Carla Minosh

A treasure trove of books

I had the most amazing day putting away books today. No, really, hear me out… I’ve spent the last few weekends working on un-shuffling our collection of auction catalogs, design references, furniture research, and historical books. We have books on antique lighting styles and manufacturers, Historic construction techniques, preservation guidelines, and Persian rugs. We have […]

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Staying the hand of time

Though I have, on other occasions, noted the unavoidable consequence of having taken on such an ambitious restoration on such a massive structure.  I have pointed out the inevitable; as we reverse the ravages of time, as we smooth the wrinkles, shore up the foundation, and secure the roof to protect it from the elements;

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The birth of a house

I am walking alongside the foundation of my Danville house. The hard Virginia clay has been laid bare and scraped down to a smooth, even, hard surface and the first courses of brick have been laid, defining the exterior perimeter and interior spaces. Small dripped clumps of snowy-white lime mortar, still wet, lie alongside the

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The monolithic massing of the East (kitchen--on left) and West (Doctor's office--on right) Wings on the rear of the house

Glass Ceilings

Years ago, I remember reading a curious theory on the evolution of a porch.  The basic premise being this: first you build a porch on the back of your house.  Eventually you put a roof on it and screen it in.  At some point you will need to add some electrical outlets and a ceiling fan with

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MaSoNwOrK

Bricks.Piles of bricks.Bricks everywhere you looked; pallet after pallet of neatly stacked bricks.  And they all needed to be carefully assembled into a cohesive and uniform straight and decorative wall.  We stood there looking at the start that our mason had made, and both of us were left scratching our heads, standing at the corner of

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A tale of Dragons!

I passed many of my childhood hours sitting at the edge of a large pond, hidden deep within the woods, with my barefoot toes cooling in the soft mud at the edge of the water.  I was entirely fascinated by the dragonflies who would buzz past and alight on the nearby reeds.  I attempted to catch the reflection of

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Errors and omissions

After a long day’s drive, we arrived at our tiny little condo in Savannah, and unlocked the door of the cozy place we share with another couple of good friends, nestled within the brick walls of a former school built in the 1940s. We had been perplexed by the note taped to the door from the water

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