When I first thought about this series for the blog, my friend Taylor’s house was one of the ones at the top of my very first list of people whose houses I wanted to photograph.
A few notes before we “begin the tour”. Taylor has an eclectic mix of art throughout her home. Every time I’m at her house, I notice a new piece. She also pairs things well… a throw and a pillow or a picture frame and a book or even as foundational as rug and tile. Take a minute to notice her groupings, her pairings and her pattern combinations. Third, notice her paint colors. Taylor uses neutrals with a kick throughout her home – and even notice the colors of her ceilings, and her “risky” choices. This home is about paying attention to the details, with the end result pulling together a beautiful bigger picture that is the Young home. If you ask me, this home is a work of art in and of itself!
Who lives here? Taylor and Matt Young. Taylor is an 8th generation Andersonian. Matt is from Troy, SC. They both love the community, the Lord and their family, especially their two-year-old son, King (named after Taylor’s maiden name) and there sweet pup, Flippo.
When was it built? The house was built in the early 1990s, but we gutted it and di a facelift with the hopes that the outside would look like it had been there since the early 1890s. We really wanted that old farmhouse look. In fact, it actually sits on old farmland and used to have an old farmhouse sitting somewhere near the existing house.
When did you move in? 3 years ago this past August
How many square feet is it? 3200
What’s your favorite room? (Powder room, right?) Yes, I love the powder room. I love the guest bathroom, too. Lol, must love bathrooms. But really, I think I like those best because I wasn’t afraid to take risks with paint colors, tile, etc….
Any favorite items? My hand-picked original art, my mantel beam, Anthropologie soup tureen.
A favorite piece of furniture? Antique chairs that came out of the old Sullivan-King Mortuary downtown (that I refinished and recovered). I also love our front porch swing. it was my grandparents’ swing. (see photo at the top of the post)
How would you describe your style? Eclectic-traditional with hints of Asian and tribal styles. If I had to pick one store to furnish my whole house it would be Ballard Designs.
{Welcome to the Young’s}
I’m pretty sure I have only ever entered through the side door, which brings you in through the laundry/mud room, which also has half bath across from the interior entry to the garage. This mudroom area opens up to a great room.
I LOVE the piece of art in the upper left of the above photo!
Taylor is tailored. Always put together but never, ever pretentious. The evening I came over to photograph was also an evening we were having our home group – basically a not-on-Sunday “Sunday school” group of amazing peopled we do life with…. Taylor had put together Arnold Palmer’s in honor of awesome A.P. who had just passed. {Moment of silence for golf’s greats.}
And P.S. how gorgeous is her countertop???
Again, I love Taylor’s textures and pattern pairings. The photo above is a nice little panorama.
Behind the wall with the oven sits the Young’s dining room:
Don’t miss the birdcages on the end of the kitchen wall.
Looping back into the kitchen through the doorway to the left, we’ll pass the stove and turn left to one of my FAVORITE surprises at the Young Home…
This amazing spice cabinet between the pantry and powder room…
WHICH IS ALSO A SECRET DOOR!!! Yes. That’s right. A secret door. It goes to their bedroom. But first we’ll pop into the powder room.
My camera skills are lacking in photographing narrow rooms like Taylor’s powder room, so I wasn’t able to get a great picture of the sink area without myself in the photo, but it is this great boxed mirror. I love her color choice and penny tile in the powder room.
Alright, let’s sneak through the spice cabinet into the master bedroom. Just inside to the right is the master bath with a separated sink area and shower/toilet area. Again, love her pairings and textures…. and that sweet picture of King above the hand towel.
One thing I have not yet pointed out is the subtle color in the ceiling paint. Taylor strays away from everyone-has-it white and goes with a cool, comforting, very pale blue. I also love the accent wall by the front door straight ahead (photo above), as well as the french doors opening up to their bedroom.
A can’t miss sweet face greets you inside the front door at the bottom of the staircase.
…and notice that wall waiting at the top of the stairs. The sitting area at the top of the staircase is hands down one of my favorite spots in the Young home.
Upstairs to the left is King’s room. Masculine, but still sweet, it’s decorated with several pieces of animal art, and a neutral pallette. The giraffe parent and baby in the photo below is actually a painting of baby Kiko from the Greenville Zoo.
I love King’s little airplane bathroom. My super creative friend did an AH MAYZ ING job with her son’s first birthday, which was also airplane themed. One of these days I’ll get some pictures from her and blog about the event!
The guest room sits between staircase sitting room and the bonus room. It is a perfect sizes for guests with a peaceful color palette.
One of Taylor’s bolder color choices resides in the guest bath with its navy blue walls. Light tile and a trio of Asian prints make this a statement bathroom.
The bonus room sits just beyond the guest bath, with a warm, come-in-and-stay-awhile feel.
A little collection of art hiding up int he bonus room. I love, love, the figs.
Nestled back in the corner (love this door too, by the way) is a sweet little office space.
Just outside of the office is a table and a play area for King, and another staircase which would lead you back downstairs into the great room….
And that, my friends, is the Young home! See what I mean? Love this creative space. Thank you for joining The Creative Home tour, and a special thank you to the Youngs for opening their home!
I’m already excited about my December house, and I have two more houses I hope to get down to the beach to photograph soon! I was supposed to go down for a short visit a couple of weeks ago, but Matthew disrupted those plans.
Sidenote: as this post goes up, many many South Carolinians in the Low Country and Coastal areas are recovering from Matthew or dealing with the flooding that occurred as the waterway crested yesterday. Keeping y’all in my prayers!
Hope everyone has a wonderful week! See you soon!
Previous Creative Home Tours:
- The Bibb’s Stylish, Southern, Loving, Lived-In Home
- House on Hilltop | The Befores
- Claire’s Creative Twist on Minimalist
- Dorothy’s Greenville Flat
If you have or know of a creative space you’d like to see featured, I’d love to come take a look and even snap a few photos – please email me at lauren@theoliveshoe.com and let’s have a chat!
In an ode to one of my previously mentioned old favorites…There’s no place like home!
The Olive Shoe | Paperie & Design | Celebrating Creativity and Creatively Celebrating is designed and run by Laure {LAC} James © 2016 LAC James All Rights Reserved.
Lauren {LAC} James is a Sr. Designer of Product Graphics for an international manufacturing company by day and a creativity crusader, designer, planner extraordinaire, artist and blogger in her “free” time. Follow her and The Olive Shoe on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram! Please subscribe to receive emails, and of course, come back and visit again soon!
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