You can take it with you!

My teacher always told me that I must learn to add in my head because, “You can’t carry a calculator everywhere you go.” Boy was she wrong! The IPhone settled that! Another untruth promoted by so many is, “You can’t take it with you when you go!” I don’t agree with that since I have personally witnessed and helped five customers this year, “take it with them when they go”. I know that you can’t take things to the great by and by; but in the world of decorating you can take it with you when you say goodbye to one home and hello to the next. It is almost a fact by now that Villagers will move 2 to 3 times in their lifetime of being a Villager. Let’s take a peek at two dining rooms that are resting comfortably in their second homes and looking toward the 3rd somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Buy what you love
I encourage my clients with two homes (one up north and one in The Villages), to invest in nice things for their southern homes rather than buying cheap things just to get by for now. For those that have purchased nice things, they enjoy moving their nice things from home to home. However, the customer that I meet who bought cheap things will eventually want to upgrade to nicer things as they spend more and more time in this little paradise. I can’t tell you how many loads of donations have left homes as we get out the, “it was cheap and I bought it for now,” things; so that we can upgrade with the, “well we want better things since we are spending so much more time here in Florida” things.

• Lantana to Williamsburg
The first dining room was originally purchased for a Lantana. The homeowner brought everything with them from the Lantana and it all fit nicely into the dining room of the new Williamsburg. Although a Lantana is smaller than their new home, everything fits so nicely with a little extra room to breathe.

• The mirror
Most of the time when the arched mirror is in a house that is being sold, the new homeowner will purchase it because it looks like a window. This happened so we had to buy a new arched mirror for the Williamsburg. It does the same thing as in a Lantana; it reflects the light from the opposing window and brings more light into the space.

• The buffet
The buffet worked great in the Lantana without chairs on either side but the Williamsburg is bigger. We placed extra seating chairs on each side of the buffet to make it appear bigger in scale to fit the wall better. To make up for the loss of chairs at the dining room table, the homeowner purchased two wicker chairs to place at host and hostess position. This makes the space more interesting and the chairs reinforce a bit of the island feeling.

• The rug
The rug is an 8×10 and it works great in this space. If the homeowner wanted to, they could have a 9×12 rug under the table because the Williamsburg dining room is very large. Whichever size you choose, you do need a rug in the Williamsburg dining room; otherwise it feels too big and undefined.

• Dining Table
I encourage my clients to keep the leaves in their tables for convenience. This table is extra-long and looks great in a dining room as big as the Williamsburg. It is nice to never have to get under the bed for a table leaf.

• Art
The art is a photograph titled, “Bahia Honda Sunrise” by the official fine arts photographer of Florida, Alan Maltz. This picture is a conversation piece and looks beautiful with the candle sconces on each side.

• Chandelier
The chandelier that was left in the home did not fit the look for the new homeowners. We replaced the chandelier with the Beau Orb from an on-line retailer. The orb is finished in oil rubbed bronze and looks complementary and updated in this space. I love the orb because it makes a statement without being visually imposing and heavy.

• Window treatments
The window treatments are noteworthy because they came with the new house. The gauzy layer of sheers on the large slider, combined with the stationary panels, give the space an island bungalow look.

• The Grandview
The second picture shows a Grandview dining room, in which all of the pieces were brought over from a Sanibel. Everything fits the new dining room perfectly! The sideboard and the large picture stand out a bit more on the Grandview wall thanks to the niche.

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.