Coastal Cool

We lifted the large picture high and lowered one side and then the other onto the wall hooks. We placed the level on top of the picture and all agreed, “That looks level”, a process that is usually a group effort. The four of us stood looking at the picture just taking it in and the quiet observation seemed to indicate that everyone looking was mesmerized. But then again, who doesn’t just stop and stare when they see a sandy pathway lined in palm trees inviting them to get those toes in the sand. The piece, titled “Pathway to Palms” was captured in Key West and as I stared my heart pined. It feels like time to go again and reset to a cool attitude in a coastal latitude. Later that day, I thought about the idea of resets, Webster says that it is a verb meaning to set again differently. So then, resets don’t take much but what about in the world of decorating? Let’s take a look at a courtyard villa reset that takes the space from traditional tropical hues to cool coastal blues somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Paint
This villa already had an accent wall. I don’t usually promote accent walls but this one was done well. They chose the largest wall in the space which is the natural focal point. Often, homeowners choose walls with windows to accent and that usually fights the natural focal point in the space. Also, walls with lots of windows painted dark will look darker than they should. This is because the eye interprets things in front of light coming at the eye, as darker. So then, put the darker paint if you are accenting a wall on the wall opposite a window not a wall with a window. We made this accent wall better by painting the rest of the space. We painted the other walls Kilim Beige, which is a warm golden beige and great for spaces with lots of light. Once the other walls were painted the accent wall was toned down because it was an accent more than the star of the show. Also, all the crown molding could be seen much better against the paint color.

• The Floor
The floor is the most striking transformation in the space. The carpet was removed and we installed pecan engineered hardwood. The character and variations in the wood are unique and the end result is no less than spectacular. The dark tones in the floor mixed with the light tones works with every color in the space and lightened the room because it reflects light unlike carpet which absorbs light.

• Remove the red
We removed the red accents and the old tropical rug in order to re-use all those items in the office toward the front of the villa. The red things are all nice but the homeowner wanted to have cooler hues in the living room.

• Cooler hues Rug
We added an 8X11 wool rug to the living room. The pattern is large palm fronds lying across the rug in Teal and green. This rug provided a strong visual change in the space and the 8X11 created a softness that cannot be found with tiny rugs.
We left a nice clear walk space and placed more of the rug under the sofa. A larger rug is better in a villa because most of the furniture can have two legs on the rug and everything stays in place nicely.

• Rug in the kitchen
This courtyard villa has a large kitchen. In fact large enough that we wanted the kitchen to feel warmer, so we laid a 5X8 version of the living room rug in the kitchen. Now when guests walk in the door they are greeted with a warm inviting kitchen.

• A new chair
The homeowners wanted a new chair that looked more coastal and they found a sea grass chair that was perfect. It is always nice to add a piece or two of seagrass, wicker, or rattan to a coastal space. Those products are textural and add a sense of lightness the space room.

• New lamps
Two new lamps in a robin’s egg blue crackle finish were added to create a bit of drama in the living room and visually tie into the rug. Also, we added a few new pillows.

• Orchids
White orchids are fresh and look nice with so many styles. We chose the Windward orchid to have a custom arrangement created just for the homeowner’s dining table. I love the Winward orchid because it looks real.
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Before and After Pics Below