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Honored Contributor
Posts: 20,484
Registered: ‎11-08-2014

Exuberant TV Design guy Carson Kressley has a house that seems to be part of his family's horse farm in Pennsylvania, in addition to his NY apartment.

 

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The '70's horse farm house is his great love, and he's decorated it in his patented cozy, maximalist style.  This house, of all the "design-influenced" houses on Homeworthy, seems the most like a 'regular' American house, albeit with some rarified elements, to me.

 

The video is so much fun, infused with his friendly, humorous warmth.  Recommend highly watching it!

 

He loves horses and dogs, signaled by his many horse paintings and this sweet vintage ceramic doggie--

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He mentions the house's 1970's low ceilings and lack of architectural details.  To counter some of that, he added these generous bookshelves in the living room.

 

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Some more of his favorite motifs are antelope prints and patterns, which you can see in the rug, and elsewhere in the house.  Also, he adores a soft turquoise blue, here seen in the wide ribbons holding his boxwood wreaths and swagging the staircase garland.

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As mentioned, equestrian themes abound.  I love that his wood lamps, with a very midcentury feeling, were flea market finds...

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He says his kitchen is "pre- renovation",  but he already had the tired oak cabinets painted.  I like the simple over-counter pendant lights--

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His formal dining room is very traditional, with an equestrian-themed custom wallpaper mural, and more of the pretty sky blue he favors in the ceilng.  For a Christmas centerpiece, he bought a grocery store amaryllis, which he put in a silvery ice bucket surrounded by pinecones from the property...

 

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He used to work at Ralph Lauren, and he snagged from them the practice of switching out to festive tartan lampshades for his dining room chandelier at Christmas. Cute!

 

 

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He is also lucky enough to have a casual, brick-walled breakfast nook with fireplace--

 

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He cleverly chose an airy, see-through lantern pendant light here, so it wouldn't obstruct the view outside from other points in the room...

 

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His adjoining den also has the brick, and lustrous chestnut wood.  It is dark, and he struggled with the idea of painting the paneling, but decided he liked the rich wood.  He gave in to the 70's vibe!  Has a fun vintage pub feeling.  His little antlers are faux, he hastened to assure any animal lovers...

 

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Bedroom is cozy too.

 

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His sunroom has multiple sets of French doors, which allows him to have lots of lush plants, and one of the four Christmas trees in the house.

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What a good time this video was- I had to watch it in increments!  Carson has tons of little tips that he inserts in his tours, which make them especially fun.  Homeworthy also has his NY apartment tour, which is just as entertainig to see.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,954
Registered: ‎06-10-2015

Re: LEHIGH VALLEY PA CHRISTMAS

How beautiful, I really like it all.  He has a good eye and taste.

LIFE IS TO SHORT TOO FOLD FITTED SHEETS
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,466
Registered: ‎07-26-2019

Re: LEHIGH VALLEY PA CHRISTMAS

   Those low ceilings  are a no go for me

Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,816
Registered: ‎10-25-2010

Re: LEHIGH VALLEY PA CHRISTMAS

I love everything about his house.  It's beautifully decorated and looks comfy.

 

The ceilings look like the standard 8 ft ones used in PA and other places where there is cold weather.

 

High ceilings make a home difficult to heat.  Almost all the older homes around here have 8 or 10ft ceilings.  It is a practical choice.  I am sure he is aware since he is local to the area.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,098
Registered: ‎05-27-2015

Re: LEHIGH VALLEY PA CHRISTMAS

I love the French doors and abundance of light in the sun room! It would be wonderful to sit there and enjoy a beautiful snow.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,670
Registered: ‎01-25-2023

Re: LEHIGH VALLEY PA CHRISTMAS

I believe he talked about the tartan shades on his beautiful dining table chandelier before because when I had a dining room and a chandelier I copied them, and got so many compliments on them. I also love the backless wooden chairs in the sitting room being used almost as a table. I want to live in the sunroom, but I also love the den and bedroom. . . 

Lynn-Critter Lover!
(especially cats!)
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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,178
Registered: ‎01-09-2016

Re: LEHIGH VALLEY PA CHRISTMAS

Love the sunroom! All that beautiful light. The plants and tree are so pretty and the wood floor looks great. I would change out the chairs (the wicker chair looks out of place) and the rugs.

 

The den looks cozy but a bit too dark for me. 

 

The dining room (especially the chairs) are so pretty. 

 

The blue in the kitchen is perfect as is the lamp in the "nook" which is far grander than the name implies.Smiley Very Happy

 

Thank you for posing @Oznell 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,684
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: LEHIGH VALLEY PA CHRISTMAS

@Oznell Such a cozy beautiful home.

 

I especially love:

*The ceramic dog

*Use of dogs and horses in his decor

*Pre-renovation kitchen looks pretty post reno to me (pretty)

*Blue turquoise ceiling in dining room

*Elegant high-end looking Christmas centerpiece made with inexpensive parts (I love doing this)

*The brick wall

*The super cozy den and bedroom (right up my alley)

 

Thanks for the lovely!

 

 

 

"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals" -Immanuel Kant

"Once you have had a wonderful Dog, a life without one, is a life diminished"-Dean Koontz
Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,665
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: LEHIGH VALLEY PA CHRISTMAS

Thanks so much for these @Oznell!

I love Carson Kressley and I'll watch the videos.

I really love his ceramic dog so much!

It reminds me of when my 5th grade class gave our wonderful teacher a large china Dalmation dog.

We were so excited to give it to her.

Now I wonder if she was thinking-wow-a giant Dalmation lol!

 

I also love his yellow chairs.

I like his formal dining room too with the beautiful chandelier and those comfortable looking chairs and the pretty amaryllis?

I didn't know he played the piano.

What a wonderful thing to own a horse farm!

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"
Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,665
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: LEHIGH VALLEY PA CHRISTMAS

[ Edited ]

@Oznell,

I just watched his farm house tour and his apartment tour.

I like how he mentions where he got things-a lot from Costco, Homegoods, some Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn. Familiar stores. Some things he had pros or designers do-recovering chairs, or pillows.

What I thought was a mural in the formal dining room is actually wallpaper he said was from Mural Source-you can have them design and fit to your space. The other wallpaper with horses was from Tibo. I like those.

I am especially enjoying his tour of his NY apt. He also has a ceramic dog there too.

You can tell he really enjoys all his things and I feel the same about everything in my home.

I think and hope people love everything in their home whether minimalist or a lot!

His decorating and pro tips are funny but practical too.

 

Oh and pictures with him and his favorite people-Joan Rivers, Dolly Parton, Cher, an ornament from Betty White, an Original Destiny's Child doll of Beyonce who signed it and thanked him for introducing her to someplace. Really a fun video, the dept one.

Oh and he doesn't play the piano just thought the baby grand was so beautifulSmiley Happy

He said he didn't have a plan for the apt just got things he would see that he liked. That's how I do it tooSmiley Happy

He does like to honor the original architecture and style of the house or apt a little bit.

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"