Bean2Blog: the little things (pt 2 – the farmhouse)

“Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I’ll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things”  ~ Lawrence Bell

If the above quote is true, then P. Allen Smith is a man to be trusted with much.

As I mentioned in part 1 of this series of posts,  Mr. Smith  has an incredible sense of detail – which he pronounces with a southern meets british drawl  as  ” d’TAIL”  as opposed to my  delta arkansas pronunciation ”DEE-tail”.

Last Tuesday morning,  a gaggle of boot wearing bloggers,  soy farmers, a film crew and various folks gathered  for breakfast beneath the sprawling branches of a 300 year old oak on which P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home Retreat Farmhouse is centered.    The orientation of the Greek Revival home is not by chance.  Nothing here is by chance.  Every nook and cranny, hinge,  door frame,  flower, trellis, tree  is intentional.   The meeting of this myriad of folks from all corners of the state was intentional.

It wasn’t long after I arrived and said hello to fellow bloggers that P. Allen Smith casually wandered into the crowd of folks,  as if it’s commonplace for 35 strangers to gather in your front yard to eat muffins.  With his congenial welcome as the consumate host,  it was evident that he was the man I have long turned to for gardening advice through his television series.   Yet, he was also far more witty, charming, and unassuming than I anticipated.  He had traded his well known chambray shirt and khakis for a purple and white checked shirt and a pair of jeans.   He was refined and relaxed…just like his home.

As we gathered near the steps of the house, he gave a rich history lesson of the farm and his choice of architecture.  He told how the columns of the house reflected the fluted columns of the old State House and how the window casings were meticulous reproductions of the Hunt-Phelan House in Memphis, TN.   From the wide front porch  with it’s coral furniture and Palladian blue ceiling, he told the story of a house.

When he invited us inside,  the details took over and told the rest of the story…

 

a story where the outside comes indoors, where old meets new, where rustic meets refined, the savage meets the civilized,  where light meets dark,  where feminine softness meets the strength of masculinity.

All of this accomplished through the little things.

When entering the formal living room awash in soft sage and butter colors, the eye is immediately drawn to the pop of hot pink on the coffee table.

a simple hydrangea bloom from the garden.

 

The formality of the room is a study in symmetry.

P. Allen Smith discloses that the majority of cabinets and tables (“flat surfaces”)  are antique while the  pieces designed for comfort are modern upholstery from Lee Industries.

The curves of a pair of Celerie Kembell tables on either side of the sofa keep my eye floating around the room, always landing back on that pop of pink.

A gardner lives here.

 

 

In the great room,  the colors saturate into big, bolder hues of greens and corals as if stepping into the wilder part of a garden.

A pair of chrome lamps with linen shades the size of a small country  stand 7 feet high and flank the sofa.

I can’t help but wonder if the lamps were chosen to match the height of the Indian Chief who guards the room.

A picture of P.Allen Smith and Prince Charles casually sits on a tabletop.

It’s these little things that remind me

a BIG personality lives here

 

 

Upstairs,  the master suite is serenely blue.

This is the place to unplug that big personality – to rest, recuperate and wash away the cares of the day.

The dark frames and statuary anchor the room from floating away.

A gardner’s hat sits whimsically upon a stone figure’s head.

A tray of shaving accouterments replete with a shaving brush and shaving soap in a cup remind me of my granddaddy.

In the bedroom,  books are stacked upon the writer’s desk.

There is a reptilian repetition amongst the art work – serpents in a collection of prints,  an asp held by Cleopatra in the painting above the fireplace.

Snakes in the bedroom!

A man lives here.

 

 

 

 

On the sleeping porch,  the lines blur between outdoor and indoor.

One can bathe in the copper tub while watching the Arkansas River roll on by.

A ragged ladder holds the plush towels and a dainty soap dish.

Three wrought iron twin beds are dressed in a simple blue and white gingham.

The screens of the porch keep the mosquitos at bay and provides a panoramic view of the the day’s labor of the land.

A country boy lives here.

 

 

 

In the guest room, lavenders and grey  and the modern artwork lulls the inhabitant into a dreamworld – as if one needed to forget they were already in paradise.

The antique bed frame is upholstered for softness.

Nailhead trim is that attention to the “d’tails” we first heard about on the front steps.

Crisp white linens dress the bed.

A gracious host lives here.

 

 

Lastly,  we step into the heart of the home.   The kitchen.  Sigh.

Carrera countertops sit atop white cabinetry with simple lines.

The Viking range and refrigerator with white enamel finishes  blend rather than brag.

Cookware is stashed in open shelves for easy access.

Blackberries fresh from the garden in a creamware dish are ready for the picking.

A dirty dish in the sink.   Cookbooks askew on the shelf.

The large center island is where I imagine the parmesan edamame** recipe got it’s first test.

Nearby, a hobnail pitcher waits to be filled with iced mint tea on a hot summer day.

a southerner lives here

 

The Farmhouse of Moss Mountain is a reflection of it’s a owner – the collection of the little things that tell his-story.

The man with a big personality,  the gardener,  the gracious host,  the southerner.

Vignettes not pictured elude to the bibliophile, the biologist,  the historian,

and most importantly a proud Arkansan.

 

Englishman Samuel Johnson said,  ” It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible.”

 

At the Garden Home Retreat,  I think my fellow bloggers would agree,   one could not help but be as happy as possible.

 

 

 

I hope you are having the loveliest and happiest  weekend wherever you are this holiday weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

{Stay tuned:    **The next Bean2Blog post will feature yummy recipes with soy as well as reasons why you want to eat more of it.    Special thanks to the Arkansas Soy Promotion Board for sponsoring the event.  I did not receive compensation and the opinions expressed are my very own}