A Florida Calming Living Room

AS PROMISED!!!!

I will now start showing you guys Connie and Chris's living room.

In tiny dribs and drabs....

I will try to show you guys the process we went through to finally get to the semi-finished stage we find ourselves in today.

Next fall when I return to Florida, we will hopefully add the finishing touches to make the room feel cozier.

So let's start at the point of the first furniture being delivered.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Connie realized that there was lots more room for more furniture than I had drawn on the first floorplan, so I added this server I found on 1st Dibs.

I originally drew the floorplan without it, as I wanted to be sure that Connie didn't freak out about too much stuff in the room.

I shouldn't have worried about that,

 she freaked out anyway.

She was CONVINCED that there was too much furniture in the room 

even before I had drawn in the server that's on the left wall.

For all you guys out there in blogland that don't know the rule of thumb about how much space should be left for traffic flow, it's usually 36" that 's needed in a commercial application.

WELL.....

this isn't a restaurant or store.

When a room isn't a pass through space, I can get by with just 30" of clearance.

After all, that's the standard doorway opening.

In a hallway, it's best to allow for 36", so you can move your furniture all around your house!!!!!

Since I tend to overstuff  my own home,

 I will allow for even less space because I live by myself and I have

no one to complain about barked shins.

The server I found is a Gustavian piece in a worn white painted finish.

FYI....

I got this definition from One Kings Lane.

Gustavian style hails from Sweden, but like many other styles, has its roots in the influential courts of 18th century France. Proof that imitation is the highest form of flattery, Gustavian style came about after Sweden’s Gustav III paid an extended visit to Louis XVI's court at Versailles and fell for the trim, cool-hued Neoclassical style furniture of Louis XVI style.

This is why this stuff works so well with Louis XVI style.

Sometimes it's difficult to tell the two apart.

I rely on the accent. 

If it talks French, then I figure it's Louis XVI.

If it sounds like it comes from Minnesota, than I figure it's Gustavian.

I chose it for several reasons.

It was shallow, so it wouldn't stick too far into the room, since I placed it in a traffic flow area.

It was high, I don't like all my pieces to be the same height, it creates a static feel in a room.

Different heights are much more pleasing in a space.

It was elegant, and Connie wanted to go for a less primitive style of antique than I had done for her in any of her other houses.

The color was beautiful, and would work well with the creamy feel in the room that we wanted to create.

AND LAST!!!!!

It was old and beat up, just like me!

It was delivered when Connie was still in Vermont, so her handyman received it for her and placed it in the living room.

When he called to tell her it had arrived, he informed her it was 

"old and the paint was worn off, not nice and new."

Connie assured him that we wanted it that way, and not to worry.

I think it's stunning.

The gourd shaped lamp sitting on it is from her beach house.

It's form is wonderful because it is so stylish and works with many different kinds of decorating, being a somewhat transitional shape.

I used three of these in her beach house, all slightly different silhouettes.

One on the other side of the sofa.....

and in the guest room.....

These were such a great look that we were able to use them in Connie's new more formal home.

She just bemoans the fact that we don't have more of them.

When the girl likes something.....she really likes it.

On that note,

Latah, Gatah