Decorating Diva: Falling for a Florida Room

Decorating Diva: Falling for a Florida Room

Falling for a Florida Room

I was recently inspired by the beautiful homes at Douglas Elliman to design the perfect "Florida room." A place to bring the beach home, even if you aren't near a beach.  I wanted to do a room to transcend the seasons and bring the beach inside year round.  I chose my breakfast room to make the most impact in my house.  

Though it's not a "Florida Room" technically, it is filled with windows and gorgeous sunlight.  I wanted to bring the sunshine in and make a dazzling space. Speaking of dazzling spaces, Douglas Elliman is one of the largest real estate firms with homes all over the world, 6 continents and 43 countries.  Check out their Florida real estate for more costal design ideas here.  One of which could be your next dream home...

Now imagine you are on a beach.  Anywhere.  Where would you go?  Would you take a chance on a deserted island?  Get a tan off the coast of Jamaica?  I picture myself in the Mediterranean.  The south of France.  Near Monaco even.  The seasides are so beautiful there.  You can take a high speed train from Nice to  Monte Carlo and see the "Med" and it's breathtaking cliffs and pebble beaches.  I love the views of the sea, better than actually having to deal with sand.  I'm a bit of a brat, but love the water.  Looking at it.  Admiring it.  Listening to it.  Just not getting in it.  

Funny thing water and I.  We don't get along.  I almost drowned twice in one day white water rafting the Ocoee river.  (It was the OLYMPIC course, of course.). I can't fail small.  I only fail big time.  I mean it.  Take snow for an example.  Nothing like trying to ski down a mountain with pneumonia and a fractured shin bone.  

Where was I?, oh the south of France.  I would be there with one if my best girlfriends and author of "Nice in Nice"-Ella Dyer. (She even has me in her book!) I would die to do a brunch soirée at her flat.  And this is what it would look like.  An elegant breakfast table for 6.  My restoration hardware table is always a great starting point, as it is so versatile I can put just about anything on it and it always looks smashing!  

My heart is as black as I like my mascara.  So I like to use it in my rooms often.  Black is a unifying color.  Using it three times in a room will make the room seem more pulled together.  A pillow, a lampshade, a rug etc.  it's a trick.  Once you get the nerve to paint your walls black no color is off limits.  I'm not afraid to paint anything.  So try my technique with any color.  Use it 3 times in a room and tell me if it doesn't help your space.

I'm choosing a golden sunset yellow as my "color" and using metallic golds add some glam.  From the matching French orchid pots to my Greek key velvet pillows and the gold crystal chargers, this sunshine yellow is just what I needed to make this space a warm and cheery spot - even as the seasons change.  

I did the same thing again with black by using a textured placemat, salad plates, pillows and the black chairs.  I like to use a lot of textures in my rooms.  The textures take the place of loud prints or fabrics and help elevate the relaxed atmosphere and feeling for the room.  I like to decorate by "feel", not necessarily how the space is going to look.  Take your time when designing.  Map out your transitions and where your eye is going to land.  Although I don't use a lot of patterns, I chose to repeat the grey greek key in my drapes and again in the yellow greek key pillows to give the space a little pizzazz.    

I'm never shy to pop multiple metallics.  So I brought in silver glass candlesticks and 2 large silver hurricanes filled with shells and driftwood.  I wanted to counteract some of the darker colors and used my white French chairs, plates, candles and large nautical pearl balls to pull the rest of the look together.  The shells also bring in a softer element.  I used a white beaded wedding decoration to lazily drape the entire length of the table.  It reminds me of coral.  I liked the texture, and it's white as well.  When I was checking out at the register the lady asked if I was doing a beach wedding?  Nope. Brunch.  She was impressed.

I hung some beautiful conch shell art by Donna Burgess an artist from Destin Florida on the wall to add to the beachy feel.  My textures in this room were key.  I wanted an organic feel and sophisticated touch.  I used my favorite black flatware placed on white and black fleur d lis napkins.

To add to the organic feel I used square grass cloth placemats.  I think the best part of all of this was adding the coolest shelled netting to my drapes.  My girl Kelly let me borrow it from her.  They and the rest of the netting in the light fixture bring it all together.  Thanks for having a look around!  I hope it inspires you to bring a little sunshine into your rooms.

Arrivederci!

Here are some before:

Totally Transfixed on Tranquil Turquoise

As a designer I was thrilled to be issued a design challenge by Lisa at bigchill.com to reimagine my kitchen in a tranquil turquoise.  I'm no good at idea boards and my readers prefer real time changes so I endeavored to accept the challenge and actually make some brighter choices in my home.  I pick colors for clients all the time, but prefer textures and metals personally.

After having all my paint in the house custom mixed and focusing on saturated  neutral tones, I'm challenged to incorporate this color into my kitchen and breakfast room.  I will show the before and after pics.  I'm LOVING this color scheme and am happy that it blends so well with the other colors I have throughout.  

Having this much punch of color in these two rooms is refreshing to say the least!  I would love to have an appliance from big chill, with its throw back look and modern touches.  Plus each appliance can come in a myriad of colors!!!!

Yes I have blinged out chargers on my breakfast table 24/7 and 365.  A girl has to have her sparkle!

I changed out the placemats, pillows, drink ware and added a few little touches like my black flatware.  I have flatware in 4 colors.  Silver, gold, rose gold and black. I have so many placemats that I might need an intervention.  

I was able to continue my style theme "French Modern" by fleur di lis napkins and a modern acrylic napkin ring.  

Had to have a little fun as well.  I don't think design should be stuffy.  It's your home, add some whimsy or unexpected touches like these fur and iridescent metal pillows.  So cute!

On to the kitchen!  The heart of the house.  I chose a magnolia yellow to balance the deep chroma of my tranquil turquoise.  I have some beautiful cut glass chargers in golden yellow that were given to me by a friend that I dressed my island with.  I added yellow placemats (of course I had these already) and some fun cereal bowls in white, turquoise and yellow for a pop!  Keep scrolling and I will add my shopping list to the end of this post.

I am an artist as well as interior designer and I work with Swarovski crystals especially.  I knew that I was going to incorporate my kitchen art with this color scheme.  Here are two of my pieces...

They both have around 400 crystals each placed by hand by me.  

Needing a huge display of the color of the month I chose hydrangea to make my major impact on the room.  I have a set of matching metal tureens.  I spray painted one of those and a wrought iron metal candle holder the loudest turquoise I could find.  During this endeavor I ended up accidentally spray painting my hair that was blowing in the wind!  Thank goodness when I sprayed the large tray the yellow didn't end up in my hair too!  Now I have an hombre teal highlight.  No idea how to get this paint out of my hair!

My desk needed a major overhaul.  I swear this time I'm going to keep it straight!  Before...

I took everything off the shelves and wallpapered a teal and gold quatrefoil.  To it I added a great piece of art and a large French jug, and of course my silver Eiffel Tower.  I enjoy mixing metals all over my house.  I think it gives it a little bit of an edge to my design process.

I have a lot of interesting things on my desk. Eiffel Tower scissors, a gold daschund tape dispenser, a golden turtle and a blinged out kissy lips phone.  I can't help it!  I have to keep the priss going everyday.  My nickname isn't High Heel Holly for no reason.  

Well, if you have read this far let me know what you think!  What would be a color challenge for you?  

View my profile to see my other blogs and email me your decorating questions at hollyulmer@tx.rr.com

Shopping list:

Placemats - Target

Black Chargers - Tom Thumb (can you believe it?)

Cereal bowls - Target

Paris and London coffee mugs - Walmart 

White/Gold Lilly Pulitzer hurricanes 

Hydrangea - Hobby Lobby

Large woven tray - Target (sprayed yellow)

Metal Tureen - my personal inventory 

Wrought iron pagoda candle holder  - my personal inventory (sprayed turquoise)

Art over desk - Hobby Lobby 

Yellow florals - Hobby Lobby

Eiffel Tower - Trip to France

4 quatrefoil  pillows - Walmart

2 iridescent pillows - Tuesday Morning 

2 fur pillow covers - Hobby Lobby

Black flatware - Target

Goblets and water glasses - Walmart 

Just what the doctor ordered!

I was asked to do a doctors office that treats behavioral therapy.  The psychiatrist told me her favorite color was blue.  I took my cues from her serene personality and gave her a blue by Sherwin Williams called "Distance".  The color evoked such peace in me that I hoped would come across to her clients. I chose a glittered canvas to be her major art that furthered that peaceful feeling.  I wanted her clients to relax in the space and feel a tranquil vibe, ready to be healed.  

She requested a full sized sofa for meditation and the occasional afternoon nap.  I gladly obliged her.  

Keeping her desk small was key.  I gave her a beautiful silvered patina Hooker writing desk.  

 I incorporated different hues of blue in her custom HollyWould Originals silk orchid floral arrangement.  Going big was key here as I heavily edited her space.  Giving her eye as much freedom to roam around the room to find details like the acrylic and rose gold stapler and sparkly folders.

Fluffy Hydrangea

💜 Good Morning! 💜

The light that comes in my breakfast room is scorchingly beautiful. The large window allows plenty of sunlight to come through.  In the design world that's a good and bad thing.  

Not wanting to interfere with the light that floods the room I didn't put up blinds to block it completely.    

Instead I used champagne white silk diupoini panels that were in my other house.  Unfortunately my drapes were too short to cover this huge window. So I did something crazy. I found some panels (at TARGET...unbelievable!) that were the prettiest Greek key design and had my seamstress/buddy sew them together.  I doubled up the trim using champagne white 8 inch chording and black and silver pewter beaded trim on top.  She added black out lining because of the exposure to the sun.  I asked her to finish my leading edges in the Greek key print.  She made them gorgeous!  See for yourself!  

Coffee anyone?

Ciao

She even made me 4 of her favorite 3way pillows.  PM me for her information.  

The Untypical Christmas Mantle

So what there are black glitter poinsettias!?!

I fell in love with a gift I received for Halloween.  A black feather wreath, thanks to my girl Tracy.  I helped her do set design for her amazing haunted house.

I wanted to keep my Halloween decorations up round year because I was having so much fun using black.  I have it all over my house but have always used the pretty Christmas colors, red and green.  Now that I'm mixing metals, I'm using silver and gold in most of my rooms.  I wanted to add some charcoal and black this year.  I found some black accents at a thrift store looking for props for the haunted house. I got a steal on multi colored black poinsettias and used them in my design, that centered on the black feather wreath.

I used white birch branches as my architectural base.  At first my son said that they looked like a white mustache.  Not to be deterred by pessimistic opinions I continued on with my design.  I stayed up for 24 hours pulling an all nighter to get it done.  My mother in law was staying with us and when she came down for breakfast I showed her my piece.  I got a standing ovation from her.  My sister in law was up with me all night. My son even made a stop motion movie of my progress.  No idea how to post that.  It shows me going up and down a ladder about a hundred times.  It took me 8 1/2 hours to complete it, but it was worth it!!!  Using mercury glass accents, black florals and pics, different kinds of poinsettias, silver and gold accents and super gorgeous lighting it really was a show stopper.  I even hung my animal print nutcrackers on each side to give the piece more visual weight.  

I love how the color scheme brings out the colors in the pheasant hanging over the mantle.  

I used silver branches, mercury keys, nutcrackers, 3 different kinds of black and gold ribbons - one with a Greek key to reinforce the silver Greek key ornaments interspersed throughout the garland.  I even took some of the ribbon and wrapped it around my two large candles to bring the eye up and further the design aesthetic.  I used beautiful beaded trim in silver and clear glass to add an extra layer of glam.  I found some huge black peacocks with gorgeous black feathers and added them to each side.  Quite dramatic.

What do you think?