A Secret Garden and A Very Old House

Our trip to England wasn't just a chance to see the Olympics or get away for a few days, we traveled across the ocean to celebrate the marriage of a lovely couple that John met in graduate school at UAB.  To kickoff the celebration, the bride's parents had a little meet and greet / rehearsal dinner for family and faraway friends in the backyard of their Bath home.

From the home's exterior on the mountainside, there appeared to be no backyard and little greenery.  After a quick glance of the amazingly decorated interior, we were directed to a huge backyard.  It was so unexpected.  Although the backyard was quite large, it felt cozy and was very peaceful.  Each little corner of the yard was like a little private garden.  Speaking of gardens, the flowers and plants in this yard should be featured in a magazine pronto!

Aside from the gorgeous landscaping, the house had a few fabulous features of it's own.  The house really stole my heart.  Due to the fact that the party was outside and the lovely bride was busy greeting guests, I kept my house snooping to a minimum.  I am hoping we get an invite back to this place in the future for a tour and a tour of Bath from the bride's very knowledgeable father. :)

According to the bride, redecorating and remodeling this house has been somewhat of a hobby turned job for her mom.  Over the years, it sounds like her mother has redone every room in the house... twice.  During one of those remodeling projects, an old staircase leading to a basement was discovered.  How cool is that?  You just happen to find this original staircase with a secret room while redoing your living room.

I love love love what she did with the discovery!  The location of the staircase didn't really work well for the flow of the room, so a custom piece of glass was put over it to show it off in the room and the basement is now accessible from a different staircase.  Simply stunning!  Really, why is this house not already in a magazine?!

I am kicking myself for not taking more photos of the interior of this house.  Every single thing in this particular room was amazing.  The family has lived in Singapore and the US and much of the decor reflects their travels all over the world.  Oh, and did I mention that this house is very old and so rich in history?  Old houses are kind of my thing.  And this house wasn't just an old house by American standards... no, it was European old.  Just think about all of the history this house has seen.