Focal Point Focus

For years we have heard about creating a focal point and how important scale and proportion are to a space, but sometimes do you wonder what does all that mean? The words focal point refers to something that everyone looks at in the room. Usually, that is going to be the largest uninterrupted wall. Scale is defined as something in that room in relation to the size of the room. So, a big room would equal big furniture. Finally, proportion refers to things in the room in relation to other things in the room. So, if you have large furniture then you will need large artwork. To create a focal point on a wall that is 23 feet long and 12 feet tall will require something big. The homeowners this week are from Colorado and though they love the sun and fun of Florida they wanted just a touch of the Colorado look in their home decor and we achieved that with an amazing focal point. Though there is no home décor style titled Colorado coastal, I think when Colorado and coastal come together they create a naturalistic look no matter where you are geographically located. Let’s take a peek into the living room of St. Charles Model to see how warm stone and light shelving create a focal point the elevates the space somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

  •  Create balanceliving room, St. Charles Model, Interior Design - in the Villages of Florida.
Before the entertainment unit could be built, we had to even out the walls. The wall closest to the sliding glass door is much longer than the wall on the left near the entrance to the guest rooms. The homeowner wanted a look of symmetry, so the carpenter created columns on each side that were the same depth on each side. He accomplished this by adding a column to the small wall on the left so that it looks like it was always in the home. The column near the sliding glass door is just as deep as the column on the left side creating something nice and sturdy to attach shelving.

  •  Stone center
The center of the entertainment unit is stacked stone. The stone has tan and cream tones that add richness and warmth to the space. The stone looks like it could be in Colorado, but it works here in Florida quite well. The width of the center part of the entertainment unit was determined by the size of the TV that would be hanging on the wall. We left at least two feet or more of stone showing on each side of the TV.

  •  Fireplace
The fireplace box was purchased online from Dimplex. This fireplace has the option to create heat or just have the flame without heat. The option to have the fireplace create heat is fabulous because it can take the chill out of a room quickly. Electric fireplaces are a great alternative to a built-in fireplace because in Florida you only get a short window to need the heat. With the electric fireplace you get the ambiance of a fireplace all year round.

  •  Cabinetry
We ordered base cabinets from a Wellborn dealer and the carpenter installed them as the base to the shelving. The carpenter created a beautiful, routed top to blend with the shelving. We did not want the top of the cabinets to be a separate material because we wanted it to blend in with the shelving.

  •  Shelving
The shelves are fixed, and they extend from the side columns into the stone. The shelves are a great example of proportion because they are thick and beefy. The front of the shelf is nice and thick, and it looks proportionate to the rest of the wall unit. The shelves functionally must be thick so that they can remain straight and support heavy things for display. The shelves and the top of the cabinets were painted to match the cabinet boxes below. The paint is Emerald brand paint and after thirty days to cure, it wears like nails.

  •  Take it to the ceiling
This is the most important concept in proportion that is often overlooked. The wall is big and tall, to remain in proportion to the space the homeowner wanted to take it all the way to the ceiling. This wall unit is 12 feet high. When you take the wall unit all the way to the ceiling the eye is drawn upward, and the most amazing thing is that the space looks even bigger.

  •  Lighting
Lighting is the finishing touch! The type of lighting that is installed is so important. The idea is that you want to see the light but not the source of the light. If you look at the picture you will see that the shelves just seem to glow. There are no dark spots and the everything can be seen. The beefy edge of the shelves allows for the lights to be hidden so that all you see is the light.

  •  Big Molding around the windows
The large molding was added to the sliding glass doors and the transom window. The molding makes the transom window look proportionate to the sliding glass door below. The windows now look in proportion to the wall unit and they look cohesive with the rest of the trim work in the space.

  •  Colorado meets Florida
The décor on the shelves is a mixed bag of antique pottery, fused glass, and natural things like coral and shell. The reason they all work together is a color relationship. The colors of the items on the shelves can be found throughout the space. 

  •  Large art
A large white egret on a deep black background hangs beside the sliding glass door. This provides another touch of Florida to the space and works great with the large leather sofas from Colorado.
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Before and After Pics Below