earlier this spring we were lucky enough to be able to share a couple of lovely sneak peeks that were part of the SCAD home tours. today we have another, from interior designer linn gresham. on top of her interior decor commissions, linn has recently taken on a new project: launching an interior finishes showroom, reve surfaces, for parent company savannah hardscapes. when it comes to her own home linn is lucky to have a wonderful husband who owns his own general contracting business, and is known to put him to work around the house (it was their first project together). although originally a birmingham, alabama native, she’s stuck around since getting her MA in interior design from SCAD. looking around her place, she clearly takes advantage of the charming locations and shops around savannah has to offer, like paris market and brocante (one of my favorites when down for grace’s wedding last spring). if what you see below (and after the jump) isn’t enough for you, click here for additional images. {thanks, linn!} -anne
[above: guest room - We inherited very imperfect walls in this room. So we masked them by adding 1x2 strips of wood and finishing the look with new base and crown moldings. Walls: Ben Moore: Iceburg]
Our little [1800 sf] cottage was built some time between 1771 – 1781. A likeness of the house was drawn on an 1881 map, photographed in the Living Room behind the sofa, and records for the cottage start in the late 1870’s. People in Savannah know it as the “Railroad House” because of its adjacency to the railroad tracks and it was used as some sort of depot in the early 1900’s. Before it was the Railroad House, we believe it was a gardener’s cottage on what was the Keisling Nursery property. On the 1881 map there were greenhouses and a windmill on the property (which at the time was in the country). Savannah grew up around the house, which still feels like a “country house”. The original house with the red metal roof, distinctive eves and brackets, and heart pine detailing consisted of what are now the Guest Bedroom, the Living room, and Dining Room. There is a very cool history of people who have lived in the house and lots of unfounded stories about its uses through time. We knew it was a jewel when we bought it, though it needed a great deal of care and imagination to restore it into a home. All trim: Ben Moore – White Dove Semi-gloss.
This is the most central room in the house, you have to walk through it to get anywhere, and it is very slim … so I knew we needed some sort of out-of-scale pattern to overemphasize its importance. Walls: Cole & Sons: Rajapur; Vintage Chrome chairs: 37th and Abercorn Antiques.
Vintage Chrome chairs: 37th and Abercorn Antiques. Our tiny house won’t allow our dining room chairs to all stay around the table. For daily use, we’ve spread these chairs throughout the house. Our serene retreat. Something about high ceilings make me wake up feeling more rested!
CLICK HERE for the rest of Linn’s sneak peek (including all of the images on one page) after the jump!
Lamp: 24e – Is it wrong to worship a lamp?
[right] My favorite thing in our house! Glen and his cousin Brian raised the ceiling in this room about 3 feet. When they were up in the attic raising the ceiling, they stumbled across a few 16’ long heart pine beams that they planed down into boards and made this gorgeous unfinished heart pine coffered ceiling. It is divine. Walls: Fine Paints of Europe Mount Vernon Collection: Watermark; Ceiling: Ben Moore: Titanium between coffers.
The Butler’s Pantry was added as a pass through to the Dining Room to add some storage and bar space. When we bought the cottage, the ceilings in the kitchen were 9’ acoustic ceiling tiles and the floors were 50 year old linoleum. We worked with a local furniture maker to custom fit the cabinetry, which are a fun color of orange on the inside and more neutral grey green on the outsides (it feels like a surprise every time you open a drawer or a cabinet). The sink was the only original thing that we kept in the kitchen.
53 Comments
beautiful! what a serene place to live. what color of paint did you use in the kitchen?
ohhh… LOVE that yellow lamp!!!
I want those yellow shoes!
i love the paisley wallpaper in the dining room. what a gorgeous home!
What a beauty! Loooove that wallpaper and those silhouette pillows!
I remember this house when it was a rattletrap old building near the railroad. What a fabulous post and amazing renovation they’ve done to preserve an amazing structure!
Raising the ceiling can make all the difference. My parents did the same thing in their cottage (removed the suspended ceiling and the second unnecessary roof), and now their kitchen is 100x more spacious feeling.
Love the dining room wallcovering!
This is a beautiful home–truly one of my faves.
Could you please share the names of the paint colours used in the living room and kitchen with us?
Lovely…simply lovely!
the colors and patterns are stunning. I love the overall simplicity with the burst of bright colors and lively patterns. Looks Great!
I love the cole & sons wallpaper! This a really lovely home. The kitchen gave me some ideas for our renovation.
I love all the lighting in this home. Especially the yellow and the pendant in the butler’s pantry. They’re pretty awesome…
This is JUST beautiful! We *might* be moving down South and I have a hankering for an old house to renovate and restore. This is such a beautiful example of just that done SO SO SO well!
Love, love away with that lamp! Simply divine.
I love the silhouette pillows. Reminds me of Kara Walker minus the dark colonial overtones.
can you supply name of fabric for sofa!?!?!? Gorgeous!
yes. just yes.
I love the kitchen – lots of character!
LOVE painted insides of cupboards! I can’t wait to have cupboards worthy of such treatment. Thanks for sharing!
Linn! I’m so glad to see your gorgeous house on designsponge. Yours was my favorite on the alumni tour :)
I love the living room and bedroom… jealous… :)
The metal bed is beautiful. Where is it from?
oh my goodness! the kitchen floor! was that under the linoleum? BEAUTIFUL!! Thanks for sharing :)
I am loving the striped fabric on the two chairs (with the lovely silhouette pillows). Any sourcing information would be so greatly appreciated.
Made my day!!!
hi kate, i have the same iron bed that i bought about 3 years ago from bombay company.
i just moved to savannah, and as i see all the beautiful homes around me i’m always dying to know what they look like on the inside! what a fabulous sneak peek!
I love the house. But when did an 1800-sf house become “tiny”? Especially in Savannah?
oh boy if anyone could share where that metal bed is from? i am absolutely in LOVE :) linn you have such a beautiful home thanks for sharing with us
Love all the pictures on the walls – good to see them stacked one above the other in the living room. A nice touch if you have the high ceilings for it.
Lovely home! …great colors and composition. I am in LOVE with the wallpaper in the dining room. What a great idea to mask imperfect walls with a german clapboard look. I have this in my laundry room and painted it the Restoration Hardware Silver Sage.
I loved this house.
Simple and full of good taste details(and, fortunately, nothing of the excess of “shabby chic” that we usualy see in renovated cottages).
Love this so much. It should be in a magazine.
fantastic!!!
Goodness, what nice things to hear! I have a comprehensive list of sources that I can email to you on request … its all too much to list here. please send inquiries to [email protected] . Thanks again for your kindness!
LOVE the yellow lamp and the open feeling in the kitchen is great!
Totally dying over the architectural feature on the outside of this home.
And I’d really love to know more about the 4 pieces on the wall opposite the yellow lamp photo.
Looks totally fabu, but, umm, do you actually really put dirty shoes on top of your nice chairs??
Michelle
Cheese Lovers International
Is your beautiful bed vintage?
Great design and beautiful colors. When can you work on old Blue Heaven ?
i love esecially the bedroom and the dining room! such a beautiful house!
These kids have worked diligently to make this great structure a home. It feels like home with every visit. Mom and Dad
Definitely not wrong to worship a lamp – especially when it looks like that yellow one! The top photo’s light fixture is pretty great, too!
I’ve enjoyed your comments and inquiries, thank you. Here are a few of the sources:
The Yellow Lamp –
(so bad, its good) – 24E in Savannah, they have a great site: http://www.24estyle.com
Michelle, shoes usually go under the chairs. My photographer, Peter Roberts, had some fun while I was out. Check out his fabulousness at: http://www.customimpress.com
Most of the hanging light fixtures:
Circa Lighting: http://www.circalighting.com
Devon, the seersucker stripe on the chairs: http://www.donghia.com, contact me for chair/sofa sourcing. Pillows are Thomas Paul, available through Paris Market and Brocante in Savannah
Sofa fabric: Raoul Textiles to the trade through Grizzel & Mann, Atlanta. The outback fabric is Arte through Ernest Gaspard, Atlanta
Dining Room Paper – Cole & Sons through Lee Jofa, Atlanta
Cindy, the kitchen is painted with Ben Moore – November Rain
Living Room Paint: Fine Paints of Europe – Mount Vernon Collection: Watermark
Yes, the bed is from Bombay
Lots of accessories and small furniture pieces from One Fish, Two Fish: http://www.onefishstore.com
Shannon, funny enough, the 4 Photography pieces (picture opposite yellow lamp) are blown up from photos my dad took while my mom was getting ready to have me! It is a series of eggs hatching and growing into birds. Bryan Stovall Gallery blew them up and stretched the canvas – http://www.bryanstovallgallery.com (I did the design for his studio shown on his site!).
Ann, I have tons of ideas for Blue Heaven … just say the word, design work is gratis for that house.
Email me any time for design work or sourcing! [email protected]
Yummy! I love the fabrics, colors and papers.
I’m thinking of using Benjamin Moore’s White Dove for the exterior of my home. What color white did you use? Thanks!
Great looking home, Linn!!! and you’re a “Birmingham girl”! I love SCAD and I love Savannah. My daughter lives near Savannah, so I get over there now and then. Do you ever get back to B’ham? Still have family there? Your design is great and I’m thrilled that you have had such success in Savannah. Ever go to Amano in MB Village? I sell my Cards there. Keep up your wonderful interior design work!
I have just decided to rate all of these amazing interiors based on my own unscientific “nap- ability” scale.
Would I have the urge to nap on that pale blue couch as the breeze blew over me?
The answer is yes, a 10 out of 10 :)
Absolutely divine! If this is your first home, I can only imagine what the rest will be like! But then, moving away from this haven would be quite impossible I should imagine!
Linn- I’ve said it before, and will gladly say it again: This is my FAVE home in Savannah. What a wonderful testament to your design abilities and Glen’s construction skills. I dream about this house….
Absolutely Beautiful. You should be proud.
Oh…so nice…You have a marvelous job. Your house is just beautiful, it is so inviting I’d like to move right in. Great job.
I, too, love your bed. I have a queen size just like it, I need to sell, but I cannot decide on a price. Got any suggestions for a suggested price? Do you remember the style name? I am in southern California.
Sharon
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