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6.29.2017

Foyer a la Minear


A few weeks ago when our sweet and incredibly talented friend Tom Tom came to town he spent the night with us and treated us to giggles, stories of travel and a fabulous Boston butt his family had prepared over the weekend.  I mean, what a fabulous house guest, am I right?  Well ... turns out he also had plans to transform our newly painted entryway into the entry of my dreams.


We had spoken many times about the fact that I would love to have him paint my entryway with details of our lives and our family.  Since the dining room was a solid color and the office was also a solid color I was ready for some pattern.  My vision was Lilly dressing room meets our history in Florida.  What he delivered was true and utter perfection and every single morning when I walk downstairs what I see truly makes my heart so very happy.


Thomas painted this "room" in literally no time at all.  I think he waited longer for me to pull the photos of the memories we had than it took him to create them.  What I can't wrap my mind around is how much each picture looks exactly like what it was meant to be.  It is remarkable how quickly seeing one section or another takes me immediately back to the memory of the actual location.  It is almost like a time capsule for us and the life we had and have built.

I have so many details of all the things included and what they mean to both of us and the family we have created. The best way to tell this stories is from both of our point of views as we both have memories that mean so very much to us, but yet are so very different.  I have been begging Lawyer to write a post for a while on his life in Jupiter and what that city and Palm Beach county means to him. He comes from a long line of family from the area and so much of who is he as a person and a man comes from this history. He will tell you he had the perfect childhood, and he did. His family home was one street over from his grandmothers home and another street over from his great grandparents. He lived his days playing in the water at the inlet and fishing and building forts for hours. His maternal grandparents lived in Palm Beach. He has fabulous memories of visiting family there and friends and family on Jupiter Island.  He truly loved every single minute of it.

I can't wait to push publish on this post and share every single detail with you today!  All of the text in italics are his memories.



The wall here depicts two scenes from Savannah.  As I have shared before we honeymooned along the Georgia and South Carolina coast staying in bed and breakfast and touring a number of towns including Savannah and Charleston.  If you know us well you know this was the perfect week for us as we both love history and the quaint and charm of an old inn.  The home on the right is The Gastonian and is the location we stayed when we visited that week in 1995.  We stayed in the guest house and walked over to this main house for breakfast in the morning and high tea in the afternoon. I have such wonderful memories of those days in Savannah.  Walking the streets with our new shiny rings and thinking of the life we will build in Georgia.  We went back seven months later to celebrate Lawyer's birthday and that we had just found out we were expecting.  It was just as special even though the smells of the city were not my favorite at the time.  The city was completely in bloom for spring as it was early April and we were so excited we almost couldn't stand it.  We took many walks in Forsyth Park and the iconic fountain is what you see on the left with a park bench and the amazing old oak trees with moss hanging over.  To this day Savannah is incredibly special to us as a couple.

Over the coat closet door you can see a lake with a fountain and a swan boat.  In the background you can see a tall building.  Lawyer and I met at work in Orlando.  The building in the background is 201 E. Pine Street, the building that held the law office we both worked for.  From the seventh floor you could see Lake Eola in the background and as time went on he would ask me to take walks around the take after work before we both headed home.  I always wanted to take a ride in the swan paddle boats and we never did before we both moved to Georgia.  That is on my bucket list for our next visit "home".  I loved those walks around the beautiful lake in downtown.  The brick streets are so charming and the walks meant so much to me.  It seems like a lifetime ago and yet just last week all at the same time.

Lake Eola equals long leisurely strolls and conversations under towering Live Oak trees covered in moss while falling in love with the girl who would become my wife.


The house seen above the door way is the first house we bought together as newlyweds.  I loved that house so very much.  It was white with a red door at the end of a street with a huge front yard.  We came home from our honeymoon to this home and brought both our boys home to this house as well. It was a perfect home for a family of four but we outgrew it after 8 years when we moved to the home we have now.  There was a dogwood tree just beyond our deck which TomTom drew just to the left of the house which became diseased and died just after we moved out.  I was sad to learn the new home owners wouldn't be able to enjoy that beautiful tree that greeted me each morning.  We did so much to that home and painted every single inch of it.  I was thrilled when a young family moved in with a baby that I knew would love it as much as we did.

If you look just above the chair rail in the corner of the painted walls you will see a rock with spray coming from the top.  That section depicts Blowing Rocks a nature preserve on Jupiter Island.  This almost untouched piece of land depicts what the south Florida barrier islands looked like almost 100 years ago. During storms and large high tides the water can be seen to shoot almost 50 feet in the air.   This place holds a special memory for Lawyer and was one of the first places he took me when we visited his home for the first time.

Going to visit Blowing Rocks meant we were going to Jupiter Island to visit family friends. To this day I remain enamored with the idea of driveways covered with vegetation like a tunnel that then breaks away into a clearing where a house suddenly appears. We would gather and then head to the beach where we would watch waves roll in and shoot geysers through holes in the rocky shoreline.



This wall is one of my favorites, but aren't they all?  This is a spot inside Cypress Gardens which was a frequent for me as a child with my grandparents.  Just a few miles from their home they had seasonal passes and we would stop in to walk the gardens, see the water ski show and to have a snack and play some old fashioned fair games.  If it didn't rain on the way home we would eat dinner out and finish up with a game of putt putt to round out the day.  Complete bliss! This structure was a big hit for me as the garden girls in their amazing gowns and hoop skirts would sit on the lawn and wait for patrons to ask for photos.  I can remember thinking the girls in the pink and blue gowns were my favorite and if only I had their job as a young adult.  To walk around in amazing gowns waiting for people to come up and say hello, I was ready to sign up immediately. 


To the left of the door you can spot the Jupiter Lighthouse and the brick path heading to it.  This lighthouse is so special to Lawyer and his family was a big supporter during the restoration of its grounds and museum.  When the brick path was laid the Minears purchased a number of the bricks and his family tree can be seen in the path.  I was truly overwhelmed when we visited a few years ago. The large banyan tree at the base of the lighthouse was breathtaking and the age of the tree and the area was so special to me and then to me.  He has told me many stories of watching the sunset on his grandmother's dock on the inlet and being able to see the light from the lighthouse which always grounded him and reminded him he was home.

My favorite thing about the lighthouse was its constant presence at night. Like clockwork the bright light would swing in a complete circle. Even though you might not be able to see the lighthouse itself, you could always see that flash of light every few minutes reminding you that it was . Ever present watching over land and sea.



This overhang has a perfect rendition of Lawyer's grandmother's home.  Located on the inlet in Palm Point it still remains an easy home to spot with its white color and bright red roof.  They purchased the home from Sears and it arrived via barge in the 1920s.  The piece of land it sits on provides the perfect view to watch the sunset and take in the beauty of south Florida.  The home was sold after her death in 2000 and the new owners turned the house around so the porch is on the opposite side from its original location.  Not only did Lawyer and his siblings and best friends play here every single day but the Minears gathered for Sunday dinner here every week.  His stories of watching Disney movies and eating ice cream on the porch with his cousins are incredible.  So many memories and a home that has a huge part of his heart.

To the left of the house is a large banyan tree that they climbed and truly centered the property.  There was a large circular driveway in front of the tree and to the left of the house as you are facing was the long dock to the water.  To the right of the house is the Tindall House which is one of the oldest structures and was built on the first piece of landed settled.  When the Minears purchased the land in the 20's they moved the house from its location on the river further in on the land. So much history and so very special.  In 1995 his grandmother donated the house to the lighthouse museum where it can be found today. One of the names we considered when naming our youngest was Tindall.  I still love the name!


My grandmother’s house was a special place for more than one reason. Foremost she made it special with Sunday dinners and family gatherings on the porch facing Pennock Point. For a child however, it was a location for grand adventure. You could sneak into an old homestead, the Tindall House, to seek ancient treasure, fish off the dock, explore the mangroves along the riverfront, build and play in the front yard banyan tree fort all with endless outdoor snacks – coconut, mango, oranges, tangerines, Florida cherry and lychee fruit (she had star fruit also but we mainly used that to throw at each other).



This wall depicts my grandmother's house.  Oh, the memories in this home from the time I was so very tiny.  My parents and I moved quite a bit as my dad was a newspaper publisher and every time he would be promoted we would move so during my school years we moved four times.  He worked so hard and did well which meant a new paper and a new city. I would spend many weeks in the summer with my grandparents and I can still recall the way the house smelled and sounded if I close my eyes.  The creek of the closet in the den, the sound of the water flowing in the lavender bathroom and the sound of the front mail slot when the mailman made his daily delivery. It was such a small town not much ever changed. It all holds so many memories for me and since we moved so much it was so comfortable being the one thing that never changed.  When we moved back to Lakeland in the summer after my sophomore year of high school I spent a lot of time with my grandmother in the summer and on vacation.  Rounding the corner in down town Haines City and making the right on 7th street was almost second nature to me. When she passed away four years ago I recall being in the house without her and yet still feeling like she was just sitting in the other room waiting for me and humming while she washed her few dishes or ran a load of clothes.  This house was so special to me and I am sad that it no longer is a place I can wake up in and hear the sound of her humming just down the hall.




As you can see we truly love this piece of art created for us.  I just love pointing out the areas of interest and staring at TomTom's work every single day.  I will never be able to truly convey what it means to us but I can tell you this.   A very special man created a very special piece of art which we will treasure forever. 

Happy Thursday!

All photos taken by my talented friend Skipper!!  xo 

15 comments:

  1. It literally brought tears to my eyes! How will you ever get anything done -- I would sit on the stairs with a mug of coffee all day long just soaking it all in.

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  2. Stunning & so very special

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  3. Paige, this is lovely. Difficult to imagine that he could compose this and paint it so quickly. Did he sketch out a plan? I'm in awe of his talent. Did you two meet through blogging?

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  4. Perfect, just perfect and I thought "Lilly dressing room" the minute I saw it!! ;)

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  5. WOW!!!!! So beautiful, stunning, priceless and such a special way to commemorate the wonderful events and memories of your families life.

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  6. Incredible. I so enjoyed watching the video of him creating this on Instagram. Just in awe of his talent. I showed it to my husband, and he too said it looked like a Lilly dressing room. LOL I have always adored your style. You have created a home that truly reflects those that live within its walls!

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  7. I love it! I am in beautiful Hobe Sound and love Jupiter and Palm Beach as much as you and your husband too. Thanks for sharing with everyone our beautiful little corner of the world.

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  8. Wow! Your home is beautiful! Love the color!

    Sarah

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  9. Paige! I have had this post bookmarked for weeks and finally remembered to read. Your foyer is stunning, but the story behind it truly the most beautiful part!!! Bow you can never move!!!!😆💙

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  10. Where did you find the beautiful pink rug?

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  11. Wow, wow, wow. I wish I knew you. You GET my style. I love this entry idea and I have all these pics on my phone of the Lilly fitting rooms here in Naples, Fl. I have been dreaming of doing this kind of treatment in a powder room. I love the two tone idea here but I was also looking at all the mix of pattern and your love of color in the other rooms as well. We relocated to Florida two years ago and I am starting from scratch. We still have a home up north so I brought nothing with me except a few pieces of furniture the previous homeowner left us. It has been such a fun challenge but I know some of my ideas are unorthodox. Just this week I suggested a black or deep deep dark green ceiling in our master bedroom to a designer and she nixed it with out skipping a beat. I appreciate her honesty but sometimes that unexpected, breaking all the rules element turns out to be my favorite thing in the room. I love love love what you have done here and I am coveting that lamp shade. Would love to know where you found it. Thanks for the fun start to my Sunday and all the design inspiration.

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  12. This is absolutely stunning and memorable and meaningful all at once. You can't ever move though because you can't take that gorgeousness with you:) Love it!

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  13. KUDOS TO YOU FOR YOUR BRAVE STYLE!!! CAN/WILL YOU GIVE ME THE SOURCE OF THE ANIMAL PATTERN RUG IN YOUR OFFICE?

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  14. Beautiful......creative........heartwarming..........priceless.......... =)

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