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6. Paint. By painting your walls, baseboards and ceilings the same color, you blur the lines of where your walls end and where your ceilings begin. If you think your wall color is too dark for the ceiling, then dilute the wall color with 50 percent white and try that on the ceiling instead.Daybed: Holly Hunt
In the great room, the curved archways help set a Mediterranean tone. Because the homeowners love watching the long-legged wading birds common in the area, Thornton added a series of Audubon prints, which are flanked by the archways and bamboo chairs and hang over an indigo-washed bureau from Anthropologie.
5. Solar power. Here’s a designer who understands the potential of a layered window: A solar screen protects both upholstery and inhabitants from the hot glare of the Tampa, Florida, sun, while a stationary woven wood shade communicates the beachy theme without any hint of kitsch. Add neutral panels that blend in like sand against the ocean, and you’ve got a recipe for practical sophistication in a space that feels like home.
2. Double duty. This bedroom appears to show two shades mounted one on top of the other. As uncommon and original as this configuration is, I can understand the motivation behind layering a light-filtering shade under a more opaque one. It’s the same reason some shade companies offer shades with operable liners: to give users the most “bang for their buck” via multiple light and privacy options.Designer tip: If you’re mounting one or both shades inside the window frame, make sure you have enough mounting depth so the shades don’t stick out past the wall. In general, 1 inch is the bare minimum, but 2 inches is often essential if you opt for a continuous cord loop instead of the standard type that lengthens as you raise the shade.
The kitchen had been renovated by the former owners. “They were meticulous in the way they cared for the home, and it showed in how well maintained it was,” Brooke says. The island features a built-in wine refrigerator that comes in handy for entertaining.Bar stools: Ballard Designs; wall paint: Floral White, Benjamin Moore
Brooke initially painted the first floor a soft yellow. “I love yellow, and I had lived with it in our former house for over eight years,” she says. With guidance from interior decorator Melanee Friscia of van Ling Design, Brooke repainted the walls a soft white to allow the blue and white in the family room to stand out. “We also decided to add baby-blue grass cloth to the large niches above the bookshelves,” she says. “It became such a focal point of the family room and one of my favorite elements.” Chair: Thomasville; grass cloth wallpaper: Philip Jeffries; wall paint: Floral White, Benjamin Moore
Style Secret: Casual FurnitureImagine flopping into a velvet armchair in a wet swimsuit or dumping shells onto a gleaming mahogany table. Did you wince? Coastal furniture should give the impression that it can stand up to salty air and sandy feet, even if you actually live on a suburban street in Dallas. Slipcovers, sturdy wood tables and case goods, wicker and even thick glass fit the bill. Something different: Casual doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice elegance. You’ll find lots of high-style pieces in materials that can take a little wear and tear. For upholstered furnishings, consider outdoor fabrics, which come in designs and colors that look as spot on in a living room as in a screened porch.
Style Secret: Crisp, Clean FabricsIn coastal interiors, fabrics are simple, unassuming and put-your-feet-up comfy. Think linen slipcovers, cotton rugs, and muslin curtain panels or floaty sheers that billow in the breeze. You can’t go wrong with pure white, but washed-out pastels or tailored stripes fit with the look as well. Something different: The market is loaded with shell- and nautical-print fabrics — many of them tasteful and chic — so go ahead and give in to temptation. But don’t layer them to the point of kitsch. Keep these patterns minimal: a pair of throw pillows, perhaps, or a single side chair. (The same goes for wallpaper, incidentally.)Work with an interior designer to create a coastal inspired home
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