Well, it is official! I really hate cold weather and last week we had a really cold snap. Being raised in Florida I would much rather be hot and trying to get cool than be cold trying to get warm. It is so hard to get warm! During winter, I often find myself daydreaming of balmy tropical breezes and island life. I want to see the blue of the ocean sparkling in the sun and hear waves crash on the shore. I want to feel sand under my feet. Though we live in central Florida we are but minutes from water all around us, and that works best with warm weather and sunshine. Often our home décor reflects our proximity to water, and we tend to think of the ocean or a lake in hues of blue. I recently had the pleasure of helping design an office/tv room inspired by art from the sea, but the colors were green, peach, and tans. Let’s take a peek into this Iris model office/tv room to see how lovely the sea can be in earth tones somewhere in the heart of The Villages.
• Art Inspired
The space was inspired by the large picture over the sofa. This picture is a beautiful painting of mermaids in peaceful slumber. The artist is C.P. Wyatt and the colors in the picture are greens, peaches, and tans. It is not often that pictures from the ocean are depicted in these colors, but this artist does such a good job with the subject matter. The large picture over the sofa is complemented by a small picture of a shell from the homeowner’s hometown in Michigan on the left side of the window. The right side of the window has one more print from CP Wyatt with a beautiful depiction of a seahorse.
• Wallpaper
This room is fully wall papered in an amazing grass cloth. The grass cloth has a soft green background with tan grass. The paper adds texture, color, and sound absorption to the space. When you enter the room, you can feel that it is elevated. Though the room is casual the wallpaper adds an elegance to the space that is truly enviable. The total cost on the wallpaper was $561.00 and the total installation was $835.00. According to the homeowner it was worth every penny. I think that is a great price!
• Ceiling tray
The ceiling tray is painted in a soft peachy tan. The color and the molding on the ceiling tray add a nice decorative touch to the fifth wall in the space.
• Sofa
The sofa was already in the space. It was very neutral and blended with everything. This is a wall hugging reclining sofa so that it does not need to be away from the wall more than two inches. This leaves lots of room for the desk and this room works great as an extra TV room or reading space.
• Side tables
The homeowner wanted to add rattan to the space. We found the perfect side table on-line by designer Suzanne Kasler from Ballard Designs. These side tables are timeless, and they have a second shelf that is very handy. I like adding rattan to a space because it adds more natural elements to the space and sets a casual tone.
• Two lamps
The lamps are nice and tall. They are ceramic and the finish is white with green striations. The green is subtle and works well with all the colors in the room.
• Desk
The desk is the original home office collection from Ballard Design, and they are modular. The desk is great because it can be configured anyway that will work for the space. There are lots of filing cabinets and I like how the printer is hidden away.
• More Desk Space
If the homeowners need more desk space, they can mount the TV on the wall and that will free up all the desk space.
• Basket collection
The homeowner has a love for unique art, and she wanted something different for the wall above the TV. She found a diverse blend of baskets online from Etsy and eBay. All the baskets were made by human hands, and they are unique. We hung them in a display above the TV and it looks great. The textures and the patterns just reinforce that Earthy Oceanic feeling in the space.
• Shutter
The trim on the large shutter pops with the wallpaper surrounding it. The shutter allows the homeowner to close the bottom for privacy and still allow light to brighten the space. Finally, a shutter will protect the window from harsh sun that tends to overheat the front room.
• Carpet
The room does have wall to wall carpet right now. One day they will change the floors to engineered hard wood. Once the floor is a hard surface, to achieve the type of sound quality the room now enjoys they will have to add back into the room a large cut and bound area rug.
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Before and After Pics Below