Historic Homes Walking Tour

Good morning everyone! I hope y'all had great weekends. I don't know what it's like in your neck of the woods, but we've had some pretty amazing weather over the past week. So one day last week, I decided to take my camera out on a late afternoon walk with Jackson and snap some photos of some of the gorgeous historic homes not too far from us. I'm calling it my self-guided historic homes walking tour, and I want to share a bit of it with y'all today!

Remember when I talked about my favorite exterior styles way back the beginning of the "Defining My Style" series? I showed a lot of photos of Cape Cod style shingled houses with a coastal vibe in that post, and I love those, but I've gotta say, I've got a soft spot in my heart for historic homes as well. We're fortunate to be pretty close to a neighborhood that's packed with turn-of-the century (the 20th century, that is) homes that are full of charm and character. Whether it's Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Edwardian or Victorian styles, they're all amazing in my book. They're all so different, which is one of the things I like most about them. No cookie cutter homes here :).

Onto the photos (and some color commentary along the way)!

One of my favorite aspects of these historic homes is the detail and thought that went into the architectural elements. I mean, just look at that front porches in these photos! The millwork on these railings and columns is unbelievable. You just don't see that happening much in new builds these days unless they're high-end, custom homes. It can be very simple like the black, white and gray row house back a few photos up, or complex like the home below. Serious talent, folks.

And it's not only the wood elements that are gorgeous. Take a look at those iron railings on the balcony below. They're just lovely.

Then there are elements like these metal stars (below) I noticed on many of these homes. They certainly look cool, but I figured they had to have some kind of "real" purpose as well. I threw a few keywords into Google and found out that they're called masonry stars - basically giant washers that connect to a long metal rod that go into the brick wall of a building to hold it up or strengthen it. Comforting, huh? Well at least they look pretty :). If you want to read more about them, I found a nice little Q&A about them on the New York Times you can check out.

Continuing on...I just loved these gas lampposts. They definitely make a statement flanking the entrance to (yet another) beautiful old home.

I know that it can be hard to tell scale in a photo sometimes, but just trust me on the fact that the hanging lantern in this next photo was ENORMOUS. It had to be four feet tall. A builder is currently in the process of renovating this building and turning it into condos (which I can't wait to see!). I'm glad that they're keeping the lantern and the original architectural elements on the exterior.

There are also some really unusual and unique doors on these homes. Take a look at this one. With cool doors like this out there, I totally get why those "Doors of (city name)" posters exist - ha!

Finally, to wrap up this little tour de casas historicas, I leave you with some colorful exteriors. Row houses provide a great excuse to use some bright paint since they're all attached. You've gotta find some way to distinguish them!

I hope you enjoyed "walking" some DC streets with me today. Do y'all love these homes as much as I do?

P.S. If you haven't had a chance to fill out my 2013 reader survey yet, I'd love it if you would! 

Birthday Giveaway: House Number Sign from Ramsign

Today I turn 27. Happy birthday to me! As I was thinking about how to celebrate, I got to thinking why should I have all the fun on my birthday? How about a giveaway for my amazing readers here on the blog? For this special occasion, I've partnered up with Ramsign, a small company that specializes in manufacturing classic porcelain enamel signs. They've generously offered up one of their house number signs for me to give away to one of you. Woohoo!

I don't know about you, but I love the look of enamel house numbers. They feel so very charming and European to me. If you're looking for a way to up the curb appeal on your home, this is a great place to start! If we didn't live in an apartment building, I'd snatch one of these signs up for our front porch in a hurry. I fell in love with Ramsign's designs as soon as I saw their classic look. I think they'd fit in quite nicely with some of my favorite home exteriors from the "Defining My Style" series (I'll be back with a new post - on bedrooms! - for that series tomorrow.)

Take a look a how pretty these signs are: 












Now don't you want one? Oh you do? Perfect! Enter below using the Rafflecopter widget for a chance to win a house number sign - a value of  $99! If you win, you can choose any one of their styles and colors with between one and five digits on it. And, good news, they ship worldwide so anyone can enter. Spread the word for more chances to win.

The giveaway ends at midnight ET on September 5th (i.e. enter before 11:59pm on September 4th). Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*All house sign images courtesy of Ramsign.

June Project Round-Up

It's that time of the month again - no not that time of the month! (bad joke?) - it's time to take a minute to look back at the projects I did on this little ole blog over the past month. This is a great way for you to catch up on anything you missed, or if you're new here, it's like a highlight reel, so you can click around easily and find posts that are of interest to you.

If you find you like what you see, you can always have my posts delivered to your inbox (fill in your email address in the "follow by email" form on the sidebar), follow MRFB using an RSS feed reader like feedly or Bloglovin', or find me on Facebook and Twitter. I'd love for you to stick around awhile.

So what did I have going on here in June? Well, let's start with my favorite projects...

The appliqued onesies and customized burp cloths definitely topped the list. I gave the two sets I made to a couple of my cute pregnant friends, and they were definitely hits! I love giving handmade gifts.

My other favorite project was the coral and gray dipped side table. It's just such a fun piece!

I started a new semi-regular series called "Defining My Style" where I'm showing off some pretty photos of homes I love - room by room - that I feel represent my style. Last month I covered exteriors and entryways, and showed the current state of our tiny entry to our apartment.

I DIY'd a whiteboard out of an old frame to hang on that little sliver of wall on the right side of the door to liven up that space as well as add some functionality. We've definitely been using it a lot!

The most viewed post in June was on how to create a font out of your own handwriting. I was actually pretty surprised by that - and I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking that was a pretty darn cool idea :).

Operation {Re}Organization continued kinda casually this month. I conquered some little things like the freezer and a trick to speed up your dishwasher routine.

And lastly, I designed this little print for the Lilly Pulitzer Style Soiree Series and it makes me smile every time I look at it. You can download it for free here if you've got a spot for it in your home, or if you'd like to give it as a gift.

Before I go, I'd also like to give a big thanks (and a virtual hug) to some wonderful blogger ladies who featured my posts this month:

Serenity Now

House of Hepworths

Love of Family & Home

DIY Showoff

Sparkles and a Stove

Rain on a Tin Roof

Tatertots and Jello

And of course, thank you for reading my little blog!

Defining My Style: Home Exteriors

{BHG}

Hey there y'all! I'm switching gears majorly from the last couple of days' posts... away from baby gifts and toward home design. Exteriors to be exact. So if babies aren't your thang (yep, I definitely used the word "thang"), I hope that home design might be :).

Ever since I started reading shelter magazines years ago, and more recently, pinning like crazy to Pinterest, I've been collecting images that "speak to me." That might sound a little strange, but I think you know what I mean. Each of us are drawn to certain styles, or aesthetics. These are things that catch your eye, make you smile, or inspire you. Yes?

If you are an "inspiration collector" like I am, have you ever gone back and looked at a bunch of your favorite images/magazine pages/Pinterest boards to see what they have in common? This is an excellent exercise to do to help define your style, especially if you're looking into renovating your home or redesigning a room. Though none of these things are in my immediate future, I still love to do this - that's why I titled this post "Defining My Style."

I thought it might be fun start a new, semi-regular mini-series to give you a peek into my design style. And what better place to start than the outside? We can move our way into various interior spaces in future posts. But, I don't want this to be all about me and my style. I'd love for you to join in on the conversation in the comments or on my Facebook page. Tell me about the styles you love!

So let's get started. I'll show you some "curated" photos from my collection of home exteriors (i.e. my Exteriors Pinterest Board) and I'll point out my favorite elements and some common themes as we go along. Sound good? Super.

{Style Me Pretty}

1. Cedar Shingles.

Oh how I love these. I think this comes from many years spent at a summer camp in New England where nearly all the houses were shingled. I love the simplicty, variation and texture, and the way they age (turning from their natural cedar to an ashy gray). I like them whitewashed or painted too.

{Mira Images}

2. Blue or Green Painted Doors.

Doors painted in light, airy, coastal colors (blues and greens, especially) are my absolute favorite. You've probably noticed lots of aqua doors in these photos, which is my top color choice.

{Coastal Living}

{Home Portfolio}

3. Shutters.

Simple, craftsman-style board and batten shutters are my current favorite. They add a modern vibe without being non-traditional. I have both traditional and modern design leanings, so these fit both of those styles well.

{Evergreen Carriage Doors}

4. Gray Exterior with White Trim.

This classic color combination will never go out of style. Whether it's the gray from the naturally aging cedar shingles or paint, you can't go wrong. I tend to prefer grays with cool rather than warm undertones.

{This Old House}

{House of Turquoise}

5. Large Front Porch.

A large front porch (preferably wraparound) is most certainly on my "one day" wishlist for a home. There's a white plantation-style home near my parents' that has a porch that wraps three-quarters of the way around and I just stare at it (and drool a little) every time I drive by. Gorgeous. I'll have to snap a photo of it sometime.

{BHG}

Overall, if I had to give my exterior style a name, I'd go with "coastal craftsman." Can you see it?

This is a fitting last photo welcoming you into the house, since it's where we'll go next on our little "defining my style" tour. Next up - entryways! Be back soon with that one. In the meantime, tell me a little bit about your style!