The Abstract Life

Having recently returned home from an amazing trip to Charleston, South Carolina, I have a deeper understanding that ideas have consequences. So then, ideas like “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal……” need to be founded on concrete principles that stand the test of time. When all the colonies were dependent on the crown; were our founding fathers the free thinking hippies of those days? Were they full of abstract thoughts about this foreign concept freedom? They definitely were thinking outside the box in the abstract and that led to some very concrete ideas. I believe that in life and art, abstract thought leads to some very good things. Let’s revisit the Boca Grande Model from last week and see how abstract art redefined the living room using some concrete design ideas somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Unified flooring Living Room Furniture in Classic U Shape
The living room was a very light whitish tan carpet that was showing its age. We ripped up all of the tile and carpet everywhere except the bathrooms, and replaced it with engineered hardwood. The color is medium tone and it is very hard to see dirt on the floor. The new floor added warmth and richness to the space.

• Create a focal point
We need a focal point because it is natural. The eye naturally moves toward mass and since this is a natural function of the eye, designers work with it, not against it. Every room must have a focal point. The focal point has to be strong and is usually the largest wall in the space. We defined the focal point by hanging very large abstract art canvases as the feature of the room.

• Define the space
Each space needs to be defined without being cut off from the rest of the house. Once the focal point is established we needed to map out the definition of the seating arena and we accomplished this by placing an 8×10 area rug in the space and we placed it at an angle. The angle in this space will allow more people to view the TV. This rug has been popular this season and provides a heavy splash of navy blue and white popping off the floor. This dose of high color in the rug helps to move the color around the room maintaining another design idea called rhythm.

• Rhythm
Rhythm is what makes the eye move through the space. Designers accomplish this with the regular reoccurrence of accent colors. The lamps in the space reinforce the green found in the art and across the room in the TV stand. So that using one or two colors standing out as accents found throughout the room at regular intervals creates a connection for the eye to follow. The look of a room can feel instantly pulled together when all the colors are in play. They are having a “visual conversation” with each other and the common ground is color. We accomplished rhythm by repeating navy blue, green and white throughout the space. Also, if you notice the navy and white are repeated in the master bedroom which is visible at all times in this model. The result of rhythm is visual cohesion or harmony.

• Harmony
Harmony is accomplished by unity. When all the above principles are working together the finished product should be a harmonious blend of all the beautiful things you selected. Harmony is interpreted with the eye that creates a balanced feeling in a space. If the space is out of balance, the room will not feel good.

• Classic U shape
We placed the furniture in the classic U shape for having conversation. The classic U allows the people sitting down to easily have conversation without straining and feels very comfortable for people to utilize. This classic U is modified with each end chair angled out just a bit so the person in the chair can see the TV comfortably as well as talk.

• Accent chair
With all of the modern touches one would think that the accent chair should be modern too but we thought outside the box. We found a really comfortable traditional chair with an amazing print that coordinated well with the room.
We angled one chair by the sofa and we also nestled one in by the TV.

• TV stand
We placed the TV on a stand in a niche that opposes the seating area. The TV stand provided a pop of rhythm into the niche because it was the green teal color that was found in the art and lamps on the other side of the room. The patterned accent chair fit in perfectly by the TV stand and it can be pulled into the seating area if needed.

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