Here is a break down of some of the things I accomplished with homeowners Jim and Roseann during my trip to South Carolina. Today I will highlight the most public spaces, the Great Room and Dining Room.  (Remember- we ordered the furniture last summer before they moved.)

Great Room

The Great Room was designed to showcase a view.  We discussed treatment options for large bank of windows looking out the screen room viewing the pond and the new landscaping with gorgeous lighted palms.  Neighbors have fabric covered verticals which Roseann really likes.  My recommendation was to have window film professionally installed and then address if treatments are still needed.

A new shelving unit had been designed and recently installed.    I accessorized with family photos and added orange pieces with intention to collect more.  I decided not to accessorize the fireplace as the speakers and television are already crowding the space. New accessories were purchased for the sofa table.  Two huge ceramic spheres and a long row of tea lights in the same two colors follow the horizontal line of the table with texture, color and drama.  We purchased four large metal platters with hammered designs to hang on the siding in the screened room.

Concerning the large empty area to left of fireplace, Roseann loved a photo of a basket display in Pottery Barn catalogue.  We used this as inspiration and purchased a wonderful array of highly textured woven trays and shallow bowls and hung them in a pleasing, random pattern.  The arrangement will look less harsh once the walls are painted Ralph Lauren Crab Apple, a very complex taupe.  We still need to procure a long low bench for this area to ground the basket display and to hide the sub-woofer.  The bench will be easily moved to the conversation group when Jim and Roseann fill the house with neighbors and margaritas.

I designed a tile pattern to be installed on the wall area under the bar using colorful glass tiles and matte ceramic squares.  I tried to convince Jim that tiling the entire 70 square feet of an angled and awkward wall visible upon entry with glass tiles would be completely amazing.  My rough-estimated cost of 3K combined with the permanence of it seems to have overshadowed my enthusiasm.  (Trust me–IT WILL REALLY ROCK!!)

Dining Room

After much searching, we decided to purchase a colorful, graphic wool rug at Pottery Barn.  Roseann was very unsure, as her taste is more traditional, but loved it once it was in place with the Dining set.  (The Dining table, chairs and buffet were some of the only pieces to come from the Woodbridge house.) 

The rug set the tone for the accessories.  We found a wonderful squat glass vase in a gorgeous orange.  I filled it with oversized tropical fronds.  The perfect giclee canvas presented itself in our shopping frenzy for a crazily discounted price of $15.  We found a small wool rug in a perfect mustard for the Foyer on clearance.

We ordered a beautiful new chandelier from Ferguson sight unseen.  It’s partner, a carriage light, was on display and we all immediately fell in love with it and decided it would be exactly right for the foyer.  We felt a bit of economic desperation at the store and received both at a fantastic price.

I chose silk striped panels at Pottery Barn for the pair of windows.  I advised them to wait for an inevitable sale.  The colors in the stripes are lighter, slightly off versions of the paint I chose. 

Jim has an irrational phobia to wallpaper.  (…Which has absolutely nothing to do with the miles and miles of square feet I forced him to remove in the old house…)  Texture is necessary in this space so I chose Ralph Lauren River Rock in Sandstone Cliff for under the chair rail.  The rest of the Dining Room and shared wall in the Foyer will be Benjamin Moore Adams Gold.

Tomorrow:  the Den and the Kitchen.  And Drama over Plates!!