5 Days Until Christmas!!! 5! Days!!! WHAT???

I hope everyone has had an amazing month so far!

First, let me just say a BIG Congratulations to my sister-in-love and brother on closing on their new house in Florida today!! Stay tuned for their “Befores” on the blog in February! I have a special surprise for January’s Creative Home Tour, too, but I’ll keep that a surprise for now.

Now, for this month’s home tour and this year’s Christmas house! An extra special thank you to the Gillespies for letting me invade their home at this busy time of year! A little background: Wendy first got in touch with me to design a logo for her salon, Prodigy Hair Loft, in Anderson..which lead to another project and then another project. Over lunch one day we chatted about the creative home tour and I penciled her in, having never set foot in her house. That’s faith y’all. But I also know, having talked with Wendy and worked with her and seen her fabulous outfits and choices in style elsewhere, that her house would be great. So, off I went on a Saturday morning in early December to photograph my first Christmas house for the creative home tour, without ever having seen the place. She did not fail me. It was perfect.

The Gillespies’ home is just gorgeous: in use of space, in color choice, in texture combinations, art choices and (bonus) in Christmas decor. These 50ish photos give you only a glimpse into this family’s gorgeous home. It embodies living in style and function which is, after all, why I loved my little olive shoe serving dish so much that I built a brand around it.

This sweet family lives here along with Skittles the rabbit, Violet the Pygmy goat and Budler, the Feist (a hunting dog).

After Wendy graciously welcomed me into her home and showed me around, I went back through and photographed all the details I wanted to capture for the blog before I sat down to chat with Wendy, who, being a perfect hostess offered me coffee and chocolate covered cookies…see, I told y’all this was a house for entertaining.

Their 5,400 sq. ft. home was built in 2002, and they have been there ever since. A couple of notes about the front porch before I move on: the sleigh belonged to Wendy’s grandmother, and her husband Jamie painted the pineapple on the front porch.

I was greeted by not only Wendy, but a handsome buck and a few silver Christmas trees in the entry, and then turned right to meet Santa, right there in the study making his list.

{And how much do y’all love this rug?}

Oh, hey, Santa…don’t mind us…we’re just going to poke around and take some photos….

Wendy’s life sized Santa doll is a hand-me-down from her Mother. What a conversation piece! I just love him.

Opening up from the entry is a gorgeous living space…

How fun are the baskets on the wall? And the plaid juxtaposed with the little round leather pillows?  The textures and patterns make my senses happy! The antique shutters behind the Christmas tree are one of Wendy’s favorite items int he house and came  from a plantation in Charleston.

Off of the living room is a powder room that I just couldn’t get enough of. The walls, decorated with large, hand-painted pineapples, made me just swoon and then I looked up to find the gold ceiling. This room might be my favorite…  (Aunt Susan, this one’s for you!!)

Past the powder room we find their son, Gavin’s, domain – off limits:

At 16, it’s fair to oblige this request I think.

To the immediate right is their daughter Addi’s room, where Skittles the rabbit also lives in her bathroom.

Of course I had to ask questions about the paint in her room. How amazing??? Hand painted by her Daddy, they marked off the walls into an argyle pattern and then added knobs that they painted with a pearlized white paint. SO. STINKIN’ CREATIVE!!! Love, love, love….

Back across the house is the master suite (we’ll come back to the kitchen before we go downstairs, don’t worry!)..

I just love the peaceful coloring in their bedroom…and the sitting area…and the bathroom. The tub! Swoon again.

The beautiful painting above was a gift from Wendy’s aunt.

This tub, y’all…. makes me want to pour a glass of wine and have a good soak!

I just love the art choices, even in this little potty room off the bathroom, throughout the Gillespie home.

Back out to the center of the upstairs, the living room leads out to a deck that sprawls the back of the home and also into the kitchen, but before we go into those areas, let’s back up a minute. Directly across from the study is the dining room…

I absolutely loves the wreaths on the back of each chair!! Details!!!

…And a butler’s pantry off the dining room leads back through to the hall to the kitchen (see I told you we’d get there)…

{I love these tea pots…just sayin’}

Love this breakfast nook off the kitchen that also leads out to a sweet, screened-in porch.

I named the reindeer “Target”. If you haven’t noticed, Wendy has a reindeer thing.

And there’s even a table for Addi and her American Girl…

We can also sneak a peek at the laundry room (love the pattern mix in here) …

Ok, let’s head downstairs… the staircase is another one of my favorite spots, decorated with canvases of their family. Most of Wendy’s photography has been done by Nicki Caldwell of Mirror Mirror Image.

The stairwell opens up to an warm and cozy basement complete with a second laundry area for washing pool towels, a full bath, a second kitchen and a pool table room. Don’t you want to just hang out here?

I was slightly obsessed with the counter top over the laundry area downstairs. The treatment is so different.

…and again, the reindeer thing. We could probably name them all…Dasher, Dancer, Prantzer, Glitzen…

I love it.

The basement opens up to a beautiful patio and pool area, and a pool house in the works that they hope to have finished in time for next summer. Here’s a little peek at the space (we might have to do an update later, huh?)

When I chatted with Wendy for a few minutes after I finished photographing, I asked her a few additional questions:

Me: How would you describe your style?

Wendy: It’s personal. It’s a mix – I wouldn’t really call it farmhouse, but a little bit, I like some distressed and some things fancier. It’s really just us.

Me: What were the names of your decorators? (We had discussed their work combined with Wendy’s approvals and certain DIY projects, such as (Dad), Jamie, painting (daughter) Addi’s room as we went through the house)

Wendy: Bill Ducworth did the upstairs and Donna Wyatt from Aesthetics in Seneca did the downstairs.

Me: Do you have any favorite items?

Wendy: (without hesitation) The pictures of our family

As I previously mentioned, Nikki Caldwell has done most of the phtography for their family, along with Craft photography – the photo in the butler’s pantry, and Ammons photography, a large portrait of Gavin on the way to the kids’ rooms.

Thanks for joining me for the tour! I have some already booked for next year, so stay tuned!

Merry Christmas!

Previous Creative Home Tours:

• A Rejuvenated Ranch On The Carolina Coast
• A Young House Full Of Love (and Art!)
• 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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