometimes revisiting the drawing board more than once. Or twice. Or three or five or seven times......
Just now starting to get over the whole building process we have endured for over three and a half years, I realize what makes me love my house so are all the details. If it wasn't for those details, it would not have the quality that to me makes it a cut above,and I do not say this to boast but rather to point that that the details that were paintstakingly thought out and executed are what make it unique and special. I thought back to some of the inspiration to these details as well and it always came back to one place, France! Surprise surprise. I mean seriously that's one place where just walking down the street gets raises your senses to new heights!SO this post is dedicated to some of the inspiration behind the details and then the eventual details on our home that came to be.....an evolution of sorts. Hope you enjoy!

                Warning, this post is very picture heavy, do not read while standing up!

I fell madly in love with the detail and workmanship on this fine chest which was in a friends house that we visited in South of France.......the home was chock full of the most amazing things!

Guest bathroom at my aunts....loved the antique mirror panels

Theres that three panel door again, VERY popular in France

Decided then and there I wanted an oval knob with some kind of decorative motif!

I got serious wrought iron stair railing inspirations while there....

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More beautiful mill work found in the halls

Amazing door in our hotel

Love the pretty dressy sconce lined in the hallway

This wall gave us our inspiraion for our future breakfast room/stair halls finish

More stunning balcony railings

My bathroom at the hotel.....do the details get any prettier than luxurious white marble!

Beautiful moldings and ceiling medallion

Wonder if that man thought I was the paparazzi? I was only after the way the sconces were lined up on the walls!

Stunning limestone motif

Does this curved window look familiar?

The details here are spellbinding!

So in love with this door and the gorgeous color!

Ahhh the carved limestone and elegant lanterns on the streets of Paris

Close up

The details of the magnificent parterre garden at my aunts house

This fabulous console and painted/glazed paneled wall gave me the inspiration for my bedroom colors and feeling and now this very console graces my hallway!

How about the details of this chest and that hardware!!!!!! 

We considered this monastery table for our breakfast room

Another view.....

That gorgeous chest...check out the details.....magnifique! (now in my bedroom)!

Could black look any more sensational? Check out that rich gilded hardware...swoon!!!!!!

This showrooms detailed limed oak walls gave us some ideas for our back stair hall

One of the beautiful factories we visited

And to think thats how it all starts........

The details of the hand forged hardware....amazing! I am  like a kid in a candy store around this stuff!

This color brick on this distant chateau gave me the inspiration for our brick color

Is this the worlds most charming guest house ever?? I loved it...it was hard to leave!

My husband noticed the fine thin bricks....its these kind of details that make a subtle difference between that and lets say a chunky brick at my aunts house

The paneling at the George V in Paris, I liked the wainscoting with wallpaper to warm it up on top, 

Loved the details of this carved limestone surround

It was at the George V, that we decided on a three paneled door

Theres that hallway again

This caught my eye, I loved the fine elegant lines..and we mimicked this very railing for the railing that will go above our front door outside!

And now our house with all of those details and inspirations applied..............

Laundry room doors and glazing over paint

Herringbone floors

Basketweave flooring

Paneling in family room

Very dark stain against white marble in pantry

Wire grille in kitchen

Oil rubbed bronze hardware and oversized subways

Hardware

Crown molding

Cremone bolts on all French doors

Ceiling medallions in living room

Crown in living room

Front door

Medallion in dining room

Door knobs

Limed oak paneling in stairhall

Spindle details in upper cabinets in laundry

Egg and dart detailing

I know you are jealous of my light fixture.........come on admit it!

So there you have it...the devil really is in the details but so worth it!  Agree? Or think its a wasted effort of energy and time? I think the details are what makes something become interesting, noteworthy and highly personal. Realized this has to be part 1 because I have so many pictures on details. It would have been too much for one post...so more to come!  Would love to know what you think!

Also for many who asked, the brackets I featured yesterday are now up for sale on my online store under New Additions. Hope you have a fabulous day!