Colors of Sunset

Cerulean Sky is a vast canopy as the sun begins its descent into the deep ocean. All eyes are on the swath of bright coral that fills the space between sky and ocean while a hot band of orange sits just above the water line looking as if it radiates out from the sun. The ever churning ocean is the green of aged sea glass and the sand becomes shades of charcoal grey being backlit by the sun. Everyone who looks upon a magnificent a sunset must wait in anticipation, as if in worship, to see it to the end. Slowly the bright quivering circle dips into the ocean leaving us to watch the sky fade to an inky blue. In the world of decorating, we like to surround ourselves with things we love so how would we surround ourselves with the colors of the sunset. Let see how these homeowners did just that somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• LanaiSitting Entertaining-Area-and-Reading-area
The lanai for the homeowners of this Seabrook Model is a quiet respite for reading, a place to play cards, and a place to entertain for cocktails and snacks. They wanted their lanai to be colorful and comfortable. Also, they love a good sunset so we filled the room end to end with sunsets.

• Groupings
My customers felt very strongly that even though the lanai was an enclosed space with air-conditioning, they still wanted it to look like an outdoor space. We chose indoor-outdoor wicker and bright Sunbrella fabric to reinforce the bright outdoor feeling. We chose dark wicker because it looks so rich.

• Seating Area
The seating area is comprised of four chairs. The homeowners loved the idea so that each person seated could have two arms on the chairs, and could swivel and rock. The fabrics for the chairs are a stripe with purplish blue, white and black stripes. This fabric is eye catching and is complementary to the dark wicker. Also, the purplish hue of the fabric complements the cerulean sky in the large sunset. Each chair pairing has a side table to accommodate a drink. The middle coffee table is a little higher than normal and it is large so that people can entertain by filling the middle table with snacks.

• Bright sunset
We hung the bright “Sea of Dreams” above the sitting area because people want to experience the sunset while visiting with friends. Often, one large statement piece is eye catching and keeps things looking peaceful.

• Rug in seating area
A rug was a challenge for the space because we did not want the chairs to sit on it and the color had to be just right to go with all the other bright choices. We chose a rug coincidentally called “cerulean blue”. The rug did not come in round so we purchased an 8X10 and had it cut down to an 8×8 round. This is so simple and inexpensive it was worth it to have it just right.

• Reading area
The homeowners are avid readers and having a quiet place to read was very important to them. We purchased two high back chairs that rock and swivel to create a reading spot. We only needed one ottoman because this is the Mrs. reading spot. I love the 5×8 multi colored rug that we placed beneath the reading chairs; it is fun and ties to all the other colors in the space.

• Cards and eating area
The opposite end of the lanai we have the cards and eating area. The homeowners loved the comfort of the sling chairs. We purchased them in a bright teal mesh to tie into all the other colors on the lanai. Also, we placed a large 8×11 rug beneath the table. It was important to use three rugs in this space for two reasons; we wanted to control the echo by absorbing sound and the rugs add comfort and color coordination.

• Art in eating area
The picture in the eating area is another sunset but a bit softer. The sky of this sunset ties into to all the purplish blues found in the fabrics throughout the lanai.

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.

Before and After Pics Below