What an honor for my home to be chosen for a Better Homes and Gardens special publication!

Step Inside This Charming Cottage Packed with Personality

Texas-size personality and farmhouse charm fill every inch of this compact home.

From a little bit weepy to laugh-out-loud funny, there’s a story behind every object in Joel and Courtney Warren’s Waxahachie, Texas, cottage. That’s because Courtney has an eye for the unusual (she’s an interior designer with a bargain hunting streak). Even from the curb, Joel and Courtney Warren’s Texas home seems to open its arms wide to those walking by. The arched door, diamondpane windows, and wide-plank porch are just a hint of the friendly, fun, even festive mood cultivated inside the home. And that’s all by design.

Also part of the Warrens’ home (and story): sentimental family pieces. In the hallway, for example, baby clothes and inked footprints of their sons Judah, age 10, and Abe, 2, are lovingly framed and hung on the wall overlooking family photos. And perched on the desk in the breakfast room is a framed needlepoint copy of the Lord’s Prayer, stitched by Courtney’s grandmother.

Because furnishings were collected over time, they don’t match—note the hutches flanking the windows—but they do complement and balance each other, a key distinction. In the living room, Courtney left the chimney’s old brick exposed and trimmed either side with white-painted wood. Faux-fur pillows and mercury glass contrast delightfully with more rustic items. New upholstered seating pieces in the living room cluster around a vintage coffee table laden with flea market accessories. Mismatched antique hutches flank the windows, which are dressed in striped draperies.

….read more... Better Homes and Gardens