Jen at Jennifer Rizzo is hosting a fun party called My Style Evolution where participants show how their decorating style has changed over time.
I am showing the last two homes we have owned. I have to warn you that these are scanned images and not the best quality. Some of these pictures were for insurance purposes and taken minutes before we had to evacuate for Hurricane Ivan! You’ll notice it is pretty clean. I was running around cleaning up the house just prior to evacuating. My husband thought I was crazy but I thought if it was destroyed I wanted photos of a clean house!
First is our Florida beach house. We had this home custom built (3 times) and actually still own it. It was gutted twice within nine months due to hurricane damage. Upon our move to Virginia two years ago it became a rental and second home for us. It is still furnished pretty much the same as the photos. We only brought a few pieces of furniture when we moved.
The coffee table was moved further away so I could get a photo of the sofa for insurance purposes.
Family Room from 2ND floor landing
The island was originally stained cherry. After living with it for a while we decided to add bead board and I painted and glazed it.
Downstairs Bath. We had a vintage dresser made into a vanity.
. My favorite room in the house. I wish I had more pictures of our master bath. The tub is a vintage one that we had refurbished and the vanity was made out of a antique French buffet.
Guest room and home office. My husband made the trundle bed.
Next is our previous home in Lawrenceville, Ga. We also had this home custom built and we lived here for eight years before moving to the beach house. Are you ready for the 1980s?
No one could ever accuse me of being afraid of color! I did love all the windows in the living room.
What was I thinking with that wallpaper? It makes me dizzy now. Everyone tried to talk me out of the white cabinets by telling me white wouldn’t be in style in a couple of years..lol.
Thanks for taking the tour with me. If you would like to see how our home looks today you can click on the pictures on the sidebar.
This is so neat! I love the concept of this party. But I really love, love,love your beach house style! I would be happy in that style year round! It's beautiful!
Sherry, I didn't know you lived in Lawrenceville. I'm in Buford and worked in Lawrenceville and my brother lives there, too. You Florida home is so nice. Love the claw foot tub. Your home here was gorgeous for the eighties. I wish you still lived here.
Sherry, you know what I love both homes..I did the all blue thing about 20 years ago carpet big mistake as I had to work around that color for years ha ha!! Your home is truly a beauty and I'm one of those nuts that love wall paper until I have to remove it ha ha!! Hope your having a GREAT day my Dear friend..Hugs and smiles Gloria
I love the beach house. The 80's house is very 80's and I am not a fan of evil wallpaper but white cabinets have endured haven't they?
Sherry, you couldn't decorate a room ugly if you had too! Everyones 80's design was bad – I'm not sure how great it was even then, but we all had it!
The Florida house is so pretty. It's such a shame that nature wreaks such havoc on the coast.
This was a fun post. Thanks!
Rhonda
They are both lovely and show your individual style even though the second one was influenced the trends of the times. It doesn't look like a time capsule! It looks like a trend watching, creative person lived there!
Sherry your home is beautiful, both of them!
Hi Sherry,
Isn't it funny how our styles change over the years. I really love your beach house and the bathroom is so pretty.
hugs
Sissie
Sherry,
I'm happy to see some pics of your beautiful beach house…love that awesome tub and your family room is just my style! You really want to see some of my 80's pics? That's soooo scary:)
Blessings,
Linda
Well, Sherry, your style may have evolved but you can see that you have always had impeccable taste! I absolutely love the exterior of the GA home and all of those windows were fantastic! The Florida home is so perfectly coastal and truly lovely. Thanks for sharing this history with us! 🙂
Vanessa
Your homes are beautiful…even the 80's house was beautiful for the time period. And,the beach house is lovely…just lovely. I lived in FL for several years and still miss it- storms and all.
Your home today is even MORE lovely…and you know I adore your bedroom! Hugs- Diana
Well, styles change, but good taste always remains. All your homes are/were lovely. And the wallpaper…well we've all been there, done that!
Best,
Susan
Your homes have been beautiful! I had to laugh about your cleaning up frantically before evacuating. I do that before any trip, thinking if the plane crashes, I don't want my friends and relatives seeing a messy house!
Your taste is great, and was great in the eighties. Styles change. Think of all the 2011 PB time capsules being created right now. Bad taste? No, but a lot of it will be completely out of style in a few years.
How hard that must have been to go through two renovations on your beach house like that!
~Amanda
That was fun!..Love the 80's Sherry where in Florida is your beach rental? I am thinking Miami way with all of the hurricane damage, of course we had 3 hurricanes right here in Orlando.
Carol
Hi Sherry-
I am loving this Style Evolution party. I think it is fun as well as inspiring to see how our decorating tastes have changed and stayed the same.
Your home(S) are beautiful. You can see that you love color. I laugh when I see balloon style window treatments. I wonder what will have us saying, What was I thinking? 10 years from now.
My best- Diane
Too funny….I lived in Cumming GA……I swear my house looked just the same! Thanks for sharing!
Fun seeing your style change! I wish I had pictures of our previous homes on the computer as that definitely would have show how it went from yuck to country to Romantic country to now.
Love the bath!
The styles of your various homes might not be the same, Sherry, but you keep a very neat home and they are all nicely decorated in their own personality….Christine
Thank you so much for joining in! It was so interesting to see how you've changed! I can tell you've always had great style, but I love what you've done now! I am so glad you joined in! Thank you for sharing your home with us!
What a beach house! Loving it! Especially some of the vintage pieces, the tub… so charming! You're so good!
The 80's? LOL Isn't so cool to see older pictures? Fun!
Have a great day, sweetie!
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
Post of the day: An Elegant House by Canadian Interior Designer Scott Yetman.
Sherry, that's like looking at your wedding photos and thinking about how your style has changed. Your home is Georgia was beautiful for the time and many elements are still vary much in style. The home in Florida I could move into right now…in fact with 2 feet of snow predicted for today I'd like the keys right now please. Thanks for sharing, you do have a great eye for decorating.
Love seeing your transformation!
xo~
T
Sherry,
Your beach house is stunning. Isn't it funny how you can look at a photograph of a home's interior and know the era it was decorated? I am still in the process of steaming and peeling wallpaper off some of these old plaster walls. What was the precious owner thinking?
Your Friend,
Deborah
I can see why that room was a fave, loved the tub!
Great post… kitchen is sooo 80's with wallpaper etc.. I remember those days!
Hi Sherry! I didn't realize that you lived in Lawrenceville! That's just a hop, skip and a jump from me! I loved seeing your homes and your change in style! Now the question…will French country one day be out of style? I say no way! But I can't wait to see Charles Faudree's nxt book and see how he reacts to all of the chippy white going on right now! Happy week!…hugs…Debbie
Love your new style, it looks amazing. This evolution party is so much fun!
Love seeing how we all have transitioned. Isn't that why we do what we do? I wonder what the next decade will bring?
Thanks Sherry for joining the party.
you're consistant! no matter the year, it's beautiful!
How fun! I had that same Pottery Barn soap and cup holder a couple of houses ago:) I had forgotten all about it; I still like it!
Funny to see how dramatically the colors have changed over the years.
All I can say is that you've ALWAYS had good taste! It's a fun thing to do to look back like that. I need to pull out some of my old pics, too.
Hi Sherry
What a fun look back at your previous homes. I love your claw foot tub! Your taste has always been great ~ your 80's home looked very pretty.
Thanks for stopping by for a visit.
Blessings
Sue
Well I love them both.
Yep…your eighties house looks an awful lot like mine did. What were we thinking?
Makes me wonder what I will think of my house twenty years from now.
hugs to you…
you still decorated wonderful for the time period!
Love this style evolution party…it's funny how things change. Your beach house is so charming Sherry 🙂
So glad I could see your beautiful beach home. It looks so relaxing. Love the woven coffee table. And I have always wanted to turn on old chest into a bathroom vanity. Some day I will. I love the look. It cracked me up that you cleaned before the hurricane!
Thank you for your visit girl!
What a great post idea, I could laugh at myself looking back in time for english garden to victorian as well as villa style leading me to a path of not wanting to have my house so placed, with velvet ropes… "not for touching just fo looking"
I am enjoing a peaceful artful time in my decor for now will se what comes of it down the line 🙂
Love your photos they are just fine and really shows a talent in decorating for your own style.
Thank you for the comment on the foot board, I would like the hang it over a fireplace or entry way table 🙂 may if it does not sale.
Another thing I have a hard time hanging up my work, unless my daughter begs for one for her room, she does not have to beg to hard.
See you soon
xx
Dore
Sherry in love with your blog- I am in finishing up my try at the Ballard Design (French Birth Cert) and I thank you for sharing that-
SO far so good- ill have to post when im done.. BUT thank you for idea-showing how to..
Karryann
Hi Sherry~ I love your beach house- and think your 80's house looks quite sweet too! I love that bathroom with the checkerboard floor and dresser vanity- gorgeous!! Love the exterior of your 80's house- soo many beautiful windows!
Thanks for sharing this at Feathered Nest Friday! 🙂
I just followed your beautiful blog Sherry. You're totally right to go close to your dad, yea, I'm sure he needs closeness to his daughter.
I love your both houses, I wish you the best in your new moving venture, it's going to be a nice change of eather too. Please post your new home and all the beautiful decorations you will do.
Hope you have to visit my blog, you're very welcome.
Many blessings.
FABBY
Both homes are beautiful. The beach house is my favorite, but the "80's" home is so elegant. Yeh, for white cabinets — they live strong today. Really enjoyed the tour.
CAS