The Christmas Tour of Homes in Madison, Georgia..."The Prettiest Small Town in America"

Last weekend, I went to the annual Christmas Tour of Homes in Madison, Georgia. You may not be familiar with Madison, but in my neck of the woods, it is very well-known. It was voted the Prettiest Small Town in America by Holiday Traveler Magazine and is also called the Town that Sherman Refused to Burn during the Civil War, having been saved because there was an important Northern sympathizer who lived there. His presence was a lucky thing for Madison, since over 100 Antebellum homes are still standing! So every holiday season, a select number of the beautiful homes go through their Christmas metamorphosis and open their doors for public viewing! The entire town of Madison becomes a mecca for house peepers like myself!

The first home we visited is actually a bed and breakfast…the Brady Inn. It was built around 1885 and later purchased by Patrick Henry Brady. Our beautiful hostess met us at the door! I am sure that our handsome host Baby Kitty would love to meet her!

Upon entering, you are greeted by this gorgeous spindled opening above the door with a view to a stained glass window over the entrance to the dining room.

All of the rooms are exquisitely furnished with wonderful period pieces. Oh! It looks like one of the rooms already has a guest! lol

This next home is actually a loft-style condominium in a refurbished cotton warehouse. You enter through this shady vine-covered porch. Wouldn’t you love to have your morning coffee here?

I love this unusual mantel! The owner is a Native American and you can see those influences throughout the home.

Isn’t this a fabulous tablescape? Notice the stacked pottery used as the centerpiece. You can see the brick walls and high ceilings in the background.

This is my favorite, I think, and you will see why! It is the D’Huart Ivy Cottage, built in 1853.

Its current owner lived in France for 20 years and has filled it with wonderful French antiques that she brought with her! I lingered over every little treasure and tiny detail!

There was a pair of these lovely French antique chairs…with wonderfully detailed needlework!

I have never seen a more intricately carved armoire outside of a museum…fabulous!

I love this old prayer chair! Don’t expect finely carved pews in the cathedrals of France. Instead, there are rows of these low chairs with a ledge on the back for kneeling in prayer.

This antique deer head hook was in the kitchen. I love the hoof!

There was a pair of antique miniature sedan chairs on the mantel. The larger one of the two only stood about 10 inches tall!

It has hinges and a latch so that it can be opened. There are tiny packages waiting on the seat for its miniature passenger! Adorable! As you can see, I loved every minute detail of this home!

This next home is exactly what you are wishing for when you go on a tour of homes! It is called Hilltop and was built circa 1832 with wonderful Greek revival details.

Many of the furnishings are American antiques, with English porcelains and antique oriental rugs. I love the detail on the mantel!

The Christmas tree also stands in the same room. Can you see the dried hydrangeas scattered about in the tree? It would take my little garden a long time to produce that many! lol

In the dining room, there was a lovely portrait of a child over the mantel. I love the pecan garland…so unusual!

In the kitchen, the owner had displayed her collection of antique oriental candy molds. I had never seen these before!

And what little boy wouldn’t love this room? My grandson would have gone straight for the truck collection on the hearth! lol

But I think the family room was my favorite. It had such a warm glow!

The final home, the Caldwell Cottage, was more modern. Set on a wooded lot, it was built in 2004 from a plan by William Poole of Southern Living fame.

This home used all natural greenery in its decorations. I showed you a close-up of this centerpiece in my previous post. I love the use of artichokes, Key limes, and cranberries!

The kitchen was decorated with a candy theme and starred a wonderful pass-through to…

…a rustic two story living room! Gorgeous!

Of course, I fell in love with this toile bedroom! Notice that the walls are all constructed of wide planks, as they were throughout the house. It gave the feeling of a much older home.

Isn’t this an unusual chair? I loved the little doggie pillow, too!

One final view…of their beautiful pool looking through the paper whites that were blooming in the sun room. Sigh!

I don’t know about you, but I am hungry after all of that walking! Hmmm…my camera battery seems to have died! Too bad I can’t show you the…er…slice of hummingbird cake…healthy raw veggies with fat free dip that I had for a snack! lol

Thanks so much for going on the tour with me! I hope you enjoyed it! Please head on over to Mary’s at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday to see one of her beautiful mosaics and to find a list of this week’s participants. You will be treated to some wonderful photos from some very talented people!

Next, be sure to visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday where you can get a peek at her gorgeous home and see what sorts of changes she is making, as well as find out who else is playing along! I’m betting there will be lots of Christmas decorations!

And then on Tuesday, please join Susan at thoughtsfromovertherainbow for Deck the Halls! We will be showing off our Christmas decorations every Tuesday between December 1st and January 5th, so come get in on the fun! Thanks again for stopping by! See you next time! A la prochaine!