R I N N E   A L L E N
p h o t o g r a p h s

Howdy!
Welcome to our house....we live in a 1940s brick cottage in athens, georgia.   We moved in about two years ago after renovating most of the space you will see below. It was an interesting process, to say the least, but we learned a lot! Thanks for looking and we hope you enjoy it. - jim & lucy gillis { photographs by rinne allen }

Our living room- we honestly do not spend much time in the front part of the house, but I have to say this is my favorite room by far.

When I lived in Charleston, S.C., and then in New York, I started collecting textiles and accessories in black, white, red and mustard. I love using lots and lots of patterns and textures in the same color family, as you can see here. I really love neutrals and classical design, whether fashion, art or interiors, but hints of color and the unexpected are truly refreshing. I also love mixing hi and low, new and old and digging for antiques and one-of-a-kind treasures. My Mom, my sister Rinne, and I are a little addicted to this.

I went to school for interior design in New York, although I am not a designer by profession, I do hints of design work here and there. I really love using our house as a laboratory and Jim pretty much is a dream- he sits back and lets me do my thing. He does offer constructive advice and he also has a great eye when we go to flea markets and anqtique stores.   Shown in the foreground are striped rugs from ikea. I literally buy all kinds of rugs from ikea and just throw them in the wash or replace when necessary because they are so cheap.

The anchor of the room is this 19 th century french settee from our aunt suzi. She is an interior designer, furniture designer, antiques dealer, you name it- she can do it! She is a large part of the reason my sister rinne, and I know anything about design. She is a huge influence on us, as is our grandmother and mother.   We were taught about design, fashion, art history, and culture from a very young age and it really stuck. We are all total design junkies, in our own, unique ways.  

The settee is covered in hable construction's outdoor fabric in 'tumbleweed'. It is so durable and I love the large scale, & abstract pattern. I worked for the hable sisters for many years in nyc and then from here in georgia when I moved from manhattan. Rinne is their photographer and we do some fun freelance things for them, so there is a lot of hable in our house! I love those ladies and their dedication to beauty and utility and I try to incorporate those tenants into my everyday life.  

The portraits were a total find in a garage antiques shop in Maine, where our family spends a good part of the summers...I treasure them. The red table is suzi's design, the rug was another Maine find. Pillows are a mix of hable and vintage. Textile on the back of the sofa is from matta, a company I just love based in nyc that makes amazing clothing and accessories...it was actually a scarf but I scooped it up to go in this space.  

The wire and leather chairs are mid-century and the small yellow slipper chair is also an antique from suzi.   Side tables from Target years ago, lamps are hammy-downs from mom.

I change our house constantly- the mantel, bedding, pillows, furniture arrangement, etc. it makes things fresh and can make you feel like you have lots of new stuff when things are seen in different context.   I found this great spool daybed at scott antique market in atlanta.

My treasured louis vuitton trunk found in maine, and my horn ship light, which I also adore (we are big sailers in our family). The turkey fan is from my father-in-law.   The inlaid box was a wedding gift from my deaar godmother, peggy.   It says "lucienne" on the top.   The wonderful oil painting on the left is by our dear family friend Margie, and the photos on the mantel and wall are by my wonderfully talented sister and dearest friend, Rinne.   I have been accquiring photos of hers for a while now and have quite a collection...I adore them all.    

One thing about our house is that almost everything in it has a story, a memory, was passed down, or means something. That is really, really important to us. We definitley are not minimalists, although I think my husband would like to be!   All the antiques or random knick-knacks may be too much for some, but they always remind me of a great trip, the random rusty roadside store, or time we went antiquing in maine as a family.  

Detail of dining room.
The two large pieces flanking the window are part of an antique japanese screen I found in Maine last summer.   The entire design is actually made from embroidered metallic thread. They totally have holes and are pretty old, but I love them and think that gives them more character.  

Part of the reason I like all things old- clothes, textiles, furnishings- is because they have a story. It is so fun to imagine who has owned them and where they have been. I honestly prefer for things in our home to show a little wear. It is not uncommon for a textile to have a tear, a piece of furniture to have a chip missing, or something to have a crack. I actually feel a wee bit uncomfortable to have too many new things in our home.

Lovely old chest with inlay that mom gave me for a college graduation present. One thing that has really enabled me to have nice things is that our parents started giving us furniture and art at a really young age. We may not have understood it at the time, but boy am I glad now! I really want to try to do that when we have kids, and to invest in things that will be heirlooms.

Assorted vintage cake stand, candlesticks, and great dried cardoon pods and wheat on top of another gorgeous inlaid box that was a wedding gift.

The central hall. Antique rug from Lisa. We re-built these bookshelves and it made all the difference.   They now house everchanging collections of curio and books.  

The downstairs guest room.   I also love this room.   The beds are anqtiue loaners from my mom. I am hoping we can auqire them through common law some day {hint, hint}.

A mix of antique linens mingle with John Robshaw and pillows from Les Indiennes. I have a minor textile addiction, so I am always picking up remnants, bedding, and towels. Rinne and I write and photograph for the lovely british mag, Selvedge, so that fuels our interest even more.

The art is a mix of vintage prints and new work.   Above the French bamboo table is a glorious crawford gillis pastel and passion flower by our friend Chatham, which were both wedding gifts.  

The set of 8 vintage bird prints are a recent addition. Rinne helped me painstakingly hang them. Although I think they are not super lined up and straight, it does not really bother me.   Striped bolivian rug is from the beloved perry street hable shop that is now closed.  

This might be my favorite piece in our house, besides family heirlooms and photos. It is from lisa's great shop, hawthorne house, and was a wedding gift from my parents. The coral color is just unbelievable in person and totally pops agaist the aqua walls.   Accessories include blanc de chine figurines and folk-art ceramic bird candle holders. My Mom gave me the antique mirror a few years ago and the light fixtures are original to the house. The blue pom poms, beaded star, and leather "L" hanging from them were all gifts from Rinne.  

The guest bath. We re-did this one totally over. The floor was falling in, none of the plumbing worked.   I obviously love black and white. It is such a crsip, effortless combo.   Shower curtain from John Robshaw, storage bushel from hable, and assorted vintage storage items. I swear, I am also obsessed with storage items. I looove antique wire baskets, bins, and industrial things.

Our bedroom.   The back of the house was added in 1970, so there are these great, huge sliding windows that face the back yard & garden in our bedroom and in the den.   This is the most neutral room in the house...I think it is a nice to have a really serene and realxing bedroom.   I love to mix pattern upon pattern in here; even in creams and whites, it is so striking.   The screen is a loaner from my mom and dad...I love it's washed out colors. The pale green side table is another one of suzi's designs that was a christmas gift in high school.   Great copper lamp on loan from Rinne, hable storage boxes, matta area rugs.  

Bedding is a mix of vintage, Garnet Hill, Brahms Mount, hable and John Robshaw. We are always changing it because our two dogs have free reign and it tends to get muddied by their paws often.  

Mexican otomi hangings we got on our honeymoon, round gold mirror from an estate sale.  A great faux painted bamboo chest and a collection of many of my favorite things on the dresser.  

More of rebecca's wood fired vases and stems of mom's pussy willow atop a fab mid century lucite & glass table. I love these garlands from John Derian's shop...they remind me of all the glorious things at tinsel trading in nyc.  

Antique dental cabinet in our tiny bathroom. This was a very small and narrow space.   I literally went to Scotts looking for some kind of industrail metal cabinet and a woman had just accquired this from an estate. It houses some of my favorite linens- a mix of brahms mount, hable, towels from erica tanov and good old tj maxx.   We had big plans for a luxurious bath and closet when we renovated, but budget constraints would not allow it. This cabinet allows us to store and display, and the glass door means it really doesn't take up too much visual space.  

One thing we could do when we renovated was move the sink out of the original bathroom, and so I designed a pair of vanities and had a great woodworker here make them. The mirrors are actually by two's company and were on sale in a local store here. I love anything metallic and think the shimmer brightens up the space.  

The art is mostly Rinne's work- her black swan and pasture mingle with a print from Karen Gelardi and a cut-paper sillouette Rinne made of our dog, June, for us for Christmas last year.   Vintage Eames chair is a recent accquisition from Agora, a great place to find things here in Athens.  

Suzanne's "Lyon" chair covered in a Sister Parish fabric.   I love the dried tropical flowerhead in the background- it inspired me to integrate the same color green in this room. An Andrew Wyeth book sits on a thrift store coffee table I had lacquered. Wyeth is a huge inspiration for me...his subtle use of watery, earthy color is just dreamy.  

Facing the sofa;
I really love this viewpoint. I am always drawn to open, airy furniture.   I do not like blocky, heavy pieces. If I do have one, such as a sofa, I try to make sure it is flanked by more "leggy" things. I love the silhouettes made by spools, interesting legs, and think it really lightens up a room.

This primitive pie safe was an impulse buy at an estate sale. It was made in the late 1800's near Athens, which makes it even more special. Jim found these two woven leather and wood chairs. We both just love them. More hable, rwood, and a stack of old wooden grain measures.   Two Yamamoto Masao photographs sit atop the wodden brackets.   Rinne and I both love his work.   One was a gift from Rinne and our dad, and the other was a gift to myself.   The great arts and crafts clothing stand was another wedding gift.  

The kitchen, as seen from the den area.
As I said earlier, I do not like many new things. That being said, If I am going to buy something new, it often comes from Ikea.   I think that many things from there work really well with a lot of the old, unique pieces we have.   We kept the long, galley format of the original kitchen and updated the cabinets, corian countertops and re-did all of the lighting.   I especially love the brass knobs and our pot rack with our collection of copper pots, they contrast in the best way with the stainless appliances.   Antique rug found in another great garage antiques store in Maine.  

Kitchen window.
More of my mom's pussy willow, a basil plant, snowball vibernum and daffodils from the yard. The palm leaf roses from Charleston sit in an old chemist's vessel from Polux in Nolita.

View walking up the stairs to second floor.  
I love these chocolate brown walls! Art is a mix of Rinne's sunprints, vintage b&w photos and oils on canvas from Maine.  

My office/hang out. Here is where I store lots of my finds and things until I know where they will live in our house!   Vintage french architects table from Lisa. Orange cosmos fabric and storage totes from hable. And lots of mixed ephemera from travels and different life stages. There is great built-in storage in here to house all my out-of-season clothes, mags i want to save, and general stuff. I am still busting at the seams, though!

One of my inspiration walls. I have books and books full lof mag tears, swatches and photos for inspiration and here is where I display just a fraction of them. Many old family photos, hable & r.wood postcards, a photograph of eva zeisel-who I adore- and miscellaneous photos of places I love.  

Upstairs bath.
The cute claw-footed tub came with the house! The ship needlepoint was a b'day gift from my dear friend Liz in NYC.   Paper flower and colorful plastic lei were both gifts from Rinne.