It was the mid-eighties and everything was great! The Golden Girls was a hot new sitcom, while Miami Vice was setting fashion trends for young men dreaming of being police on the beat in Miami. Webster’s dictionary describes a trend as a line of general direction or movement. In the mid-eighties to early nineties the trends in both fashion and home décor was to use the colors teal, pink, or mauve. Those three colors have through the years become an iconic symbol of South Florida and the eighties. That trend changed in the mid- nineties to the use of darker colors, such as green or eggplant and then golds and yellows in which everything was Tuscan, a palm frond or a funny chef. However, what if you just sat still in the eighties and enjoyed the light pallet of your home? No problem! Lightness is back and I do believe it is back to stay! Let’s take a peek into a San Pedro courtyard villa to see how an update did not have to break the bank or change the entire color pallet somewhere in the heart of The Villages.
• Paint
The wall color was a soft teal and the homeowner liked it. They had the home repainted two years ago and still loved the color. However, the teal carpet made the entire space look like a deeper teal than in reality. Sometimes removing colored carpet will do the trick.
• Flooring
The homeowners have owned the home for a long time and wanted to spend money on things that would improve the home. The tile in the kitchen was in great shape so that left us to deal with the teal carpet. We replaced the carpet with engineered hardwood throughout the rest of the home. The color was light and brightened up the space. The secret to a good engineered hardwood flooring choice is to choose a color that will blend well with the current tile in the home and maintain lightness. If you choose a floor that is too light, all the dirt will show and if you choose a floor that is too dark all the dirt will show. Stay in the middle and you will be happy. The engineered hardwood was abutted to the tile with no threshold so the transition from one to the other is perfectly smooth.
• Molding
The windows needed some attention but the homeowners wanted to put their money into something that would improve the home and finish the window. If you spend money on cornice boards that are to your personal liking there is no guarantee that someone else will like them but everyone likes molding! We removed the small casement molding around the doors and added a larger more attractive molding. We added a header to the top of each door to create a finished look and draw the eye up. The molding on the doors looks finished and visually impressive. Visual Bang for the Buck!
• New Couch
What no one talks about is the fact that all those flowered and palm frond teal and pink sofas from the mid-eighties were and are still really comfortable. They were made well and heavy as a tank. We thought about recovering the sofas but after some shopping decided to buy a new crème sofa and some fun printed chairs. I usually, don’t advise my customers to buy printed things but this homeowner wanted print and I like the print she chose. She wanted to introduce navy blue into the home and we accomplished that goal by adding touches here and there.
• New chair
The king of the castle needed a new recliner whether he thought so or not and he got one. The new recliner was a solid navy blue and worked very well with the teal walls. Navy and teal make a great combination for colors.
• Rug
Since we removed the carpet and added engineered hardwood we needed a rug for the living room. We chose a rug that had all the colors in muted tones. The rug had navy, teal, tan, and hint of apple green. It worked well with all the other things in the space and provided a soft place in the large space. The rug was an 8×11 that is pulled all the way to the entertainment unit. We want to be fully walking on the rug or leave a full path of solid floor. If you place rug that is halfway into the walk path a tripping hazard is created. If the homeowner does not want to walk on the rug then we would downsize to a 5×8.
• Art
New art over the sofa finished the space. The picture is a hammock on the beach and that resonated with the homeowner and looked great in the space.
• Lamp Shades
The homeowner loved her lamps but not the shades. She bought new shades for an update.
• Table scape
The homeowner was able to tie the living room and dining room together with an eye-catching table scape that included navy and teal. Also, she added navy lumbar pillows to the chairs to pop more navy in the space.