A Room With A View

We had a wonderful weekend at Byfield House, an incredible bed and breakfast in Painswick. Below was the stunning view from our bedroom windows when we got to Byfield House. And the view to the back of the house, overlooking the gardens, was just as captivating. The 400 year old house is rich with history and beautifully decorated with antiques that owners Jill and Brett have collected over the years. As you can imagine, with my family's style being what it is, I felt right at home. I could have just stayed in the house and its back garden the entire weekend! Our English countryside weekend was everything I was expecting and more. It's hard to capture just how beautiful it was there, but it's easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. The best part of the weekend, though, was spending time with Jill and Brett in their lovely house. They treated us like friends and made us feel right at home. Every time we got back to the house I hoped they were going to be there. They were so gracious and just really fun to talk to. And Jill is a hoot! She has the best sense of humor and a childlike enthusiasm that is rare in adults. Here are a few pictures from Byfield House and the back garden. Tomorrow I'll tell you what we did when we weren't relaxing at the house, and I'll show you pictures from the village.

Our top floor guestroom was huge. We also had our own large, luxurious bathroom and there was even a second bedroom on that floor that we could have used but didn't need. I only realized today that I didn't take more pictures in our room, but it was great. And the bed and pillows were comfortable and plush. There were 6 down pillows--just the number I like. I love lots of pillows! Below is one pretty corner of our room. No need to bring books or magazines here, our room was filled with them.

They have another separate guest cottage with its own entrance and garden patio. The rest of the pictures here, though, are from some of the main parts of the house, the areas where Brett and Jill live. They thoughtfully said I could take pictures of their house and post some on my blog. Below are a few pictures from the room you see when you first enter the house. It's beautiful, warm and inviting, and smells great too. This room leads to all the other parts of the house--the garden, the kitchen, the sitting room, and a staircase that leads to the rest of the floors of the house.




A view into the kitchen. Andrew spotted their Aga stove right away and loved it. I loved the painting of the lady in the wild hat.


This is a view of part of the sitting room where we sat by the fire (yes, it was chilly enough for a fire!) and had wine with Jill and Brett and the other guests. Lois was asleep just upstairs so it was nice to have grown-up time.


A view into their beautiful blue bathroom downstairs. Just about everything in this bathroom was blue except these deep red flowers, which looked so pretty in the sunlight against all the blue.

The walls of the staircase leading to the bedrooms are filled with portraits.

The red room. One of the guest bedrooms.

The blue room. Jill and Brett's bedroom.

And the garden. Isn't it wonderful?





I'll leave you here in the garden to take it all in. It really was that special. And we weren't the only ones who thought so.

Weekend Getaway

See you soon from the English countryside. Today we're headed here. It looks so beautiful. I can't wait to see it in person!


Above images from Alice Brancati on flickr. You can see more here.

Medicine Man

On Monday, a bank holiday here, we went to the Wellcome Museum, a most interesting museum with its primary permanent exhibition featuring the collections of Henry Wellcome. He was an entrepreneur with a strong interest in medicine and the body, and he was an avid collector. He appears to have been quite eccentric, too. His collections included things like apothecary bottles, tattooed human skin, prosthetic limbs, erotic figurines, and unusual medical paintings. I think those new antiquarian girls would have loved this place.

Above, a beautiful wall of glass bottles, and below some of his impressive photography collection.

A few paintings from his collection.

A dentist about to yank a tooth, and hiding the instrument until he does so! I'm not sure I'd want this hanging on my wall. I shudder at the thought. The worst pain I've ever felt was tooth pain, worse than waiting to reach 7cm before asking for an epidural when I had Lois. Let's here it for modern medicine and anesthesia!

As any collector knows, it's hard to stop at one, no matter what it is.

Tattooed skin.

A tiny medical figurine of a pregnant woman (who strangely looks more like a bearded man).


His museum and bureau when he was living.


A very interesting man, don't you think? The museum also had an exhibit of life-size wax medical models called Exquisite Bodies. No pictures were allowed there, but you can read more about it here if you'd like.

The New Vintage

Move over mid-century, now there's something older. I just read this fun article in the NY Times. If this is a trend, it's one that really appeals to me. I can't get into taxidermy myself (too many eyes looking at me), but I love the apothecary collections, ancestral portraits, and the general abundance of collections like the vintage luggage and sporting equipment that these new antiquarians have on display. You can read the article and see more pictures here.

Image from the NY Times.

A Caravan Ride

I was catching up on Emily's blog (Emily from Caravan) and saw her very own little adorable Caravan. I wish I could live in there! That buttery yellow color is one of my favorites. That sort of yellow was the color of the walls in almost every place I've lived. I love it with my other favorites, red, green, and royal blue. The color has an old country feel to me, but I think it can also look very modern and fun with the right accessories. You can see more pictures and read more about Emily's caravan here.

Image from Casa Sugar.