This living room touts a refreshing potpourri of greens, including sage swaths of leaves in the retro sofa fabric.
Inside, Looking Out
While restoring this living room, the owners took out small windows and put in this wall of glass to connect the indoor spaces to the landscape.
Natural fibers and shell fringe make this pillow a perfect beach house accessory.
Shutters Provide Solutions
Instead of dividing spaces with conventional walls, this couple wanted their home's public spaces (living room, dining room, and home office) to have the flexibility of being opened or separated as needed. They accomplished this goal by installing a pair of louvered doors, which pivot by means of upper and lower pin attachments.
This window offers visual access into a bedroom. Operable shutters enable the opening to be concealed for overnight guests.
Merging Spaces
Tall sliding doors open so the great room merges seamlessly with the outdoor living space.
Seashell Fringe
Seashell fringed window treatments frame the Gulf view through open doors in the living area.
Without the space to bring in a real antique ship, a pond yacht serves just as well.
Pure Heaven in the Highlands
An antique six-paneled screen painted with a fantasy view of France hangs over this living room's plushy velvet sofa. The exaggerated wing chair nearby is covered in jute.
Degrees of Separation
This architect devised an ingenious solution for this couple to separate their kitchen and dining rooms at will: he opened up the wall between the two spaces and installed curtains as dividers to screen the kitchen when necessary. Normally, they're pulled back to create one bright, airy space. At the center of the kitchen is the island containing the stove and oven. It's treated as a freestanding piece of furniture, which adds to the feeling of spaciousness.
Marrakech Expressed
In this living room, the cool blue Mediterranen tones offer relief from the Miami heat. The glass-and-iron coffee table, from Florentine artist Roberto Fallani, converts to dining table height.
Keys to Decorating
This restored home keeps with traditional Key West style, decorated with dark wicker and palm fronds.
Farmhouse Fresh
This drawing room includes 18th-century painted Italian antiques. The walls of the space are treated with pale-blue pigmented plaster, and the total effect is a consummately peaceful sanctuary.
This intimate seating area is complete with a pair of inviting chaise lounges.
Perfectly Frank
Infusing this living room with designer Frank Randolph's signature pale color was a big step toward the serene oasis these homeowners had in mind. His off-white, custom-designed sofa nearly disappears in the sun-flooded, floor-to-ceiling window bay.
Handed Down and Moved Around
The dramatic cathedral ceiling, magnificent stone mantel, oak hardwood floors, warm colors, and contrasting textures in this living room convey a welcoming feel. Purchased in New York's Village district, a gilded mirror takes center stage high above the living room mantel. The six antique sconces came from eBay, and were a steal at $400. The homeowner had them rewired and buffed to look like pewter.
The sofa, re-covered during the homeowners' college years, anchors the living room. One of several mirrors they received as wedding gifts was affixed to an iron table base to create a custom coffee table. The rug's strong design and large size make a perfect contrast to the living room's expansive ceiling and voluminous feel. A tapestry, purchased in France on the couple's honeymoon, hangs above the cased opening to the dining room. The tapestry's subject matter, rectangular shape, and dramatic hues focus the attention on the overall room and not on the cavernous ceiling above.
The homeowners were given this antique upright piano by a friend in the New York opera company the Blue Hill Troupe. It serves as a useful and symbolic focal point against the room's longest wall. The tall wooden bookcase, found on a scrap heap, fits comfortably beside the fireplace and mantel. It gives the necessary height to balance the sunroom's doorway on the opposite side of the fireplace.
The painted buffet, with a more casual European country style, adds color with its decorative designs. It makes the original dining set's dark finish seem lighter. Positioned above the buffet, the oversize mirror reflects natural light from the window across the room. The iron chandelier's ornate design work and finish make a striking impact.
Texture
To create visual drama using texture, the decorator for this home layered the soft color palette in weathered wood furniture, rusted urns, and sisal.
Fresh flowers and collected shells soften a formal silver tray.
Covered Couches
These couches, originally navy and white, get a soft touch with off-white matelassé slipcovers.
Stylish Versatility
A dining room need not be confined to one use. This library converts to an elegant dining room with the setting of the table.
Tucson Style
This Tucson home successfully combines traditional building materials with modern design. Traditional adobe homes had small rooms and few windows, but this house has large rooms, high ceilings, brick floors, and many windows. Gray-pigmented plaster gives interior walls an aged look. The red leather sofa and wood tables compliment the walls and logbeam ceiling.
Comfy Study
Distressed brown leather sofas and woven rattan wind chairs, also cushioned in supple brown leather, gather in the bright-blue vaulted study.
Room with a View
Water views quickly reveal themselves in the bank of windows across the back of the house.