A Peaceful Winter Retreat
I am excited to show our latest commission in Palm Beach, Florida- The Peaceful Winters Retreat. The original interior design solution was so dark and sad but I have a knack for seeing through bland dark interiors and I was inspired from the onset. After we stripped everything out my first priority was to find light oak timber for the floors and fun mosaics for the bathroom floors. Dark grey walls were replaced with sea grass paper from Abbot and Boyd in sea foam aqua with a little shimmer of silver in the background. Other rooms were painted in pale pastel colours. I must say I am now addicted to sea grass. It comes in lovely textures and numerous colours which ticks my box every time! Another favourite for me is George Spencer Designs. Tim, who runs GSD is so helpful and we found a number of lovely fabrics with pastel colours and seaside designs. When I wasn’t sourcing fabrics with George Spencer I was at Tissus de Helene in Chelsea Harbour who supplied ‘Donuts’ for the spare bedroom.
Joinery is a passion and I set to work designing an office area that works as an extension of the Drawing Room. I was inspired by a piece of furniture I saw at Isle Sur la Sorgue in France and I designed the desk in the above photo which also works as a console table with a seating area adjacent and shelving and storage cabinetry above including an ingenious open and close mechanism at the touch of a finger!
By adding a pair of chairs from Nicholas Haslam, which I recovered in Fermoie fabric, I created a cosy space to work, watch the news and just enjoy the outdoor views.
Whilst designing the credenza in the dining room pictured above I couldn’t resist the Verdigris Sea urchin handles from Collier Webb. Their gorgeous ironmongery offsets the furniture beautifully.
Most of the vintage furniture was sourced through dealers in the UK. It was key to give personality to spaces that carried little architectural richness. One fine example was the cocktail bar featured above which started out as a simple rattan wardrobe. By adding a base to give height and redesigning the interior this piece became the focal point in the room for a number of reasons!
The piece de resistance was completing the interior design with large vintage society photographs and lithographs to offset the furniture. I must say working in the US is always a joy and I am ready for my next commission.
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