WELCOME THROUGH MY RED DOOR!
On a recent trip to the Southwest, my husband and I got the opportunity to visit Deming, New Mexico, where his aunt and uncle have retired. It had been quite a while since we had seen them and we were very much looking forward to the visit, even though we knew it would be much shorter than we would have liked.
Deming is a little town off Interstate 10 between Las Cruces, New Mexico and Tuscon, Arizona. We could only stay for one night as we had to get on to Phoenix for the rest of the week. But we had a great time. It was especially fun for me because his aunt has recently opened a tea room near their home and she gave us the grand tour of it after breakfast on Sunday morning. She had no guests that day, so we had her all to ourselves as she showed us around, explaining what the house looked like when she bought it and what she’s done to bring it to its present state.
She did most of the work on the inside herself, but she had help from her husband and sons on the outside, spending months getting ready for her first guests.
It’s a bungalow-style house. Isn’t it charming?
This is the porch where guests can relax while waiting for their table and/or digest their tasty meal! Right now my husband and his aunt are enjoying a Sunday afternoon chat!
Because the tea room is located in a house in a quiet residential neighborhood, she can’t put a sign out to advertise. She’s opened by reservations only, and she’s done a great job at getting more and more guests by word of mouth. The word is spreading!
She has hosted Red Hat Ladies, Quilting groups and Birthday Clubs, and more are hearing about her.
Come on in, I’m sure our hostess would love to show you around too!
When you step through the front door, you are in what would be the living room of the house.
It has a fireplace and it’s furnished with three good sized tables that can be reconfigured easily depending on the guests and parties reserved for any given day.
Notice the big picture window and the smaller windows above the great built-ins on either side of the fireplace.
The big mirror over the fireplace helps brighten the room and makes it feel bigger.
The mantle is decorated for fall, which is when we were there.
And it’s accented with beautiful silver pieces she’s collected.
I spotted this chandelier as soon as I walked in the room. There is one in each of the front rooms. I love how she wrapped some green and white polka dot wire ribbon around the chain, hiding it and tying in the wall color.
This is the hostess station, reservation center and guest book signing table. That’s the front door you just came through on the other side of it.
I was amazed at all the built-ins. So much storage space. My heart skips beats at storage space!
These are in the original dining room.
The wall color isn’t coming through these pictures that well, but in both dining areas they’re a light green.
A little waiting area in the gift shop. These walls are a light taupe.
Our hostess found this wonderful lamp while antiquing and later found the perfect shade for it.
Notice the picture on the table; it’s a little girl tea party!
Below is the beginning of her gift shop which she hopes to expand with tea items and crafts from the locals!
She explained what plans she has for making over this entertainment center for displaying items for sale and I can’t wait to see it finished!
Here’s a great idea for anyone who has broken a casserole dish that has a lid with a handle on top … turn it into a hook on the wall!
Guest coat closet in the gift shop and lots more storage!
Here’s the entrance to the powder room. I love this sign!
This room is meticulously clean, painted a cheerful lavender and vintage decorated.
A beautiful flowered sink skirt to hide the plumbing!
Tea touches everywhere, even the powder room!
The bathroom still has the claw foot tub in it. I’m sorry not to have taken a picture of the whole tub but loved the ties at the top!
Now to the kitchen:
This is the back of the kitchen where she has a little pantry that her husband built for her; the door to the back room and back yard; and the refrigerator. A small sink is to the right of the door.
The pantry
The door to the left goes out to the dining room and the little door on the right is the broom closet. The island was also made by our hostess’s husband.
The broom closet
The little sink. The main sink is to the right of this picture (unseen) under a window.
China cabinet
Aunt B has been collecting tea cups, plates, platters, etc. for a long time and has been given many pieces too since opening this business.
She made the window treatments. The main sink sits below this window.
This is a breakfast-in-bed tray she found at a thrift shop. One of her sons took the legs off so it could be used for serving a little easier.
Aunt B makes up her own menus and prepares her recipes according to the type of party she’s serving.
She has a friend who helps her serve the tea, prints the menus and makes little favors to give guests to fit the occasion.
A golf ball for an after tee tea!
A slice of cake for the birthday tea.
This one is a little bonnet on a hat stand. The lace is attached to an egg shell!
I fell in love with this backyard. I had visions of the possibilities! Can’t you see a garden back there and a shady patio with bistro tables for garden tea parties?
More storage!
Vegetables for the recipes on the menus and flowers for the tables!
This is the back of the house. The door leads to an extra storage room off the kitchen! For such a small house, it has sooo much storage!
This garden is actually at Aunt B’s home, not the tea room.
And these trees are in the neighbor’s yard. I thought they were very interesting. I’ve never seen any like them. I have no idea what they are called. They are some sort of evergreen. Maybe they’re just pruned differently than I’ve seen!
I am looking forward to our next trip West and visiting the Enchanted Tea Room again. I hope the next time we will be able to sit and actually enjoy it as a customer! Or even to help our hostess out! How fun would that be!
Thank you Aunt B for the tour and good luck with your new business! I’m so excited for you!
Thank you all once again for stopping by. I hope you’ll be back soon!
Sheila
