Sunrise to Sunset

I am transfixed as I stare into the large picture capturing the sunrise off Bahia Honda because I have seen it in real time. She is 500 acres of lush green life and her name, means “deep bay”. She can be found at mile marker 37. As I look into the picture, I see the sunrise break through the clouds streaming golden strands of light onto the clear green water. The water glistens as it swells and falls in soft undulation beneath the historic pillars of the historic oversees highway. It is there that the artist captured this sunrise moment off the shores of Bahia Honda in the middle keys. My clients have seen that sunrise and so they wanted to see it again and again. They will start their day with a sunrise captured through art above their sofa and end it with the daily sunset outside their windows every night. Let’s take a look at the addition that these homeowners made to wake up their space and let the sun shine in, from Sunrise to sunset, somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Gardenia
This is a normal gardenia in which the living room has two windows. The views could not be really appreciated through the two windows, so the homeowners opened the wall to the views and the light. When they removed the wall between the windows the entire space opened to the new addition. The homeowners added a large glass room so that they could see the beautiful sun set each night.

• Two walls remained.
When there are only two walls in the living room the TV needs to be placed on one of them. Which one? We decided to place the TV on the smallest wall. I have done this before, and it works out great if you balance the space properly. The TV is attached to the wall and there is a console that is beneath the TV. The secret to making this work is balance. We always must swing a chair out beside the console to balance the visual weight on the other side with the sofa. The sofa resides on the only other living room wall, along with two side tables, two lamps and a chair.

• Art
The large art piece titled “Bahia Honda Sunrise” hangs above the sofa beautifully. This picture is done in “Old Florida” Style, so it is the colors of sepia and green water washed with golden light.

• Anchor the space with a rug
We anchored the space with a rug that pulled all the colors of teals and blue hues from the picture above the sofa. The rug also acted as a visual connection between the dining room rug and the new additions rug. We laid it on an angle to create a sense of motion and make an 8X10 rug appear larger in the space.

• Sunroom
Before entering the new addition, which is a large sunroom, the first thing to notice is that the opening is trimmed out in beautiful casement molding. The white casement molding creates a picture frame affect and the entrance pops against the wall color.

• A comfy seating area
We placed a great sofa in the sunroom for napping while viewing the sunset or accommodating guests for a get together. We added two brand new chairs the homeowner’s purchased that had a great Tommy Bahama look to them. The homeowners also had a great coffee table they just purchased, to finish off the sunroom setup. We needed to ground the space and we decided we would add a zebra print rug because it adds drama while remaining neutral. This room is a great space to enjoy the sunset and look at nature through a big picture window.

• Window treatments
In a room like this the homeowners did not want to see the window treatments when they were up and they needed them to be easy to use. The homeowners chose crystal pleats. Crystal pleats are honeycomb blinds that gather compactly at the top of the window and fade into the white trim. Also, for ease of use, they raise and lower on a remote control! This makes large windows easy to deal with and the investment will save the homeowner’s much aggravation. Remember, to always use the color white when choosing blinds, crystal pleats and verticals. When open you want them to fade into the surrounding molding, so white is best.
Call Ruth your full service decorator at: 352-804-2056
or Contact Us

Before and After Pics Below