Coral Bloom

I love driving home along the Belleview Beltway on the cusp of twilight. I have been treated to some of the most fabulous sunsets on that long and winding road. The trees beyond the fields of cows create a line of soft foliage backlit and appearing in grayscale against a coral bloom in the winter sky. The sun has set and left behind a bright line of hot orange just above the treetops. The hot orange gives way and softens into a bright coral band that creates pink on its outer edge as it blends with the light blue canopy of sky. I set my van on cruise control once I am past 110th so that I may thoroughly enjoy this view each night that it is given to me. I love the colors of winter sunsets the most. They are vivid with more spectacular colors than summertime. In the world of decorating, I love working with the colors of a vivid sunset and the color from the sunset that gets the least attention is coral. Coral creates a vibrant and inviting palette that represents quintessential Florida. Spring is around the corner and coral will appear for a short time in home décor stores so consider introducing it to your Florida home this season. Let’s take a peek into a Gardenia model the is outfitted with the bright and happy color of coral but the room just needed to be opened so that we could see it. The finished product is an inviting and functional space that is a happy representation of what it means to be in Florida somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

  •  Establish a bright focal point
The design of the Gardenia and many models of this type creates a focal wall between the two windows. When the TV is the focal point, it often looks like a black hole when not in use. This black hole look is enhanced by the light coming through both of windows, that light shining at you will make anything in front of it look darker. There are usually two other great walls in the Gardenia and many models like that which can serve as the TV wall. This allows the focal wall to become a bright beautiful wall all the time, not just when the TV is in use.

  •  Move TV
We moved the TV to the wall beside the sliding glass door. This is the smallest wall, but you can see the TV from the kitchen as well as the living room. This wall is often the choice of most homeowners because you can see the TV from all places. When the TV is on the smaller wall it allows you to see your view as well. This wall is an exterior wall, and a TV can be mounted with wires hidden in the wall. Hiding the wires will have to be done by a private audio-visual contractor.

  •  Move Sofa and chairs
We moved the sofa to the wall between the windows. Most couches from 85 inches to 90 inches will fit nicely between the windows. The loveseat stayed where it was, but we moved it to the left just a little bit. This allows the person sitting on the loveseat to have use of the side table and lamp. I like a sofa and loveseat combo or sofa and sofa combo because it allows everyone to have a table and a lamp. Often, when purchasing a sectional buyers forget that one person will not have a table and lighting and we all know who that person will be!

  •  Flank the room with chairs
The two printed chairs were undervalued visually in the space because they were obscured by the back of the couch. We moved them to a place of visual prominence by flanking each side of the room with a chair. Now when you approach the living room there is a large welcoming open space to enter and the color pops. The room is not only functional for so many things, but it is visually exciting, and I love the color!

  •  Side tables and lamps
We placed side tables at the ends of the sofa. When you enter the room there is a balance of two matching green glass lamps on each side of the sofa. We were able to find a table that was perfect in the master bedroom and used it between the loveseat and chair. Also, we took the lamp from the master bedroom and re-homed it in the living room as well. The chair near the TV can have a table but since we were out of tables, we used the basket of blankets for the photo shoot.

  •  Rug
The rug is amazing! I have always loved this rug and I was so happy to see that the homeowner had it in the room. The problem with the sofa blocking the room was that we could not see it. Now with the room open, the rug shines. The pop of coral and orange just invites you to enter and experience the space. If you are trying this yourself the rug must be 8’x10’ or 9’x12’ to cover the floor outlet.

  •  ottoman
The ottoman is wrapped in a light coral fabric and with the room open we can see it. I like the tray on top providing a pop of teal in the space.

  •  Large art over sofa
We installed a 60” wide by 40” high canvas above the sofa titled, “Pathway to Palms”, by artist Alan Maltz. This piece is a famous pathway in Key West and the sunlight kissing the palms is just the right touch for a happy sunny room like this one.

  •  Art over love seat
We found a large colorful horse in the dining room, and we moved it to the living room over the loveseat. This colorful picture was different in subject matter but the very relatable to the space through color. Remember, all the art can have a different subject matter, but it must relate in color to the space.

  •  Tree in corner
We were able to keep the tree in the corner and I like the softness of the foliage. Permant botanicals are one fabulous thing that has come back into fashion as we move away from the grey era of design.
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Before and After Pics Below