I saw this earlier today and literally started to cry. This is my friend Lisa’s business. I started out as a customer years ago when I met Lisa at one of the first Clover Markets in Ardmore all of those years ago. Literally we met in 2010 and became friends, I am not jut a customer. And I am a happy customer.
Lisa the owner is a wonderful warm hearted person who would give someone a hand up if they needed help. She has a rare generosity of spirit that someone or several someones has decimated. I think there should be a special place in hell for people like that.
Even Martha Stewart has been to her store. She has a great eye and a wonderful mix of new, vintage, and antiques. And this is a very historic property and fabulous adaptive reuse.
In case people can’t read her message via my screenshot, here it is in her words:
Dear Friends.
I am sorry. I need to close the store for a bit. I have tried so HARD the last couple of months to try to keep it together. In almost 30 yrs of doing what I ABSOLUTELY LOVE to save, we had a very bad robbery. They pulled in the back driveway with a van, and uhaul. I don’t understand how, but they managed to override the system. They had at it. The basement, attics, backyard, shop, and my office. Let alone a constant supply out of my vehicle, and trailer. I believe this was over time, LOADS of vtg xmas, art work, costume, jewerly, primatives, salvage, garden, paper, glass, minitures, mirrors etc.. many collections and memories in boxes.
I IMMEDIATELY shut our social media down, and was trying to work through the trauma. It HURTS so bad. I watched it go through auctions, area consignments shops, in the antique shops as well as marketplace. I feel so LOST, betrayed, and mentally EXHAUSTED. We work so HARD at being a small business, let alone save 2 old houses over 200 yrs old. It is so SAD we live in this kind of world.
Take pictures, do inventory it will save u in the long run. Don’t keep keys out, let alone how you store your valuables. Keep your guard up. DON’T think it WON’T happen to you.
I CAN’T THANK my family and friends, state police ENOUGH for helping me work through this. Esp. my husband Spencer. Quite tough loosing the bits and pieces of your life’s work. I know the man upstairs has a plan. I TRUST him. I look forward to being, and feeling our happy place again. “Three floors, have fun. ”
I thought it was bad enough when the losers stole her hydrangeas outside a few years ago. But this? This is like someone raped her. This is her business, livelihood, dreams, hopes, hard work.
This is the kind of crap stuff that is a joy sucker. What she sells can’t be magically replaced like it is an Amazon warehouse.
What I am asking of readers, especially fellow antique and vintage dealers is keep an eye out. Be wary of too good to be true and unknowns wanting to peddle things like she describes. If you are a dealer be aware, this could happen to you.
Lisa will rebuild and we will all support her. I firmly believe there is a special place in hell for people who do things like this to wonderful people and small businesses.
On a snowy afternoon, what’s a fun thing to do? Hmmm…maybe go to a Christmas party in an antique market of course!
You also need music …
And some nibbles….
And add some friends and #shoplocal !
We did this at Frazer Antique Market and it was magical. Most importantly besides friends coming together at Christmastime? Supporting a local business and vintage/antiques and crafts people.
It’s not about the influencers who want a ridiculous photo for their Instagram and Snapchat, this is about supporting our local businesses.
And no, I was not compensated for this post OR this event. We paid to host it.
This was our Christmas present to friends and loving what’s local.
Also many, many thanks to the acoustic duo The Dunns for the festive music to add to the atmosphere. You can hear them locally at places like VK Brewing and Myrtos as well as other local spots and places like Cape May in warmer weather months. And they are occasionally available for private events!
Image found online from a long ago auction somewhere. This is a red German kugel. I think it’s marvelous!
Everyone who knows me, knows I love Christmas. Some of my favorite antique ornaments are kugels. That started when I was given a modestly sized golden kugel that had been the prized ornament of my maternal great grandfather’s mother. They were Germans who settled in Pennsylvania. This ornament came with my great grandfather’s mother’s family from Germany.
A true antique kugel is a heavy glass Christmas ornament, made in Germany from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. They are typically round or oval, made of thick glass with a brass cap. The glass is often colored deeply in shades like deep red, cobalt blue, or silver. At first they were made only in Germany, primarily made in Lauscha, Germany, a small mountain village known for its glassblowing in the German Thuringia Forest .
Then, in at the end of the 19th century (as in the last decade approximately), the center of kugel manufacturing actually shifted to Nancy, France. The decorations that came out of this region were a bit lighter in weight than their German predecessors and boasted new shades, such as tangerine, and many shades of blue. (Hence the French blue kugel of it all.)
What is known as kugels are the ancestors of the later Christmas glass ornaments. Kugel is the German word for sphere or ball. In Germany kugels are usually called Biedermeierkugeln what refers to their time of origin, namely the Biedermeier period (about 1830). At that time German glassmakers started a tradition which lasted almost until to the beginning of World War I.
One way to identify kugels is by their enormous thickness of glass. This may go from one up to five millimeters, that is from 1/25″ to 1/5″. Before the invention of the Bunsen burner it was technically not possible to produce a thin-walled glass. Therefore kugels are rather heavyweight (a problem for Christmas trees with thin branches). Coloration is not done, as in later times, by painting the glass surface, but by coloring the melted batch in advance. Inside silvering of the kugels produced a brilliant gloss; this was done with lead in the early days, afterwards with a solution of silver nitrate. Unlike later glass ornaments kugels do not have the short pike left from the blowing process. It was cut off. What remained was a small hole. This was covered with a brass cap which was fastened to the ornament by a skillfully twisted wire.
One is inclined to believe that all kugels have got the shape of a ball as their name suggests. But there are, though more seldom, other shapes, too: grapes, eggs, pears, drop, turnips, and bells. In addition the surface has not to be even: items with a ribbed surface are the most sought-after. The color palette is confined to a tight dozen variations: silver, green in different shadows, golden (frequent), light blue, blue, cobalt blue (more rare), rose, rubin, copper (rare), orange, violet (very rare). Tiny kugels have a diameter of about one inch, while the upper limit is more or less open ended: There exist items with a perimeter of more than three feet (best suited for the decoration of the large garden fir tree).
Another image from some long ago auction somewhere in this country – I think this was from a New York auction.
Originally kugels came to the US either via Germans visiting family or immigrating here. They were from the old English tradition of “witches balls”, can’t remember if I mentioned that before? Then F.W. Woolworth, yes the five and dime store of our childhoods, started importing them in the 1880s.
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, whose birthplace was located within 50 miles of Thuringia, helped to spread the popularity of tree decorating when he and his wife, Queen Victoria, were depicted trimming the royal family Christmas tree (most likely with German-made ornaments) in an engraving published by the Illustrated London News.
Wow. They dressed up the area and now they’re going. I’m always sad when a small business doesn’t make it.
I will not say I was a customer of this business because I wasn’t, but they put a lot of work and their whole heart into it and it’s a bummer.
Vanner House is sadly, toast.
I literally just had never had the time to make it down there. And one reason why I was glad they were there is I love that location. I love those old buildings. Years ago when there was a rent sign up there for residential living I went and looked at the property and it was just so cool even if it’s sat smack on Conestoga Road.
I don’t know if everyone remembers but Savvy Main Line did a big article on them. Here is the link:
Again, I’m sad to see a small business close. Retail for the independent individual person is tough. If you’re a big box store, it can be tough, but it’s not this kind of tough.
So another one bites the dust. Maybe if Pennsylvania and these various municipalities made it more attractive for small businesses to stay they would be able to. 
I am guessing that this event tonight is the Swan song for the store as far as things like that⬇️
So I got to do something totally FUN the other day and exciting for me. I got to preview Frazer Antiques new store in their new location further east from where they were on Route 30/Lancaster Avenue in Malvern/Frazer.
It’s a lot of familiar faces that we all love from the original store plus some new faces, some which are already familiar to me. It was just the most positive wonderful thing to see. For example, Daisy Cottage Antiques from Morgantown is coming!
I was very sad, as were so many, when we heard after decades in one location, they literally lost their lease and were getting the heave ho. Well everything happens for a reason and this is a much better space with wonderful flow.
They are loaded with all sorts of interesting things and I think the store is going to be fabulous and it’s a good location because the parking is much easier, among other things.
(If you need an artisanal chocolate gift that will knock your socks off, they will be carrying some of the Ben Wollenberg Chocolates from Canton, OH.)
The soft opening is Monday, September 8 as far as I know.
179 Lancaster Avenue is the address and down the same driveway as Tague Lumber and Malvern Collision.
I hope you love it as much as I do. #shoplocal #vintage #antiques #lovelocal
Apotheosis of the Family used to hang in a bank. Photo from 52 Pieces Blogspot
OK, sign me mind blown. The huge mural, Apotheosis of the Family by N.C. Wyeth, newly restored, will be available once again to be viewed thanks to his grandson, Jamie Wyeth, as per the amazingly fabulous article in the New York Times this morning.
A friend of mine sent me the article a little while ago. And I’ve just been sitting here, reading it and almost gasping to myself about the crazy story of this mural.
CLICK AVOVE ⬆️ FOR NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE ⬆️
I remember years ago hearing about this mural. Then it came off the wall when the bank, Wilmington Savings Fund Society now known as WSFS, literally took it off the wall. That was 2007, and I remember reading that at the time and it was crazy to me because well the bank had restored it in 1998. BUT and it’s an important but, according to the New York Times, the building was sold for development. Art vs. real estate profit?
Can you imagine owning a building that had a giant mural painted by a Wyeth in it and then just taking it off of the wall and selling the building?
It’s a huge mural. It is 60‘ x 19‘. So 60 feet wide and 19 feet tall. I never saw it when it was in that bank branch for all those years, but it’s one of those things that pops up on postcards and coffee mugs and you can buy a replica of it.
Commissioned in 1932 by the Wilmington Savings Fund Society (WSFS) in Wilmington, Delaware when N C really wanted to do something other than be “just an illustrator”, the mural is made up of five canvas pieces that span a total of 60 feet by 19 feet…..The mural depicts a family standing in front of a house, surrounded by neighbors….Some say this is a theme N.C. Wyeth may have borrowed from his son-in-law, Peter Hurd. Done in the grand manner style of murals from the 19th century, N C also used bright colors, unusual perspectives and powerful abstract forms of clouds, smoke and sea, reflecting Wyeth’s interest in avant- garde Russian art, and works by Marc Chagall.
So again, according to this blog, it was removed off the walls of this bank building in 2007, after being restored in 1998. The work to pull this giant piece of art off a wall and I guess store it was done by some company called Ely Inc. (I found a website for the company. They do some kind of museum services. )
Here I interject a little bit of my own opinion about WSFS. They like taking things off of walls. When they acquired the Bryn Mawr Trust Company a few years ago, they yanked the name and letters embedded in the wall of the historic bank building in Bryn Mawr off. Yeah, sorry that sounds a bit snarky, and I kind of meant it that way because I remember when it happened, it struck me as petty, because so many banks keep the original things of the bank building they acquire on it as part of the history. Wells Fargo did this in Paoli, for example. But I digress.
However, I guess everyone’s lucky that the mural was saved, and now will be able to be viewed at some point this fall. I guess I just feel at this point, that this country in general is somewhat disposable with various aspects of its history at times.
So fast-forward to the New York Times article of today. And apparently this giant mural went into storage for a bunch of years. Now, remember it’s oil on canvas, and paintings can crack and stuff as they age. If you read through the New York Times article, they had to do more restoration as the canvas was unfurled to be prepared for hanging.
According to the New York Times and their research, this is the largest mural in US history ever created for a public space. I like looking at murals, and if you think about it, it’s pretty cool that an American treasure of an artist also did one. No, this was done during the depression, and apparently the money received at the time translated to today’s dollars was fairly significant.
Now thanks to Jamie Wyeth, soon if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to take a shuttle bus from the Brandywine River Museum of Art to a special round barn on his property to view it. The farm is called Point Look Out Farm.
Apparently, this work of art celebrates family. N.C. Wyeth’s family is worked into the mural. His son Andrew is the naked boy with the bow, and interestingly enough, the Times reports his sister Carolyn is portrayed as a little girl, although she was eight years older than Andrew. According to Jamie Wyeth, as recounted to the New York Times, point of the mural was to depict two things that were very important to his grandfather, a deep love for family and the land. (OK, I’m going to interject again. What would N.C. Wyeth think of all the development in the area he calls home today?)
I think this is very exciting. And I’m going to hope I can get a ticket to see this in person. N.C. Wyeth was known first as an illustrator. He illustrated a lot of children’s books for example.
This if you like art, and you appreciate the art from the various members of the Wyeth family, is pretty freaking amazing. the Delaware Historical Society had this mural before it came back to Jamie Wyeth’s farm. it sounds like they could never find a place for it. I think from a restoration point of view it’s probably very lucky for the world that this place has been made for this giant mural because it sounds like it wasn’t rolled up right when it was stored. Thank goodness it was given to the Wyeth Foundation.
The Wyeth family has had a history of fabulous art and great tragedy. After all, the creator of this fabulous mural, we are all about to see for the first time in many years, N.C. Wyeth died in a tragic accident in 1945. His grandson, Newell, who was four at the time also died with him in the crash.
Of course, this is not the only tragedy that this family suffered, as there have been many twisted tales of complicated lives of this often larger than life amazingly talented family of artists whom we loosely call our own in this area. And thanks to the generosity of Jamie Wyeth will be able to see this mural now.
There is actually a giant Wikipedia page devoted to N.C. Wyeth which is pretty interesting and has many links about his life and work. I really wish I could meet Jamie Wyeth and ask him what it was like growing up in this family except how many writers and reporters and others have done this over the years?
Anyway, read the article in the New York Times. It’s amazing from start to finish and it’s also kind of sad that a New York paper is breaking major art news from this area.
I’ve been meaning to write about this and I just have had time get away from me, and not enough hours in the day. Historic Yellow Springs is one of my favorite places in Chester County. I was introduced to the village many moons ago by my late father who loved this little piece of Chester County. (He also loved the antique show they used to have that they should bring back.)
Anyway, it’s no joke that we keep having these series of thunderstorms with accompanying winds and more that are wreaking havoc on places. And the ones just after Fourth of July did significant damage to Historic Yellow Springs.
They are working their way through it, but I never saw any local media pick up the fact that this beautiful historic village was a storm victim. They showed lots of other storm damage, why not Historic Yellow Springs Village?
For example, the poor library experienced damage from a storm in February, it sustained more damage in early July.
According to what they wrote, and I will share screenshots and their photos more than 100 trees were damaged or destroyed. That’s a significant amount and this is a place with very old growth trees as well. Cleanup is going to take months, and they are in a township that I think leaves a lot to be desired as far as being clear about anything, and if West Pikeland can’t be trusted with keeping a police force, how can they be trusted with the village?
So I think Yellow springs is doing a marvelous job of navigating the process of doing what they have to do to take care of the structures that were damaged and storm cleanup, but I’m sure that right now they could use a little extra help in the donation department because as homeowners we know how expensive this work is, let alone being responsible for an entire village of historic assets.
Chester County has a lot of deep pockets who could help one of our county treasures, so I’m putting this out there with their words to follow in the hopes that people can even give a small contribution.
Now to follow, is life in the village in their own words published on their socials yesterday after this storm in early July:
Storm Impact Update
Having climbed the fields of shattered and fallen trees, and listened to the chainsaws for days on end, we feel incredibly fortunate for the relatively limited damage to buildings that occurred with the dangerous storm on July 7th. Additionally, I am incredibly thankful for the forethought of our programs team to heed weather warnings, and decide to cancel classes proactively, likely saving lives, given the severity of the event.
This storm tore through our property with extraordinary force. Estimates are showing nearly 100 trees were destroyed or badly damaged, with cleanup efforts likely to continue for months.
The days following the storm were focused on safety assessments and clearing access. Staff and volunteers mobilized quickly, working tirelessly to make the village safe again. Every tool in our arsenal was leveraged just to try to move enough limbs to uncover all corners of the village and reach some sense of normalcy.
Once paths were cleared, hidden structural damage began to emerge:
The glazing space behind the old studio barn was smashed.
The courtyard fountain, power supply, and roofing on the Washington Building suffered major hits from a fallen sycamore limbs.
The Chester Springs Library, sustained new roof damage that allowed water infiltration.
As you may recall, a previous extreme weather event in February, led to structural damage to the roof of the Library. Since then, HYS and the Library have worked closely with insurers, engineers, and contractors to bring this historic structure up to code and safely reopen the Library. We empathize with the public for the loss of resources during the library’s closure and have offered alternate village spaces for free programs whenever possible.
While the temporary protection applied to the roof after the February event held up impressively, wind torn limbs and the fierce rain from the most recent storm punctured new holes on the opposite side of the roof and allowed water to reach inside the building. Within a day of forging a path through the storm debris, we had professional carpentry crews on site ensuring the roof was watertight and not in danger of falling, and commercial-grade air handlers and dehumidifiers were added to move out moisture. Cleanup continues and collaboration between HYS, the Library, engineers, and insurers is ongoing with the goal of getting this historic building bustling again.
During this recovery period, programs continue in unaffected buildings across the village, and we maintain a robust calendar of events to keep our community engaged and inspired. We are constantly discussing new opportunities with partners, and looking for creative ways to make programs happen.
We are deeply grateful to those who have already offered time, talent, and funds. We will keep you informed about progress and ways you can help as we restore every facet of the village for a vibrant future.
Now I’m going to show you the screenshots I took today off of Facebook and everything is from the village’s social media, including their photos. This place is a little slice of heaven, and if you can help them out with a small donation, it would be great. You can also maybe let the county commissioners know when they’re finished designing bad logos, and hiring lots of people that this is a historic asset worth supporting. (sorry not sorry, sometimes I think they need to get out of the Borough of West Chester more.)
With the United States having a big birthday in 2026, and Chester County being a big focus, we want this jewel shining bright and strong.
This morning Bob from Fox29 went to Historic Yellow Springs to visit Life’s Patina Mercantile and Cafe, and it makes me wonder aloud does West Pikeland Township appreciate the treasures in this township?
Now everyone knows I love Life’s Patina and the simply marvelous things Meg Veno and her team do. A fun fact is I really was the person who told Meg at one of her barn sales that the late Charlie Orlando (He died a while back and remember Yellow Springs Inn?) had lost the Jenny Lind House (now the Life’s Patina Mercantile and Cafe) to foreclosure and the site was up for grabs. Meg had been speaking about wanting a new project, and I said the Jenny Lind. That was 2018 maybe late 2017, I forget.
here are some photos I took during a visit when the renovation was occuring:
It was so exciting to watch the Jenny Lind come back to life! I took a little video in 2023 when she opened. I do not remember if anyone from West Pikeland Towsnhip was there or not. I do not know the elected officials, so I wouldn’t recognize them.
I was there a couple of weeks ago again:
It was such a long and involved process and my favorite part is not even open yet: the upstairs guest rooms. They are ensuite and just perfect. I haven’t wanted to pry so I have not asked why the rooms are not open yet, but knowing what other people have gone through living in West Pikeland with that odd township, you have to wonder, right?
If West Pikeland was more savvy, they would better cultivate these new businesses pouring money into expensive renovations for the right reasons wouldn’t you think? After all they also have Jeff Devlin (HGTV etc Stone House Revival) there with Sycamore and Stone, as well as Meg… although the Life’s Patina team saw the potential in Yellow Springs Village before Jeff arrived. Ironically, he opened ahead of them and I totally adore Jeff and his wife Janelle, but there is no denying star power motivates local government. I saw it happen on the Main Line all of the time, and it probably still does happen, sadly.
West Pikeland is just odd and Pennsyltucky in their ways. No other way around it.
It’s like West Pikeland favors some over others. In that township they have had musical chairs with managers, they can’t seem to record meetings, meeting minutes are problematic, and oh yeah they are trying to ditch their local police department and you are never ever sure what is going on and it’s truthfully sad because it is a lovely slice of Chester County there….. but what is new to me is their 90% tax increase? Oy.
And then there is the police of it all and to that end what happened at a recent meeting:
West Pikeland Township, you need to appreciate what’s in front of you, including the police. You are a township of treasures, undervalued by you.
I have literally lost count of how many times I have written about this house. I’m speaking about the Joseph Price House in West Whiteland Township, Chester County. Located at the corner of Clover Mill Road and S. Whitford Rd. in Exton the address is 401 Clover Mill Rd.
This is a historic asset that is rotting day by day, week by week, year by year. This home is owned by two older gentleman that I assume bought it as as an investment property only nothing has ever happened. It just rotted.
This house is known as a rural or Queen Ann Gothic. It was built in 1878 and altered in 1894. It is constructed of quarried green serpentine limestone that was quarried locally.
I have known of several people in the past few years who have tried to make a deal with the owners to buy it and save it.
It could have so many adaptive reuses, it could also be a single-family home again. I think it would make a great boutique bed and breakfast AND as there is one down the street so there is a market for this.
The urban explorer known as Abandoned Steve had written about this house in the fall and there was a video. The video has since disappeared.
Coming March 2025 from Abandoned Fantasies
I really wish the video had not disappeared because it gave an accurate account of what the interior of the house was like as well as the fact that it was not a secured location. Sure houses can be empty, but don’t they also legally have to be secure?
I received a tip from another urban explorer letting me know that the interior of the house seems to be getting cleaned out. Not necessarily cleaned up but cleaned out so that could mean any number of things.
At the top of the wish list is it’s being cleaned out to sell.
At the bottom of the wish list is it’s being cleaned out so someone can file a demolition permit.
Using AI, Abandoned Fantasies shows how this beautiful house could just disappear if not saved.
Also on the list is just the thought wrinkling my brain is someone simply stealing from this house because it’s not secure? (I mean, obviously it’s not secure if urban explorers aren’t really having any difficulty entering the premises, right?)
Now, honestly? I would not enter the premises unless I had someone in an official capacity with me and I had permission. I’ve actually wanted to do that for years to photograph the inside before it disappears. Because I really feel unless something happens, it will disappear.
The Joseph Price House is a very unique and special piece of County history and architecture.
In the fall when I saw the video from Abandoned Steve Exploration, I forwarded that video to someone on the West Whiteland Historic Commission whose response was nothing short of snotful after I contacted them a week later to make sure they had received the video after not even receiving a courtesy acknowledgment of receipt of it. I found that rather disappointing personally, but hey, I tried. I do believe that that this historic commission overall is interested in preserving this property. Obviously I just contacted the wrong person.
There have been quite a few urban explorers in and out of this house. None of them want to see the house disappear. Every single one of them says how fabulous this house is and how it could be saved.
As a matter of fact, one has sent me video snippets and there are videos coming the third week in March called Abandoned Fantasies. They are combining actual footage of the house with software that shows you what the house might look like if it was renovated and restored. It takes urban exploration to the next level and I hope it encourages people to have a vision of what can happen if you restore an old house.
Coming March 2025 from Abandoned Fantasies
So I’m voicing concern yet again this morning about this beautiful house.
The Joseph Price House needs to be saved. It’s pretty much that simple.
#thisplacematters
I was sent this photo – very decrepit from the rear also obviously not secure so what if kids get in and I bet they have gone in.
If the house is being cleaned out for some reason, I hope the things that were original to the house like some of the furniture that I have seen in urban explorer videos and photographs are not just disappeared forever.
The Surrey Services Holiday House Tour completed their second successful year this past December. I am a proud supporter of this tour and it was magical, and my friends enjoyed themselves tremendously.
I have written about Surrey before and it is a particular favorite non-profit of mine. They quite literally do good things.
This year I was one of the photographers of the event as well as a tour attendee and sponsor. I have to be honest, it was one of the most fun events I have photographed in years. Why? Number one it was pretty, and secondly, there was no artifice to the attendees. People were there because they wanted to be, and the joy on attendees’ faces as they went from location to location and finally to lunch and the shops showed you how great of a day it was.
And I will give a little feedback of my own, having been on 2 years of tours.
First of all, Surrey Services knocks themselves out for this. The staff and volunteers could not ben nicer. And this event has a lot of moving parts. They work hard.
The shops were even better than last year, and last year they were fabulous. The shops I think have found a perfect home at St. David’s Church, and I hope they secure this location for next year. The one thing I will repeat which I stated last year, is the people who have subscribed for the entire day (tour/lunch/shops) should have dibs on parking. They should have people at the shops location at the parking lot entrances to direct patrons, with again, dibs on parking being given to entire event subscribers. And they need to have volunteers literally check the lots for people inventing a parking space where none exists, people not handicapped taking handicap spaces just to go shop, and those who feel the need to take up multiple parking spaces with one vehicle. This is NOT Surrey’s fault, it’s the simple fact that humans can be selfish.
The homes this year were wonderful. My feedback is the homes which were enjoyed the most were the homes where they followed the assignment: that this was a holiday house tour. I think some might feel that decorating for the holidays might be a wee bit passé, or clash with the interior design, or they are a bit fearful of holiday decorating. Look, that is what the patrons are signing up for. No matter what holidays you celebrate, as long as it isn’t a lawn full of blow up figures that are the stuff nightmares can be made of, decorate for the holidays. We aren’t only here to see the interior design, we are there for the Christmas and holiday of it all.
I also need to comment on the fact that the tour goers need to remove their floor protective booties between houses. If you don’t, then it defeats the purpose of wearing the booties to keep from dragging dirt into these beautiful homes. The other reason is just practical: if you don’t take the time to remove them, you are creating a slip and fall risk for yourself and we saw that when we go to St. David’s for the shops and lunch. A woman who still had her booties on in the parking lot at St. David’s slipped and fell.
My two favorite houses were in Bryn Mawr and one of the Wayne houses. They were not only spectacular houses, but they let their holiday spirits fly and the love showed. Those were the homes people connected with and you could see people trying to figure out if they could create a similar look. They were inspirational.
Technically Christmas can stay up until epiphany, so I hope you all are still enjoying at least some of your holiday decorations still.
I am sharing some of my favorite moments of the Surrey tour this year.
I look forward to next year’s tour and a big thank you to Surrey and the homeowners who shared their holidays with us!
