Sunset Color Serenade

The sand and beach grass in the photograph “Sea of Dreams” appears to be in grey scale, back lite by the setting sun. The water is ripples of green sea glass cycling and recycling in the undulating waves. The sun is directly in the middle of the horizon line where hot orange rays spread as wide as the eye can see. Leaving the horizon and looking toward the heavens, the sky mimics the water below with sea glass hues and then gives way to coral and pink wisps that dissipate and silently give way to the night. As a Floridian we get to see this sunset color serenade with frequency. But what if you wanted to see it on a nightly basis? Let’s take a peek into a Cabot Cove patio villa to see how the colors of the setting sun inspired the décor, somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• PaintLight Bright and sunset Serenade!
We needed to repaint and refresh the space for the new homeowner but we did not want to make the paint the decoration. We chose one nice color that worked with the homeowner’s décor as well as the built-in items like the kitchen. We chose Biscuit 6112 which is a perfect crème with a touch of peach to keep it bright and light.

• Windows
The homeowners did not want draperies but wanted their windows to feel finished. We installed shutters on the two windows in the space. Shutters come with a trim work that surrounds the window and makes it look finished. We added headers to the top of the shutters so that they would visually tie into the sliding glass door treatment. The sliding glass door had a vertical blind which we did not need to replace. We covered the mechanics of the vertical blind with a white wooden cornice board that visually mimicked the headers at the top of the shutters. In a villa it is important to have all the windows visually connected because they are so prominent in the space.

• New Floor
The new floor that was installed was tile. The tile is beautiful but it can be a bit cold and vacuous even though the space is small. The way to remedy that problem is with rugs; and plenty of them!

• Art
In the Cabot Cove Villa it is important to have a strong focal point on the wall behind the sofa because when you walk in the door that is the first thing that you see. The homeowners chose “Sea of Dreams” by Alan Maltz and this piece of art started the color story for the entire space.

• Rugs
The rugs are a beautiful print that is striking and highlights lots of coral, orange and pink that can be found in the art. Since the space is smaller and the print on the rugs is bigger, we decided that all of the rugs should match. When the rugs match it adds calmness to the space and allows us to focus on other things in the space as well.

• Sofas
We purchased two sofas for the space so the homeowners would have plenty of seating. The sofas are a charcoal grey fabric with an amazing tufted back. These sofas are super comfortable as well as attractive. We chose the charcoal grey fabric because it is neutral. It is found in the art and orange tones of all types complement grey.

• Upholstery
The homeowner had an ottoman that she loved and wanted to use it again. After picking out a fabric that was the perfect complement to the rug and the art, we decided that recovering the ottoman would be perfect. Also, we ordered enough fabric to have four pillows made in the same fabric. The upholsterer added fringe to the pillows and they looked amazing on the sofa. Since the rug had such a big print we did not want any more print in the space.

• Lamps
We accented each side of the sofa with rusty orange lamps that tied into the picture, the rug, and the ottoman.

• TV
The TV area needed a bit more to feel balanced in the space. The TV was connected to the wall above the console and we added a shelf above it. The shelf made the TV area mimic an entertainment unit and balanced the TV wall with the art wall behind the sofa. We hung a clock above the shelf and added a heather arrangement along with some candle sticks to make the look complete. The TV console was so wide we had room to add buffet lamps and they looked great.

• Dining Room chairs
The dining room table was purchased with the chairs. However, the homeowner wanted a little more pop in the space and added two upholstered chairs at each end of the table. The print is a coral orange with a hint of white. They add a touch of elegance to the space and define the host and hostess seats.

• Buffet and Mirror
There is plenty of room to add a buffet and mirror in the Cabot Cove model so we moved the table out just a bit to accomplish this goal. We removed the chandelier and installed recessed integrated lighting in the ceiling so that we did not have to worry about centering anything. No hanging lights in the Cabot Cove frees up space!

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 . Call Ruth your full service decorator at 352-804-2056.

Before and After Pics Below