Bold Gold

Gold throughout history has been a sign of power and wealth; this metal of opulence and kingship has been stolen by pirates and found by the hunters of treasure. The symbol of winning is always a gold medal while silver is a strong second. Gold might have taken a step back for a few years yielding its power to silver but it is back in front as the established strong leader in design. Don’t be upset if you just bought all new fixtures in brushed nickel, it is O.K. Gold is a benevolent leader in design and allows other metals at the table. Don’t be afraid to mix metals, gold and silver look nice together! Let’s take a peek into a living room in which the warmth of gold elevates the space to combine Florida living with a touch of elegance somewhere in the heart of the Villages.

• Combine old with new
The desire of the homeowner was to use pieces from their home in Virginia, with new purchases in order to achieve a Floridian space without losing their basic traditional roots. Remember, you don’t have to get rid of everything when you move to Florida. We are a melting pot and your house can be an eclectic mixture of your old and new life.

• Gardenia
The open living room plan is the most popular for my clients in a Gardenia. This furniture arrangement allows for lots of seating and makes the space look large!
We were able to use the piano in the space and have lots of seating too! This furniture arrangement allows open flow from the living room to the dining room and onto the lanai. With this furniture placement there are no blocked pathways so every room feels inviting.

• Furniture
We placed the entertainment unit on the wall opposing the French doors (in most homes they are sliders). This allowed us to place a sofa on the focal wall and highlight the Sea of Dreams picture. We placed the piano on the wall opposite the entertainment unit, which fit perfectly. There was still room for two recliners and the piano! Even though the recliners are electric, we did not worry about the cords; they have battery packs that last for months allowing cord free living. With these recliners you do don’t have to worry about placement. They can go anywhere! We rounded out the furniture with an occasional chair snuggled up beside the entertainment unit. The side tables of gold look both light and elegant in this very inviting space.

• Window treatments
This homeowner loves the use of fabric in the space and did want fabric window treatments in the living room. We found the side panels in a fabric called trellis. This is a pattern of teal on white so that it keeps the look light while adding a touch of color and softness to the windows. We purchased soft gold rods to tie into the gold side tables and the gold frame of the art above the piano. It is perfectly fine to have soft window treatments in the living room and have just molding around the large French door, as you can see in the picture it looks amazing! Also, the homeowner had a remnant of red fabric that she loved from her old home and wanted to add just a touch of it in the space. This was not a problem because the art has reds and all the colors that are in the fabric. We did not overdo the red; we just added a touch as an accent and I think it worked well!

• Rug
The rug is definitely Florida! The large teal and green palm fronds create a statement that is just a bit tropical but without being heavy and dense.

• Art
We used a Florida beach scene and a piano scene together in the space. Although the subject matter is completely different, it works because they share a color relationship. You don’t have to have matching art or themed art. You can combine subjects as long as the colors have a relationship!

• Paint
We kept the wall color light and neutral so that all the color we added into the space through decorative items would not be overpowering.

• Molding
We added seven and half inch crown molding all around! Also, we added a large header to the top of the French doors to highlight the view.

P.S. –Attention, club presidents! I give free decorating programs! It is lots of fun and very informative. Call and schedule your club today or call Ruth your full service decorator at 352-804-2056.