Good Friday morning, dears. Today we are visiting Marcia Bond's house located in Spokane, Washington. Marcia worked for 22 years as an interior designer in California and Washington before “retiring” to run two restaurants and a bakery with her husband, William. She likes to combine comfort and a “little bit of theater” when she designs.

Let's take the tour!


The house stands on a hilltop and looks quite unpretentious from the outside.


Double doors salvaged from a French children’s clothing shop open to the foyer. Concrete steps just inside the door lead up to the main living area.


Marcia, happy with her home, poses in the living room.


No walls divide the kitchen, dining, and living areas. Concrete floors finished with a beeswax derivative, unites the large living area with bedrooms, a den, and a corridor-like pantry tucked behind the kitchen. A system of water pipes under the floor warms the house with hydronic radiant heat.


Another view of the Bonds’ large living area; north-facing French doors admit soft morning light.


Furniture groupings define the dining and sitting areas of the large room, while the kitchen is clearly designated by the impressive range hood. A food-themed mural on the sink wall introduces a hint of pattern.


An island with old wood legs shares space with modern stainless-steel cabinets and appliances. A table base—minus the top—that Marcia found chained to a tree at a yard sale was reinvented as the 96x39-inch island. “We needed to make it taller and longer so it wasn’t dwarfed,” Marcia says. The wood base was topped with a large slab of marble, plus a 36-inch stretch of butcher block.


An antique mirror stands against a bedroom wall. Marcia’s grandmother did the petit point on the fauteuil. An old galvanized metal barrel with a glass top serves as a side table.


The vanity top is salvaged marble; the base is made of acrylic poles and decorative lamp parts.


Two old tables slipcovered with khaki water-resistant fabric create an elegant dining surface on the loggia. Chairs came from area garage sales and secondhand shops. The loggia is on the front of the house, but is sheltered by a wisteria canopy and vine-covered courtyard walls.

All images from here.

Located about 50 miles from Washington, D.C, owner Diana Cummings, a horse enthusiast, worked with Virginia architect Mark Buchanan to build a French-inspired country house; and with interior designer Shoshana Datlow to make the interiors elegant but rustic and welcoming at the same time.


Buchanan was inspired by a 17th-century French single-stall-wide horse stable. He used local fieldstone for the exterior.


A pea-stone courtyard fronting the house is shaded by a black iron tonnelle, or arbor, with a bamboo roof.


A pet door in the mudroom allows the homeowner’s two dogs, two cats, and even visiting dogs to pop in and out on their own schedules.


An American chestnut farm table under a rustic antler chandelier in the kitchen. Architect Mark Buchanan incorporated natural elements such as weathered Douglas fir ceiling timbers and oak-plank or limestone-tile floors.


A Cordova cream limestone fireplace is flanked by Harden Furniture armchairs, with the backs covered in fabric from Kravet’s Museum of New Mexico Collection. Interior designer Shoshana Datlow finished the plaster walls with a three-color wash, creating a warm, mellow ambience. The classical bronze on the mantel is Woman with Deer, circa 1900, by Karl Bitter.


French doors in the den open to a sheltered courtyard and views of the Virginia countryside. An inviting gold armchair, floor lamp, and built-in bookshelves designed by architect Mark Buchanan make the room a cozy reading spot.


The spacious master bathroom with a lofty vaulted ceiling and windows that look out on the garden. Simple plantation shutters provide privacy and keep the space light and airy.

A pity there isn't a photograph of the bedrooms. This will have to do then, hope you enjoyed today's tour!

Photography by Ron Blunt
All images and information from here.