Sunny Yellow

The color yellow might have taken a backseat to blue and teal for a short time but it still shines bright for many of its avid lovers! Yellow has the power to inspire happiness, confidence, and mental concentration. The color yellow is also known to promote happiness and stimulate creativity as well. So if you are considering yellow feel free to use it in your décor no matter how many of your friends are using gray. Yellow, like the sunflower, still blooms big and bright! Let’s take a peek into an enclosed lanai of a Gardenia Model in which the homeowners used yellow to pop the sun and fun somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Why Yellow
The homeowner’s wall color in the interior of the home is a color called Humble Gold 6380 and it is a bright and bold golden yellow that makes you feel happy.
The accent colors in the space are greens, oranges, and reds. The living room, dining room, and kitchen are all bright with color and we wanted the newly enclosed lanai to work with the finished interior of the home but be a bit different. Yellow was the unifying color but instead of painting the walls yellow we would use accents of yellow to complete the color story.

• Curtains
When a lanai is enclosed with glass there is very little room for artwork and not much wall space for the wall color to make a difference. The wall color of the lanai was a neutral tan which would work well with yellow so there was no need to repaint. However, we needed to use curtains to create definition, add softness, and introduce a strong pop of color. We chose a yellow and white cabana stripe curtain to start the yellow color story in the space. The curtains are indoor- outdoor so they will resist fading and we bought them at 96” in length. We hung the curtains on the corners of the room where the windows meet and we hung them over the center post where the windows meet. The curtains covered just enough wall space to keep the windows feeling very large.

• Privacy treatment
This lanai had very large windows and lots of windows at night can make you feel like you are in a fish bowl. Privacy treatments were a must in this space. However, the large windows were not installed so that we could cover them up. We chose a treatment called Vertiglide by Hunter Douglas which is a honeycombed blind that slides from side to side. This blind provides complete privacy at night and during the day if it is used, offers filtered light and heat protection. The honeycomb part of the blind acts as a heat chamber and keeps the heat out. Finally, we love this product because it has a small stack back. When the blind is open the stack for the blind will be small enough to be obscured behind the curtain panels. We closed the blinds for the photo to see just the room.

• Seating area
The homeowner purchased four club chairs in a greyish tan fabric and the chairs are comfortable. This chair is the type of chair that hugs you and friends will want to linger because the comfort level is high. All the chairs swivel and rock so turning toward the TV or the table is easy. We added a copper coffee table with a glass top so that guest would have a place to set food or drinks.

• Rugs
The homeowners wanted the rugs to be dramatic and we did not fail them!
The rugs are two 8×11 indoor outdoor rugs with a creamy white background and large banana leaf fronds in black across the length of the rug. The black and white contrasting on the rug looks amazing with the yellow accents in the space.

• Table
The homeowners needed a new table to use for eating or cards on the lanai and we chose a small all wood table from a company that sells solid wood tables. This table is a small round table that has a hidden leaf stored in the table top. The hidden leaf is nice because nothing ever has to be retrieved from under the bed for a party. This company will stain the raw wood any color that the homeowners ask so they chose a charcoal grey and it turned out very nice giving the wood depth. The homeowners purchased the Dayna side chair in black with a cream cushion and the chair is inspired by Chinese Chippendale design. This chair is not only a classic but very comfortable. I love the black and charcoal together because the set looks coordinated rather than matched.

• Table top décor
We placed two runners on the table to create an “x” shape; this adds a nice color pop to the round table. We added a floral arrangement of red flowers in black stones and it looks perfect on the table.

• Extra kitchen
When the lanai was enclosed the homeowners had an extra kitchen added for entertainment purposes. The kitchen runs along the back wall and was completed with white cabinets and granite countertop. The granite received a fifteen year seal for extra durability. We were able to hang a lovely picture titled “The Morning After”, by an artist from Key West. This picture is a great addition to a space for entertaining because it adds so much color and conversation. Also, we added apothecary jars full of lemons, oranges and limes.

P.S. –Attention all club presidents! We give free decorating seminars. It is lots of fun and very informative. Call and schedule your club today. Also, we are on-line check out our web-site at www.ruthdyer.com and you can always e-mail us at ruth@finishingtouchfl.com or Call Ruth your full service decorator at 352-804-2056.