Stepping into the New Year, who doesn’t want to begin anew, with resolutions for redefining our lives in some shape or form: mentally, financially, spiritually or physically. In addition to our physical health, count among the last category uplifting our interiors to gain new perspectives in our most personal space. You don’t need to do a full-on renovation to turn a blah, uninspiring room into an energizing one, tone down too-bright, or breathe fresh life into outdated furnishings and color palettes.
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Stephen Hayford
The homeowners wanted to find a way to display the plethora of art they've collected from family artists.
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Stephen Hayford
The homeowners wanted to find a way to display the plethora of art they've collected from family artists. Designer Karen Benson used the layout to help disguise a large vent.
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Stephen Hayford
Interior designer Karen Benson used wood accents to give a wall in the home entry more visual appeal without depending on multiple decorations.
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Stephen Hayford
Karen Benson used the homeowner's collection of artwork by family members and friends to decorate the living room wall.
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Stephen Hayford
Karen Benson re-worked this previously white kitchen dining area with dark tones.
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Stephen Hayford
Karen Benson's design choices are made with homeowner's input and attention to their personalities and interests. Pillows are an important detail to reflect other accent colors in the room.
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Stephen Hayford
Karen Benson's design choices are made with homeowner's input and attention to their personalities and interests.
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Stephen Hayford
Karen Benson's design choices are made with homeowner's input and attention to their personalities and interests.
Fort Myers interior designer Karen Benson, founder of Benson & Associates, recently rolled up her sleeves with long-time clients when they decided to downsize into a 1,900-square-foot home built in the late 1980s. It had massive, flat walls, high ceilings and fixed elements, such as air-conditioner registers, to address. With her clients, she focused on three main areas:
• Dining room and mirror: All it really took to recreate the look and function of a massive, flat wall was adding a 7-foot-tall mirror in the dining room. Depending on where one is seated, the diner can see the backyard patio in the reflection, chandelier or grouped artwork. “It acknowledges the entire wall but gives you a view” while “doubling” the size of the room, she explains. Wallcovering and new lighting fixtures also completed the design. Karen’s advice when deciding to incorporate a large mirror as a significant counterpoint in any room: Spend the extra money for a high-quality mirror with thick glass. Cheap mirrors with thin glass can cause unwanted and unsettling distortion.
• Front hall and molding: Flat entry walls were transformed from ho-hum into quiet elegance by adding molding that lends a human scale and open texture. The molding also frames one of the air registers. “The design gave the space a sense of scale and architectural interest and incorporated an A/C feature we didn’t want to be floating around,” Karen notes. A couple of wooden chairs, a jewel-tone runner and a wood, spindle-leg table make the foyer spare but warm and inviting.
• Living room and art: A new media built-in with lighted display shelves and discreet storage helped transform the living room. But the biggest difference is in the art. The homeowners are long-time art collectors, so Karen worked with the couple to assemble two large groupings for display in both the dining room and in the living room. They moved furniture out of the way, marked off the size of the space the collection would take up on the wall, and began moving pieces around until the grouping felt right. “It’s like a big puzzle,” Karen says. Designing with “critical mass” of art or other collections is a good way to create a stimulating focal point. For the living room, they chose to include a larger proportion of black-and-white sketches and oils, edged with vibrant pieces. “There’s power in a group,” she says. “Then, it’s OK to have some walls that are more quiet.”
Three other simple but important factors to reimagining the interior were lighting, a color palette of white, charcoals and caramel, and gold accents. A trio of gold ball pendant light fixtures at various heights over the dining table, for instance, makes the space “feel voluminous.”
Jenn Zella, co-founder and director of design of CID Design Group in Naples, is also a big fan of grouping artwork and photos to create a compelling visual story. And, like using a large mirror, Zella has created interactive and functional walls by adding an oversized chalkboard area with a custom one or chalkboard paint to activate a boring wall. Chalkboard walls can turn into games for the kids, holiday-themed artwork, birthday wishes and the family’s nightly menu or upcoming special events.
Here are some additional simple ideas for waking up a sleepy corner of your world.
Special to Grandeur
Go retro
If your interiors feel off-the-shelf, create an accent with a vintage or period piece. New from Maitland-Smith and reinterpreted from the 1960s original Tony Duquette design, this iconic biomorphic console is a visual attention-getter with its hand-applied gold leaf finish, clear glass top and free-form design. Its minimalistic shape foreshadows the movement toward simple décor and works in any interior design aesthetic, from ultra-modern to steadfast traditional. Available at Miromar Design Center.
Special to Grandeur
Interiors
Oui, oui
Add an unusual accent — such as a geometric pattern or a powerful hue — to introduce a little “pop” to a tired room. Unabashedly feminine, this Bennett chair designed by Suzanne Kasler, introduces an elegant silhouette with its classic tub back, graceful legs painted dove white, and wide stripes realized in pink and white linen. This versatile chair, part of Kasler’s French Collection, is perfectly poised at a desk or vanity, at the Julien game table or as a dining or occasional chair. Available at the Hickory Chair Interior Design Showroom in Miromar Design Center.
Special to Grandeur
Statement maker
Adding one stellar centerpiece, such as a luxurious chaise lounge, can completely change the dynamics of a favorite room. The Asher chaise, created by interior designer Kim Scodro, has a traditional asymmetrical shape simplified by soft lines to make a strong statement. Inspired by the English Victorian period, this rendition for Pearson Furniture is hand-tufted in azure blue velvet and features hand-carved legs. Available at the Hickory Chair Interior Design Showroom in Miromar Design Center.
Special to Grandeur
Zen in the garden
Fountains are considered “good” feng shui, because they bring the energy of water, an element symbolizing abundance (wealth and prosperity), as well as freedom of expression and movement. And water is a life force for all living creatures, so feng shui practitioners believe fountains nourish chi energy. Even if you don’t know the first thing about feng shui, the gurgling creates white noise that evokes ocean waves or a mountain stream. Luckily, fountains come in a wide range of designs, from Mediterranean to Asian to modern. These spherical, glazed pottery fountains (28 inches in diameter) are available in a variety of colors and are like chameleons that will fit into any type of meditation area, garden or landscape design. Available at R.S. Walsh in the Garden on Sanibel Island.
Kris Tamburello
Create connections
Replace generic art with a photo gallery of personal images to foster a connection, whether the focus is on family memories and heritage, nostalgic regional history or your favorite pet portraits or nature photos. Mix framing materials thoughtfully to balance other finishes in the room, advises interior designer Jenn Zella of CID Design Group.
“One very important piece of design advice that we try to incorporate in every project is the element of play and humor,” she says. “Our lives can be so busy and serious and surrounding ourselves with something that makes us smile is priceless.”
The collection of vintage photos (at left) is strategically grouped above a custom credenza created by joining two media cabinets and incorporating a tree limb from Key Island in Collier County.
“We love reclaiming local materials to help create a memorable and unique piece with a story,” Jenn says. The credenza was created by Naples-based Jeremy Jones Fine Finishes. Design by CID Design Group in Naples.
Bright ideas
A strategic lighting plan can create a range of moods in any space, and this kitchen incorporates both an eye-catching centerpiece chandelier and tranquil pendant lights. A layered effect in lighting creates the best results — one in which ambient, task and accent lighting work in harmony. Ambient lighting provides overall illumination through overhead recessed cans, while task lighting under cabinet lights serves as a functional aspect. Accent lighting, such as pendants and chandeliers, provides an opportunity to incorporate decorative fixtures that also enhance the architectural features, finishes and furnishings of a home. This residence showcases all levels of lighting providing both functionality and aesthetic appeal. Designed by Evalutions by Aubuchon.
Color your world
Stained glass has enhanced interior spaces and manipulated natural light since the art form’s refinement in cathedrals and churches in the Middle Ages. The use of colored glass to tell a story, create an idyllic vignette, evoke a natural setting or simply drop in an abstract perspective moved into other cultural buildings, hotels and private homes in the 1800s.
It’s one detail — a small change — that has a pronounced effect on both the inside and outside of your home. Here is a contemporary example of custom stained-glass panels that will transform an entryway or any room. A panel can also be installed in an interior niche or opening instead of a window to create a connection between two rooms or punctuate a theme or motif. Designed and installed by Apperlo Art in Bonita Springs.