Last week I introduced you to my friend Melissa who is gifted in so many areas it’s almost unfair. Ha! This week I couldn’t resist showing you more pictures of her lovely home and sharing some of her decorating tips. (If you want to go back and read the first post click here.)
Her FAVE addition
Melissa’s favorite addition to their ninety-year-old home is this gorgeous outdoor living area.
They added the pool and covered patio area in 2018 and it was ready for swimming in 2019. D&D Pools did the 12×24 inground pool and Jake Shelby did the white travertine tile pool deck, the patio and separate fire pit patio, and the fencing. They chose travertine because it doesn’t get hot like concrete in the summer sun.
You can walk around barefoot on it! Except for the Green Giant Arborvitae, which was planted by Jake Shelby, Melissa and her husband Robin did all the landscaping.
Seeing It Come Together
I asked Melissa what her favorite aspect of interior decorating is, and she said, “I’ll get an idea–whether it’s for a whole room, or just a wall, or maybe a centerpiece–and I’ll get very excited about it.
“Searching for the various parts needed to bring the idea to fruition is the least fun because I usually can’t find exactly what I see in my head. Sometimes I have to compromise. But I’ve found that many of those compromises worked out for the best–better than the original plan. I absolutely love using things that have been handed down in our family or something meaningful to us or something we’ve picked up on a trip.
“My favorite part is being pleased with the outcome when it’s finished–seeing that every element came together.”
Inspiring Sources
Melissa said she can get inspiration from almost anything.
“A long time ago I found an old painting that I fell in love with at a flea market. It was my inspiration for our master bedroom. We hadn’t done anything to the bedroom since we had moved in the house because I was waiting until I found something I really loved. I chose the paint color for the walls based on the colors in the painting.
“I’m inspired by nature too. When we finished the upstairs, I wanted the bathroom to reflect a beautiful sunny day. I waited until there was a day with one of those deep blue not-a-cloud-in-the-sky kind of days and took the Benjamin Moore fan deck outside and literally held the paint samples up to the sky. I found the blue I was looking for–Nova Scotia Blue (BM #796). That room was painted in 1999 and the color is still on the walls. And I still love it.
“Same with decorating ideas–they come from many different places: catalogues, books, magazines, retail stores, TV, the internet, Pinterest, places we visit, etc.
“We recently redid the upstairs (both bedrooms and the TV room) and we call it our Sanibel Beach House. We said if we were ever to have a house at our favorite place, Sanibel Island, this is what we would want it to look like. The place we stay when we’re on the island provided lots of inspiration and ideas but we made our space personal to reflect us and our family.”
Tips for turning wherever you live into a better space
Melissa asks herself two questions when decorating: “Does this function well and is it pleasing to the eye? That’s what I typically ask myself about spaces/things in our home. That’s the guide I would use to create a better living space.
“We have a dining room table that functioned great because it had 2 leaves so we could make it any size we wanted. Plus, it was very well made, solid cherry, and it was one of the first pieces of furniture we bought as a married couple so there were a lot of memories made around it.
“It just wasn’t pleasing to my eye anymore because it was dated. I could have replaced it, I could have painted it, but I chose to refinish it. I stripped the stain off, re-stained it a dark walnut, and put a flat protective coating on it. I did replace the chairs with new button-tufted upholstered chairs and I fell in love with it all over again.
“I have learned to be patient–to wait until I’m completely satisfied with a choice before moving forward. Snap decisions usually don’t work out for me. Many years ago (1991, I believe) we decided to peel the wallpaper off the living and dining room walls and paint them red. I came home with around fifteen red paint samples and taped them on the wall facing the windows so I could see them in natural light. I would walk past those samples and look quickly at them so I could narrow them down. I looked at them at various times of the day and in various lighting so I could choose the right one. That red stayed on those walls probably past the time it should have. The rooms are Weimaraner by Benjamin Moore now.
A Relaxed Traditionalist
I asked Melissa if her style had changed over time. She said, “A little bit–I’m a relaxed traditionalist but I do love a modern look too. I enjoy things that are juxtaposed, like the stone above the range hood with the crystal chandeliers with barrel shades in the kitchen or the antique Dutch sideboard behind the Pottery Barn sofa in the living room. I’ve changed a lot of things in the house to keep up with what’s current but down deep my style is pretty much consistent.
And since they did the work over a period of time, there’s usually something in the house that needs freshening.
“Right now we have plans to remodel the bathroom downstairs. The plan just hasn’t come together yet, so we haven’t started. This is one of those function issues instead of it not being pleasing to the eye. I still like the way it looks. But we want a large walk-in shower so it’s time.”
I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling it’s going to be just right when the plans fall in place! I can’t wait to see what they do next!
Before you go, let us know what you’re working on in your home.