House
Beautiful Inspiration

“Mmmmmmm…This is good!” I said with a big smile on my face as if it were the best thing since sliced bread. Regan looked at me with a big happy grin and said, “I made it myself, one for you and one for Uncle Scott.” I took another bite of the slightly soggy torn bread combined with sunflower seeds and mildly wilted minty tasting greens that looked like lettuce but tasted like mint. “Well!” I said a little exaggerated, this is so good where did you get the idea for this unique combination?” “Her eyes grew big with excitement as she revealed the source of her inspiration, “Mommy had cooking on TV today and I thought I should cook too, it’s salad, you know. Do you think Uncle Scott wants his now?” she asked. “Oh yes!” I said, “Uncle Scott definitely wants his now, definitely.”

“Mmmmmmm…This is good!” I said with a big smile on my face as if it were the best thing since sliced bread. Regan looked at me with a big happy grin and said, “I made it myself, one for you and one for Uncle Scott.” I took another bite of the slightly soggy torn bread combined with sunflower seeds and mildly wilted minty tasting greens that looked like lettuce but tasted like mint. “Well!” I said a little exaggerated, this is so good where did you get the idea for this unique combination?” “Her eyes grew big with excitement as she revealed the source of her inspiration, “Mommy had cooking on TV today and I thought I should cook too, it’s salad, you know. Do you think Uncle Scott wants his now?” she asked. “Oh yes!” I said, “Uncle Scott definitely wants his now, definitely.”

She grabbed the container of his salad and clomped off, wearing my starfish sandals, to the office. I toyed with the idea of dumping the salad while Regan was gone but it was a good thing I did not because she popped around the corner to get Uncle Scott a fork and since she was now barefoot, I did not hear her. As she left again I thought about her source of inspiration and wondered what recipe she had seen that made her come up with this delightful combination that I was hoping her mother had to endure as well. Since I knew she would be back in a jiffy, I shoved more of the soggy bread and minty lettuce in my mouth and let my mind wonder to inspiration, decoration, and delightful combinations. Let s see how one couple found their inspiration and created a delightful combination of home décor somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Inspiration
The inspiration came from the cover of “House Beautiful”, big ideas for decorating in 2012. I like it when customers can show me a reference point to their taste. The look that we were trying to create was a well traveled eclectic look that felt casually elegant.

• Furniture

In this case, we began with red sofas and black and white chairs that were not my client’s style and she did not like them. We chose a crème colored loveseat and sofa to replace the red sofa and love seat. This would start the room off from the inspiration picture. We needed two chairs similar to the chairs in the picture. The addition of the rattan in the chairs looked amazing and really honed in on the look we were trying to mimic.

• Wall Color
In the picture of the inspiration room the walls are white but we did not go with white for this makeover. We chose a bright golden yellow that would make all the white molding we would be installing, pop. You can see in the before picture that we are testing a sample. I paint all samples on large board and hang them up before I decide. The goal by choosing the paint color was to retain the light coming into the space and make the walls looks like sunshine.

• Crown Molding

We added seven inch crown throughout the body of the house and it really finished the walls nicely. Also, on the back window (as well as the rest of the windows) we added shutters. The shutters come with their own finish molding but we wanted a little extra at the top. We added a header and crown to finish the shutters and they look amazing!

• Rug
In the inspiration picture, it shows a zebra rug lying in the center of the room. We did want a rug but opted for a black and white with a huge black and white flower in the middle. We loved it and even thought they have wall to wall carpet we added the rug to define the room.

• Animal Print
We did want to get animal print in the room, and we used our lamps for that. We placed two lamps in the living room and they have a beautiful animal print of black and white. I am not sure what the animal print is but, the lamps are perfect in the space.

• Art
We brought in lots of amazing art but to work with the inspiration picture we hung two Barclay Butera Koi fish and they are amazing.

• The TV unit
A large black clock that looks like it came from a French flea market packs a powerful visual punch over the entertainment unit. We added some aged lanterns on one side filled with sea fans, and aged finials and grasses on the other side complete the top of the entertainment unit. Family pictures and blue and white porcelain fill the shelves of the TV unit to create the look of the well traveled.

• Pillows Pop the Color
We placed solid blue pillows all around the living room to give a soft color and work with the blue and white porcelain.

• Things that are on the Way
We still have window treatments to finish and we have to find a tree for the space. My client wants a tree with a big head on it and I am skeptical that a tree like that won’t be too heavy. In the inspiration picture the tree is shown, so we will see if we go with a big headed tree or a thin palm. I am always open to new ideas so I will let you know which one worked.

• Good Representation
All in all I think this room is a great interpretation and representation of the magazine cover. This room is livable and lovely! So, I ate the last bite of the soggy salad that Regan had so thoughtfully prepared and I thought of something I could do to reward myself for finishing it.” Regan, since you are in the mood to cook, how about we make a chocolate cake?” Cake is the answer and reward to everything.

P.S. –Attention, club presidents! We give free decorating seminars. It is lots of fun and very informative. Call and schedule your club today or call Ruth your full service decorator in the heart of The Villages of Florida – 352-804-2056.