The Florida Room

This project started with an empty room after a son moved out and it was all based around an inspiration piece of a multicolored Floridian sleeper sofa that we inherited. This piece had never been used and even though the fabric was way to loud to use in a white room, it was still basically new and it was expensive and high quality. My mission in this room was to utilize the sofa and take the emphasis off of the bright colors and take your eye to the entire room and not to have your eye go directly to that sofa. I started with a basic bedroom with walls in "builder's white", and even though that room is nice size, empty, it was plain, white and without character.

I started out with a vision of what I wanted to accomplish and went to work. The first thing I did was to pick out coordinating fabrics that would blend with the sofa. It doesn't hurt having a very close friend as a talented upholsterer. I had a loveseat, small chair that I decided to recover and I had a daybed cover made to coordinate as well. Buying the fabric on sale is the key. With the colors I needed, that wasn't difficult. I chose fabric of lime green with small raised chenille squares for the loveseat and had a yellow and white small checked fabric chosen for the buttons, inside the skirt on the pleats and for the piping. There was enough of the lime green left over to be used for making the valances and my sister-in-law so graciously offered to tailor for the room. I then chose a small window-pane fabric in blue with pinstripes of green, royal blue and white for a small chair. That chair was given to me by my upholsterer friend and we argued over me paying him for it. The daybed was covered in a heavily textured solid white fabric and royal blue welting as trim with the horizontal surface being the solid royal blue.

The painting started with what I refer to as "clown yellow" for the walls, painting it up to a taped line 12" down from the ceiling. If you've ever tried to paint a wall yellow, you know that the paint rarely matches the swatch and it is difficult to get the shade you want. I just knew that I wanted to start out bright and then bring it back by covering it in a white glaze, which I did in 4 individual coats in a couple different techniques. I wanted the room to end up being a peaceful tone. I painted the ceiling a medium blue with the same 4 techniques in white over that, not in definite cloud formations, but to give the "allusion" of clouds, just not so defined. I brought that ceiling color down on the walls 6" so your eye would tend to notice the two different colors in an unexpected point. I joined the two colors by a 6" band painted in solid white, where I used a stencil of royal blue check. I got the look that I wanted, but will rethink a small stencil like that for an area as large as that on the next go around.

I used some scrap lumber to make shutters, then faux finished them in blue and white for a weathered look. I took a 4' x 8' section of picket fence, took it completely apart, and cut each picket to the heighth I wanted and changed the spacing to fit in a small corner area. The cellular window shades were used previously in this room in a royal blue and then I went antiquing and found the ugliest rattan tray tables for $40 a piece on sale for $8 for the two. White spray paint brought them around to "usable" status. Then there was the deal on the wicker vanity and stool for $30, wicker lamp shade for $3.50 and the large planter from a home improvement store that I bought on sale marked down from $49 to $7, spray painted it white, stuck a fern inside and placed a round glass top on it for a table. I had a wicker chest in the family that I painted white and then had my friend make a cushion for the top out of the yellow and white fabric. There are toss pillows in all fabrics everywhere. I used leftover fabric from the chair to upholster a box for the end table that actually housing a working phone inside. A friend makes rugs on a loom and he made one in solid royal blue and the secretary was used in another room and then I traded the basic ceiling fan from this room for the palm frond one from the master bedroom and placed a wicker serving basket under it against the ceiling as a medallion. Another friend raises peacocks and was looking to get rid of some feathers which look great in an urn in all the right colors that I found on EBay for next to nothing. I purchased pictures while in Florida at an outdoor art fair for a song and painted the frames white and the colors in the prints are a perfect match. All in all, I don't have $300 invested in this makeover. It was fun and a peaceful retreat to read a book in on a gloomy winter day. I have the "before" pictures included as well. Hope you enjoy the pictures!!