Room of the Day: A Touch of the Beach House in a Traditional Colonial

“If it’s possible to have a palette of taupe and clear with a few splashes of tropical color, I want that.” That was the direction interior designer Heather Garrett received for decorating this home in tobacco country. Because one of the homeowners is from Florida, she was drawn to the light, beachy style she enjoys when spending time in Rosemary Beach. But the couple’s traditional colonial home 700 miles north, in North Carolina, needed some darker colors and heavier textiles thrown into the mix. With some gentle coaxing and inspiration from a painting in her clients’ collection, Garrett found just the right mix of shapes, unexpected color combinations, textures and styles to give the room a fresh transitional look, while respecting the traditional architecture and giving a few small nods to the beach.

Room at a Glance
What happens here: A couple and their teenage daughter read, visit, entertain and cozy up by the fire
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Size: About 310 square feet (29 square meters)
Lesson learned: Even a room with large pieces of dark furniture can be light and airy.

“The living room is really the heart of this home, so it inspired the design of a lot of the other spaces,” Garrett says. From the entry, the view through to the living room and its fireplace is wide open. Hints of persimmon seen in the living room are repeated here on the antique rug, as are glints of brass and light colors on the walls.

Peeking through, you can see two rugs in the living room. Garrett has advice for layering two rugs. “Often I try to extend the lower rug as close to the ends of the room as I can, until I hit a heat register or something,” she says. “Then I create a smaller sitting area, with the top rug running at least as far as underneath the front legs of the surrounding furniture.”

Mirror: Made Goods; console: Global Views


All of the traditional molding, including the mantel and fireplace surround, was existing. Garrett combed through the homeowners’ art collection and chose the painting over the mantel as the color palette inspiration.

“My client was scared when I suggested two chocolate-brown velvet sofas, but we really needed them to ground the room,” Garrett says. They also add a masculine touch; the designer wanted to create a room where both husband and wife would be comfortable. Most of the metals in the room are warm brass and bronze.

The couple’s existing Asian-inspired coffee table was a great fit with the new sofas. Garrett gave the traditional arrangement of two sofas flanking a fireplace a jolt of eclectic energy with zebra-print benches and a clear Lucite sofa table.

To bring in the beach in a way “that wasn’t cheesy,” she says, the designer added touches like coral-shaped sconces, glass vases and raffia-topped white side tables.

Sconces: Moss Design; side tables: Oomph; Hilary Bench: Oly; sofas: Lee Industries; floral pillow fabric: Alan Campbell; suzani pillows: Donghia; floor lamp: Arteriors; console table: Peekabo, CB2; bottom rug: Fibreworks; top rug: antique, Eliko


The designer also incorporated some of her clients’ other existing pieces, like this antique pine desk. The piece, with a resin birdbath-like chalice adding an eclectic touch on top, makes the most of the bay window. A Louis XVI armchair’s leather upholstery picks up on the chartreuse of the sofa pillows’ suzani pattern and provides an unexpected French contrast to the American antique.

Her clients were a little wary of losing any sunlight to window treatments, but Garrett persuaded them to add some dramatic floor-to-ceiling iridescent color. The drapes are persimmon silk with flecks of fuchsia, inspired by the colors in the painting. When it comes to the break in the draperies (that is, where they hit the floor), Garrett recommends 1 inch for “barely there” and 2 inches for “more of a puddle.”

Sophie chair, bird bowl: Oly


The living room is open to the kitchen, which means the chef can enjoy the view of a toasty fire in the winter. Garrett designed the two rooms in tandem, so the designs inspired each other. For example, the deep walnut cabinetry on the kitchen island plays off the chocolate tones in the living room. Usually the view of the back of a sofa is a snore, but the clear console table, lamp and zebra bench make this one interesting.

Chandelier: Visual Comfort

More:
Plunge Into a Refreshing Beach-House Look
11 Ways to Wake Up a Traditional Room

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