Recently I saw a design blogger’s instagram filled with photo after photo of her picturesque farmhouse style house in Oklahoma. I thought “wow, this is really pretty!” You might already know the blogger as she is popular on both the web and on instagram.
Her name is Emily and she lives in a two story white house that looks like it stepped right out of the pages of an American storybook.
Emily is the only bit of estrogen in her large family of four young sons and husband. Still, she has managed to decorate her house in a very feminine way, which is a testament to her strength and design conviction. With so many males in the house, you would think her family room would have at least one leather recliner! But, I can assure you, it doesn’t.
Emily has been blogging for five years and over that time, she has posted many Before & After photographs of her house. Typical of those of us who love to decorate, she does like to change it up now and again. And, most important, she has a long term plan for her house. She has lived with some things while she remodeled one room, knowing that next year, she will tackle another area. I think you will enjoy seeing how her house has changed over the years while she has made the house she bought in her own vision.
BEFORE: Emily bought her house in 2006. The house wasn’t for sale when she first spotted it. Instead, she fell so in love with it that she rang the doorbell and told the owners if they ever wanted to sell, to please call her. And yes. They did!
AFTER: And today, the changes to the front facade are subtle, but very important. The black shutters were removed, making this an all-white clapboard house, which is so the rage today. Emily decorates her large porch for the seasons. Here, in spring, it’s all blue and white and flowers mixed with topiary.
While searching for a romantic name for her new house, Emily counted up the multitude of gables on the house and cabana and viola – she christened her house Eleven Gables. Of course, that became the name of her blog too when she started writing it in 2011.
The house at dusk during Christmas.
Beautiful!!!
And here is the Winter White Christmas facade. So romantic!!
And the Fall look.
To the left is the charming side door, painted green.
BEFORE: Not all the windows matched when Emily bought her house. Most windows had classic wood framed divided lights, but a few did not – like this window. In order to have a cohesive look, Emily replaced all the windows that didn’t have the divided lights.
AFTER: The new paned window. Notice the green door and the topiary. These elements are seen throughout the house from the front facade to the back facade.
A view of the brick paved porch, the side door and the carriage style garage doors.
There’s a three car garage that is broken up with lanterns and clapboard siding. Notice how charming the garage doors are, with windows and door handles that give the bays a carriage house look. Above are three gables that add even more charm.
BEFORE & AFTER:
Originally the garage doors were plain vanilla – as seen on the left. After living with them for several years, Emily replaced them with these beautiful carriage style doors with door handles and windows. This type of garage door makes a HUGE difference, especially with front loading garages. LOVE!!
At the very front of the yard and at the far end of the garage, is this beautiful bed of clipped box balls.
The same view – at Christmas. Wow. That is a REAL Christmas Tree in Emily’s yard!!!
At the right side of the front porch, by the flagpole, the yard leads down to the side of the house where there is a large pond.
At the right side of the house is what might be the best feature of all, the pond with a fountain and gazebo. To the far right of the house is the backyard which is open to the pond.
The view from Emily’s backyard of the pond and gazebo.
A dawn view of the gazebo decorated for Fall. Beautiful! The pond is stocked with fish which Emily’s four boys love.
A closer view of the side of the house with the bay window and back porch right off the banks of the pond.
AFTER: The back of the house with its covered porch. Two stone dogs on brick steps mark the entrance to the yard from the pond.
BEFORE: Here’s one of Emily’s FOUR darling sons! She is so lucky!!!! You can see here that the posts did not have the dogs on top. She added them and they really add so much. Sometimes it’s the smaller things that make the biggest difference.
Looking the other direction, from the back yard to the pond. Emily sets a beautiful Thanksgiving table for outside diners.
A closer look at the large covered porch that leads off the living room. The view from the front door is on a direct site line to the back yard. The family room is to the far right where the brick fireplace is. Past the house is a brick and iron fence where the swimming pool is located.
BEFORE: The covered porch before it was extended. The ceiling was replaced and the porch is now much larger. The porch was also extended to where the flowerbed in front of the chimney was. This area became the outside dining area.
AFTER: The enlarged covered porch, including the dining area outside the family room. To the very right is the brick and iron fence where the swimming pool is – which is another great idea. The pool is off to the right side of the house – rather than in the main back yard where it would take away from the beautiful wooded view of the pond.
BEFORE: A few years ago, Emily completed a total renovation of her kitchen. Right afterwards, a hail storm damaged the house and windows. At that time, Emily and her husband decided to enlarge the back porch when they replaced the damaged family room windows. Here, the siding has been removed and you can see how small the porch once was.
AFTER: The new beautiful covered porch and dining area with brick steps, columns, and light fixture. As you can imagine, she has quite a lot of family functions here.
The columns were purposely spaced with a wide opening in the center so that when there is a back yard wedding, the porch can hold the guests, or the wedding party, and the columns won’t block the view or the access. Yes. She is already planning a back yard wedding. I would too!!
The porch is decorated with rattan and blue and white, with green accent doors.
So cute!!! Makes me what to get outside and fix up my tiny porch!!! You too?
A dawn view of the gazebo decorated for Fall. Beautiful! The pond is stocked with fish which Emily’s four boys love.
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