Just off the entry, glass doors open to a sitting room. Supple green leather love seats and a club chair lend comfortable seating.
Penthouse Suite
Upstairs, a high-ceilinged sitting room and bedroom suite offer privacy and architectural charm with exposed beams and dormer windows.
Ceiling Breaks
Dramatic beaded-board ceilings slope from 9 to 14 feet in height. Overhead breaks act as room dividers between the living, dining, and kitchen areas.
Focal Point
Above the mantel, a vivid painting of palms by Charleston artist Patricia Madison Lusk breaks the white space, acting as another window to the outdoors.
Paint Job
The homeowners hand-painted this old armoire in the living room with a takeoff on the blue-and-white upholstery.
Soft Touch
On the room's two sofas, a tawny silk weave is visually reminiscent of burlap -- but suprises the touch with smooth softness. Rattan chairs trimmed in jute piping complement the silk.
Local Art
Bahamian artwork—from antique Caribbean maps to contemporary watercolors and sculpture—reinforce the sense of place. Most of the original paintings came from Princess Street Gallery on the same island as the home.
Slipcovered
A trio of hanging lamps provides a warm glow over the dining area. Beneath them, an antique oil-finished table and slipcovered chairs make a classic statement in the lofty expanse.
Great Big Room
A short climb to the second level brings visitors to the open, airy great room loaded with stunning details.
Wide Open Spaces
The architect for this home devised an open plan, with no corridors or hallways and plenty of cross ventilation with its one-room-deep layout.
Relaxing Family Room
In this family room, a large sectional sofa invites relaxation by the limesone-finished concrete fireplace wall and offers flexibility for viewing a large-screen television on one side of the room and the backyard on the other. The hearth extends the length of the room to become a display shelf. The double tier of rectangular niches on the fireplace wall emphasize this family room's crisp architectural lines.
Expanding the Space
Carved from attic space, a new tray ceiling with tongue-and-groove slats makes this space seem much larger. The boards were whitewashed to give an old-world effect, and recessed lighting was added to the new ceiling to make the space seem brighter. Instead of window treatments, this homeowner chose simple wooden shutters. They open for light and close for privacy, while their upright lines emphasize the room's height.
This homeowner, along with Little Rock architect John Allison, worked to incorporate lines that lift the eye, including the tray ceiling and the newly remodeled fireplace. "We applied cast stone panels over the old fireplace," John explains. A less expensive alternative to replacing the entire fireplace, cast stone was fitted directly over the old masonry. On the mantel, a tall urn filled with sunflowers is flanked on either side by candlesticks. These and other accessories--including lamps, candles, and an antique birdcage--help draw attention upward.
Diary of a Remodel: Parlor
A soaring ceiling, a dramatic stairway, and a sculpturally ribbed cast-concrete fireplace add airiness and drama to this parlor. Inset stainless steel tiles on the fireplace echo and update the original painted brick. A large mantel mirror draws the eye toward the clerestory windows and the balcony. The random-plank flooring, which covers the main living areas, is reclaimed antique chestnut.
Diary of a Remodel: Family Room Fireplace
The hearth of this fireplace extends the length of the room to become a display shelf. The double tier of rectangular niches on the fireplace wall emphasizes the family room's crisp architectural lines.
Sitting Area
The sitting area holds oversize red and yellow leather chairs that make a perfect couple one with metal tacks and matching ottoman, the other a petite recliner. Shelves displaying art and books flank the stair landing. Splashes of color come from the same rug, lamp, and skirted table that are in the living area.
Great Room
The yellow-pine plank walls wear a diluted version of the glossy white on the trim and ceiling. Antique heart-pine floors add an heirloom quality, while bright hues enliven interiors.
A generous coffee table displays a shell collection.
Room for Two
The interior of the guesthouse plays off a backdrop of natural plank walls. Here, the planks are painted a handsome half-strength gray. Stairs lead to a sleeping loft, just big enough for two. The open loft makes the small house feel more spacious.
Room for Entertaining
Known by family and friends as consummate entertainers, these homeowners believed that their downstairs closet, at the heart of just about everything, was not reaching its full potential. The space should be put to better use, they theorized, by transforming it into a wet bar. The result enhances the residence in every practical sense. Now the area is functional for dinner parties and celebrations.
They removed the wooden closet door, and opened up the area by creating an arched opening and bar ledge along the wall facing the family room. They also put in a granite countertop and polished, black light fixtures with a matte finish and decorative knobs. Then they decorated with bold and vivid elements.
They installed a small sink with cabinet space underneath and decided to leave the interesting stair-step effect above. The interior walls were painted bright white, with one side wall of exposed wood. They hung a simple mirror and narrow glass shelves above the sink to give a greater sense of depth within the room.