Veranda’s The House of Windsor

Just a short blog today to tell you about Veranda magazine and The House of Windsor. I’m really loving Windsor Smith these days.   I love what she is doing in design – all shine and blues, silks and zebras, hand painted wallcoverings, and gray and white marble. I only wish she was on Million Dollar Decorators, which by the way, if you aren’t watching you should! It’s the best TV right now and the only show I really stay home to see. Tuesdays, Bravo, 9:00 pm CST. (Twitter hashtag: #milliondollardecorators – the tweets are even better than the show!)    Windsor would be a perfect fit on the Bravo show and I hope they ask her next season.   Right now though, she is concentrating on the new Veranda show house which is really all her baby. The house, located in L.A., was designed by Windsor and will be open to the public on the first.   Pictures won’t be in Veranda until October, but if you live in L.A., you can go see the house July 1 – July 17.   From the few pictures on the web site, it looks fabulous and oh so Windsor with the white and gray marble, rough luxe wood floors and white walls.

This isn’t Windsor’s first foray into showhouses with Veranda.   She designed the master bedroom in their last house – Greystone.

This is the back of the Veranda house that Windsor designed.   The floor plan is VERY VERY different. Windsor likes atypical floorplans and using rooms for multiple purposes.   Her own house also has a very different floor plan. She turned the living room into a pool room for her sons. There is no dining room, rather it’s been turned into a lounge area.

The dining room in Windsor’s house was turned into a sitting room with a table on the other side for eating.

This rare shot shows the same room with the sitting area on the left and the table on the right. The chandelier hangs over the room, not the table. You can see straight into the kitchen where there is the main table used for eating.   I can’t remember where I got this picture from – but I love seeing this angle. In the House of Windsor, the dining room is also the library – I’m sure that will be a room to see.

In the Veranda House of Windsor – the entry hall runs from front door to back. Filled with white and gray marble, it looks stunning here, seen in its raw state before construction was even finished. Windsor is really into the gray and white marble floors – and who can blame her? They are gorgeous. Now, in truth, the gray marble is actually Bateig Blue, which is a limestone, but who wants to be so technical? Still, if you do want to duplicate this look – don’t go in asking for gray marble. Ask for Bateig Blue limestone.

In Windsor’s own house, her entry hall has the same beautiful floors.   Just gorgeous. Here, you can see into the living room turned into pool hall with its black walls.

And, looking down at the floors from the second level. The gray and white marble is so much fresher and youthful looking than classic black and white.   I would give my second born to have an entry just like this!

Friend and fellow designer of Windsors from Dallas, Michelle Nussbaumer who owns Ceylon et Cie, has similar floors in her own entry.   Hard to tell if these are light brown or Bateig blue limestone – but either way, it’s lighter than black marble and that is really what looks so fresh.

In the Veranda House of Windsor – next to the long entry hall with the marble floors is the living room. It has herringbone patterned wood floors that give it a Rough Luxe look. There is an antique looking mantel on the right. Past the living room is the master suite. The master suite is unusual in that you first must enter it through the bathroom and closet!

In the House of Windsor, Carrera marble was used at this fireplace. The background is herringbone black. The mantle is so beautiful. I can’t wait to see the finished photos of the house!!! I wonder if all the bathrooms have this same marble in it?

Here is the floor plan. Notice the master bedroom – how you must first go through the closet and bathroom to reach the bedroom.   The dining room says it is also a library – so it’s probably lined with bookshelves.    Now, if I had designed this, I would have put double doors in the living room opening into the entry hall. That way, you would get an enfilade effect from the back hall to the master bedroom courtyard. But what do I know?

Here is a list of designers who furnished the rooms. Stellar!   Besides Windsor, there is Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Peter Dunham (another one who needs to be on next season’s Million Dollar Decorators, Kathryn Ireland And Tara Shaw.

And speaking of Tara Shaw – the next post on Cote de Texas will be a giveaway from our sponsor The Bella Cottage and TARA SHAW!!!!!   Look for it tomorrow!!! It’s a great giveaway, I promise!!!