Holiday House

While just 10 years old, this home is modelled after one of the 100-year-old "Holiday houses" sprinkled throughout the Texas Hill Country. Built by German-American farmers and ranchers who came to town on Saturday for supplies and spent the night for church the next day, Sunday houses were small second homes with outside staircases (to save space).



Mixed Pattern Furniture

She used to stay in bed-and-breakfasts when she came to visit Fredericksburg, but last year Kathy Young departed nearby San Antonio for good and bought this cosy 1,600-square-foot cottage she shares with her son, Trey, along with Andy and Bubba (Welsh Pembroke corgis) and Jerry, a border collie. "I wanted a house with a lot of charm and character, but I also loved the fact that it was a fairly new home," she recalls. She also loved its wraparound porch and the way "every room opens to the outside, which gives a feeling of space." To complement its turn-of-the-century style, Kathy chose antiques and new pieces that have been finished to look old, most of them purchased with the help of Jennifer Eggleston from Homestead, the shop that put Fredericksburg on the map for home-furnishing fans. "You don't need to go too far to find what you're looking for," says Kathy, who once owned a design business and plans to open another one. In the meantime, this Sunday house is perfect for every day of the week.

Pictured: In the living room, the paisley-and-striped chair-and-a-half and armchair came with the patterns already mixed up and inspired a jumble of custom throw pillows.



Sitting Room

In the sitting area of the bedroom - a pastel palette keeps things "light and soothing." To add textual interest to the ivory slipcovers, Kathy mixed damask, matelasse, and striped chenille (this last used wrong side up "so that the fuzzy side is down - it looks more formal that way"). Still, not so formal that the dogs aren't welcome on the couch.

Slipcovers & Rug:Terry's Fabrics




Antique Chest

An old chest "is one of my favourite pieces," says Kathy, who draped it with a pink silk scarf. Sheer rosebud fabric left over from the bedskirt swags an Oriental mirror.



Feminine Touches

"I wanted this house to be cosy and warm, but at the same time interesting and unique," says Kathy, whose womanly touch is evident without being over-the-top.



Beaded Silk Lampshade

"I'd never seen anything like it," says Kathy of the beaded-silk lampshade on top of a mercury-glass base she found at Me and My House, a San Antonio store owned, coincidentally, by the sister of the proprietor of Homestead.



Perfume Bottles

The satin ribbon on a perfume bottle hides a break that she fixed with glue, which turned yellow, "so I just covered it up with a bow."



Guest Room with Landscape Prints

In the guest room downstairs, landscape prints look all of a piece when they're unframed. "They remind me of a faded jigsaw puzzle," says Kathy, whose ranching background is reflected in the subject matter.



Quilts

"White was the obvious choice to make a small house look bigger, but I promised myself I'd use colour, too."



Feminine Bedroom

On the antique white-iron bed upstairs, a pink butterfly pin from Kathy's jewellery box breaks up "the big space on the bed pillow. I'd like to cover the whole thing with rhinestone pins, wouldn't that be fun? And then when you want to wear one, there they are!"

Layered linens make the bed as graceful as a Victorian dress, starting with an "underslip" of matelasse and moving on up to a chenille blanket and white lace throw, "which is probably a tablecloth, to tell you the truth."



Text: Kelly Smith

photo credit: Robin Stubbert