Sunday, December 11, 2011

Sunday Snapshot ... Fredericksburg Christmas Porches

Yesterday morning, The Husband and I did our annual shift as guides for one of the houses during the annual Christmas Candlelight Tour in historic downtown Fredericksburg.  Every year, half a dozen or so houses are selected for the tour, and each is decorated and staged beautifully.  There is so much wonderful Christmas inspiration in these houses!!  (unfortunately, no photography is allowed INSIDE the houses ... but I can take all the photos I want outside.)

I'm still looking at porches, as I refine the design for the posts and gingerbread trim that I hope will soon adorn OUR porch. 

I loved everything about this porch!




This is the rest of the front of the same house.



The 'wreaths' on these front doors were actually picture frames, wrapped in ribbon.



This was my favorite front door!  The red door, with the lime green accents in the decorations, was stunning!  (The hostess on the porch told me that the color is called "Perfectly Red" ... it really is perfect.)



... and this was my favorite color combination.  The apple green of the front doors was a perfectly-coordinated punch of color to go with the white siding, grey trim, and pale blue porch ceiling.



This is the house where The Husband and I worked all morning.  He was on the porch giving the history of the house, and I was in the dining room ... where it was warm.



My favorite house on the tour, both inside and outside, was this one.  It's known as the Hurkamp House, and it was built in the same year as our house (1848).  As we toured the inside, I was practically bombarded on all sides by inspiration that I can use as we transition from the construction and restoration phase of our place to (hopefully, one day) doing some real decorating around here.



Working this tour every year, with its beautiful historic homes and elegant decorations, always has me coming home motivated to put OUR house into its best Christmas shape.  Later today, The Husband will drag the tubs of decorations out of their storage area, and I will see what I can do.  Stay tuned.

21 comments:

  1. Hi Connie, Looking forward to seeing your decorations and thanks for the tour.

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  2. Beautiful photos~
    thanks for taking us along~
    smiles
    Teresa

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  3. Oh what fun! And those green double doors make my heart sing!

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  4. LOVE the house with the apple green door!....

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  5. Love that the two
    of you did this together.
    And all the doors are
    just beautiful!

    xx Suzanne

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  6. Connie-Beautiful! I just love them and would love to see the inside of those houses! Our historic area used to do that, too. xo Diana

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  7. Such beautiful old homes. I, too, love front entrances. I think they are show the true character of the home. Thanks for sharing your day, Connie. Would love to have joined you on the tour.

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  8. What beautiful porches! We went to a Candlelight Tour of historic homes in Tomball, Texas last night and now I'm all in the mood to decorate too!

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  9. Breathtaking homes and porches! I can't imagine living in something so magnificent.

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  10. I love the old houses in Fredericksburg, and the picture frame "wreaths" are inspired!

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  11. I LOVE Christmas home tours...however they make me want to come home and throw my stuff away and start over! Ha. I love to decorate my porches as much as I do my interior..so I was particularly enjoying the pics you could take. Look forward to seeing yours!

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  12. Beautiful homes and photos, very good decorating ideas for us all!

    If anyone finds the brand of paint for "Perfectly Red" I would love to know... an online search yielded no answers!

    Thanks again!

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  13. What fun to be so involved in something like that. I'm sure it was very inspirational to get home and decorate. Love the "perfectly red" door to. That was very nice.

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  14. Connie those porches are so pretty! I love that you live in such a fun and historic area and home. Thanks for sharing this! hugs, Linda

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  15. What a fun day for the two of you, Connie! Gosh - you guys sure stay busy, don't you? lol! Wasn't it fun to just imagine women in long, full, swishy dresses sashaying up those stairs and across those grand porches....? :)

    xoxo laurie

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  16. Please excuse me if this sounds like a very dense question, but you have to understand I am a foreigner!! Are these houses people's homes, or are they houses that are kept for their historic value? They all look so grand and beautifully decorated.

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  17. Tracey, this is a grand section of downtown Fredericksburg, which still has a large concentration of historic houses. Each of them is a family home, usually lovingly cared for, but all are very much lived in and used. The houses get extra special staging and decorations for a holiday tour such as this.

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  18. Thank you for explaining that, Connie. I can see why it must be so inspirational being able to visit these lovely homes.

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  19. Oh, oh my... That house is just wall-to-wall gorgeous perfection.

    Thanks for sharing your pictures.

    CCG

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  20. Such beautiful old homes; I love them! You are so fortunate to live in such a historic area of our country!
    Looking forward to seeing your decorations. You better get to work...Christmas is almost here! :)

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