Sparkle and Shine

Sun broke through the mist of morning spilling its rays across the glassy water. Dew drops on leaves looked like tiny crystals shimmering before the heat of the day sent them into retreat. I scanned the water’s edge and found a beautiful Great Blue Heron preening in the shallows. There are always the sounds of bugs and birds at a lake and they tend to congeal into white noise always running in the background. The only time you notice them is when they stop. There was short low bellow sound in the distance and suddenly the white noise stopped! I could not see him but I knew he was out there and I did not want to meet the gator today. Slowly and quietly I inched back and decided Lake Griffin could best be enjoyed from my friend’s patio instead of the beach they etched out for sunbathing. As I watched the dew slowly dissipate my thoughts turned to glass, light and decorating. Let’s take a peek into the living room of an Iris model to see how we captured the light somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Entertainment unit
This model is an Iris and it has one long wall connecting the dining room and the living room. We built a beautiful entertainment unit for TV and display. Custom built is great in this space because it allows you to create a space as big or small as you would like for your TV. We chose white for the color of the cabinet because white does not impose on a space like this and white is bright. We chose to use glass shelves with lighting. The light will penetrate through the shelves and show off all the homeowners beautiful glass pieces. Showing off collections is still very popular and the way you show them off is as important as the collection itself.

• Shells
This house is not a seaside house and it does not have a beach feeling at all but that does not mean that shells are not relevant in this space. In the entertainment unit we used the sea fan, nautilus shell, and real birds-nest coral which bring natural texture to the space and what every good display needs is a mix of texture.

• Sideboard
The homeowner’s love glass and light. They chose a mirrored sideboard that works perfectly in the space. A mirrored sideboard is not imposing and it reflects light. We accessorized the top of the sideboard with silver candle sticks that look like antlers with a blue charger for color. Also, a shock of greens in the homeowners Lenox vase adds a personal touch and a fabulous iridescent glass lamp adds low lighting when they don’t want to use the overhead lighting.

• Dining room
The Iris like the Lantana has a wall in the dining room that opposes the living room slider. This is a great place to capture light and use it in the space. We wanted the mirrors to different with a glamorous look. We choose to put two mirrors side by side with the same antiqued finish as the glass sideboard. The space is very bright and light!

• Rug
We chose to use a nine by twelve rug in the living room and the homeowners love it! The rug is a teal with a tan oversized damask pattern which captures the classic feeling in the space. The large damask print on the rug is the modern interpretation of a timeless pattern in design.

• Window treatments
The windows in the Iris can be tricky but we love this! We had two white wooden cornices built for the sliders. The other two windows, dining room and angled window, we shuttered. We needed fabric to hang side panels from beneath white cornices. We chose white fabric with a beautiful blue pattern embroidered through it. The panels are stationary and we put them in too soften the space and cover the verticals when they are open. The side panels are not only pretty and cover the verticals but they absorb sound.
So often, homes with solid surface flooring have echo and hollow sound issues. The way to absorb sound is to have soft window treatments and large rugs. If you don’t want window treatments then consider some acoustical panels to absorb the reverberating sounds.

• Two recliners
The homeowners wanted to have their own recliners and they wanted them to be straight in front of the entertainment unit. This can be achieved by treating them like a couch. We placed them in front of the entertainment unit and added a table in the middle. The table is a lovely designer skirted table the covers all the cords and blends nicely with the chairs. The sofa was placed at the back of the room so that it is in a great position for conversation when entertaining guests. Finally, we placed a chair near the entertainment unit and angled toward the conversation area. This chair rounds out the space and completes the room.
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