Garden & Gun
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter

Haskell Harris

RSS Feed

Love at First House

By Haskell Harris | November 24, 2008 | Design

Let’s just say that I knew the Virginia house I grew up in was different. [pictured above]

It was different because it was in the middle of town and there were no other children around, except my older brother and younger sister, and the house sufficed as our playground.

It was different because my mother, an interior designer, had a shop on the first floor and customers were always coming and going. Even the basement was part of her quirky creative factory, with its drapery workroom, racks of fabric memos, and library of wallpaper books.

And it was different because it was old and big and rambling, full of secret passageways, and flanked by what I called “the secret garden,” an addition of my father’s that consisted of a hand-laid brick wall, private grove of Japanese cherry trees, and big beds of flowers.

It was, to a very curious and romantic little girl, paradise.

There have been others, too, most recently a cottage in Birmingham, Alabama, my very first grown-up house, and one that I revived, bit by bit. [pictured below]

I have spent my life obsessed with houses and the beautiful things that go in them. Not for the false glamour of having “things”, but for the art and story behind the homes—the designers and the craftsmen and the ingenuity of it.

That’s probably why, after UVA, I ended up working for Cottage Living magazine and why I’m on to a new adventure here at Garden & Gun in Charleston, South Carolina.

I hope to use Belle Décor to post bits about the best of design—from fabric to shops to architecture—with the hope that you’ll stop by and share discoveries of your own.
 

Read Comments (23)
Post Comment

Beautiful! Great job! How did you do the bookshelves? And where did you get the light fixtures in the kitchen? Julia S.

By julia Sternberg | July 04, 2009 at 02:06  | report | Reply

Haskell,
I was so thrilled to see you and your lovely home in Southern Living in April. You have impeccable taste and I love what you've done. I'm also glad to see that you're blogging. I think I spoke with you several years ago (like 5 or 6) on the phone for Southern Living. You were so sweet and helpful AND I loved your name. So did my husband. Likewise...you have a namesake who is 2-years-old and lives in the Texas panhandle. You should see the looks we get when people ask us where we got her name. :)

By Keely@http://hopehugsandhaskell.blogspot.com | May 26, 2009 at 07:17  | report | Reply

Thank you so much for your sweet comments! The color on the living room walls is called Riff and I used it in an eggshell finish. The company that makes the paint is called C2 (c2color.com). They have great colors...happy hunting.

By Haskell | May 04, 2009 at 07:28  | report | Reply

After subscribing to Southern Living for years, I have never found an issue with a story that I loved as much as yours. You have inspired me to update my home with ideas that I have gathered from you. Could you please tell me the name of the color on the walls that you painted in the living room? Your southern charm is absolutely amazing!!

By Jessica | April 19, 2009 at 05:45  | report | Reply

love your house..you have such great taste! I blogged about you on my blog..
http://rikshawdesign.blogspot.com/

By Catherine Fitzsimmons | February 26, 2009 at 09:45  | report | Reply

I live in a 1929 brick bungalow in Savannah. It's my first house, and I understand the love of a house. I believe it is how we feel when we are in them that makes them so special. Good energy is what I call it.

By Christine Lucas | January 06, 2009 at 01:06  | Reply

Wow, I couldn't have summed it up better...."I have spent my life obsessed with houses and the beautiful things that go in them".... ME TOO! My grown up life anyway... I look forward to reading more.

By DesignOC | January 03, 2009 at 03:23  | report | Reply

I adore your cottage in Birmingham......know it was hard to leave! Did you sell it? Precious, precious!
My husband and I are loving Garden and Gun and so glad to have discovered it! I will really miss Cottage Living, tho.

By Lee Moates | December 31, 2008 at 03:39  | report | Reply

welcome to charleston; you are going to love it!! i adored cottage living and am excited that you have joined garden and gun (great mag)!!

By Pink Wallpaper | December 30, 2008 at 03:48  | report | Reply

Haskell,
I was just reading a back-up of blog posts and found my way here via Style Court. What beautiful homes and a wonderful story. So glad you are blogging. We have mutual friends at Cottage Living, and ironically I'm leaving for Charleston Tuesday morning... I have never been and am looking so forward to the trip. I'm also a fan of G&G, glad you are there and blogging!
Erika

By erika @ urban grace interiors | December 29, 2008 at 02:37  | report | Reply

Stylecourt sent me too. I taught stencilling in Charleston this July and was privileged to see inside some homes and gardens there, I shared my experience on my blog. I too miss Cottage Living. It was sent to me in the UK. Will look forward to visiting your blog.

By www.designinspiration.typepad.com | December 21, 2008 at 02:45  | report | Reply

what gorgeous houses both! but i wanted to thank you more for putting into words what i sometimes find hard to describe about why i am passionate about homes and furnishing/decorating/adding soul to them. it's so not about the things, but somehow the things are a step in making up the whole, so sometimes it seems hard to understand/explain the difference to people. ok, that probably didn't make any sense (you see the problem i have ha ha), but suffice it to say, thanks, i totally appreciate you and your house love and can't wait to see more

By pam garrison | December 19, 2008 at 11:05  | report | Reply

I am so thrilled that ya'll like the blog!!

By Haskell  | December 19, 2008 at 09:36  | report | Reply

Another new reader -- sent over by the wonderful Style Court! I just adore visiting Charleston -- and one of my favorite designers is Amelia Handegan! Love your new column!

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

By Jan | December 19, 2008 at 04:16  | Reply

I can't wait to read your fantastic new blog! Your home in Birmingham is just so beautiful and I sorely miss Cottage Living!

By ArchitectDesign blog | December 19, 2008 at 02:35  | report | Reply

Courtney from StyleCourt sent me and your house is beautiful...

By Visitor | December 19, 2008 at 02:11  | report | Reply

I can imagine how it could be fantastic to grow up in this kind of ambiance

By LE PETIT CABINET DE CURIOSITES | December 19, 2008 at 01:59  | Reply

Courtney sent me - both houses are so beautiful! I look forward to reading more from you!!

By Joni Webb | December 19, 2008 at 06:01  | report | Reply

Haskell - so now I owe Courtney for one more good deed. I adored Cottage Living and am sure I will enjoy your posts here. Can't wait to read what comes next.

By Mrs. Blandings | December 19, 2008 at 04:03  | report | Reply

Haskell,

I was so delighted to see your name pop up at stylecourt! I had the pleasure of speaking with you 3 or so years ago at Cottage Living. You were extremely helpful and walked me through submitting a product, I had never done it before! I was recently photographed for a Cottage Living cottage industry feature and it reminded me how very nice you were when I was starting out. We are sad about the loss of Cottage Living but are happy you have found a new home. Best Wishes!

By Stacy McCallum | December 19, 2008 at 02:39  | report | Reply

I recently posted about the house in Baltimore where I grew up. Yours is a beautiful place and I am sure your memories will keep it lively in your mind.

By Pigtown Design | December 19, 2008 at 01:56  | report | Reply

That cottage kitchen is amazing! Love the colors you used throughout.

By Catherine | December 18, 2008 at 05:13  | report | Reply

i LOVE the rope around the porch swing chain. genius! can't wait to steal more ideas from you! keep 'em coming.

By jenny | December 17, 2008 at 05:08  | Reply

0 of 350 words allowed. HTML and URLs prohibited.

User Guidelines

  • Use <!--pagebreak--> to create page breaks.
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Copy the characters (respecting upper/lower case) from the image.

© Garden & Gun 2010