According to an old Latin proverb, fortune favors the bold, and when interior designer Lisa M. Guild, principal of LMG Design Consulting for Pizzazz Interiors (part of the Stock Family of Services), partnered with the intrepid owners of this vibrant 3,054-square-foot home in the Vineyards neighborhood of the Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch, everyone lucked out.
Color is its heart’s-blood, and one sees it pumping throughout. For clients who have had multiple homes in Europe and elsewhere, the liveliness of Florida’s foliage presented a rare opportunity to enlist a nostalgic palette. As Guild relays the tale, the lady of the house loves purple and green, but the passengers of a NYC bus she once rode while wearing a pair of purple pants, lime green blouse and lavender sweater, disagreed, commenting aloud: “Those colors don’t go together,” (as though she’d asked for their opinion)! Unfazed, she thought: “Well, they do to me,” and went about her business.
Turns out, she knew something they didn’t: when secondary colors are used together in design, they can result in a wonderful contrast. And with the bountiful palm trees, hibiscus, and bougainvillea characterizing the region, her beloved hues were even more apropos. “As her design team, we applaud her bravery to live with colors she loves,” says Guild. “She’s no shrinking violet, and we wanted to work with that.”
To impart a feeling of cohesion, Guild grounded each space with black and white. “The backdrop of those graphics allowed the other colors to speak up when applied in differing degrees,” says Guild. While she played with varietal tones like aubergine and verdant green, melding the clients’ collected items with their new acquisitions, many of which were sourced from International Design Source, required precision, but was no less inspiring. “We inventoried the items we’d be using and built around them,” says Guild. “We felt the old things elevated the new, and we never shied away from integrating pedigreed pieces.”
Karla Payes, production manager of South Florida Design, who was tasked with housing all this enthusiasm, quickly got the gist. In addition to satisfying the fundamental desires of the Florida homeowner, she also sought to capture the owners’ carefree spirit of pushing boundaries while exercising tasteful restraint. “We offered minimal but effective accents that catch your eye,” says Payes. “It is a perfect balance of wonder and charm”.
The builder concurs. Viewing the finished product, they feel like they know the buyers even better now than when they originally purchased the model home. “I recognize the ‘bones’ but this really demonstrates how our design team can start with our structure and bring about endless possibilities,” says Claudine Leger-Wetzel, vice president of sales and marketing for Stock Development. “The clients utilized our beautiful models for inspiration while adding personal touches to truly make it their own,” contributes Catherine Ferber of Stock Development’s in-house design center.
The joyful collaboration where everyone “vibed” is plain to see. “We pushed each other to go further in creating visual depth,” says Guild. “The result is a colorful, cheeky, Euro-modern home that genuinely reflects our clients’ confident, curated taste.”
Tucked within the luxurious Vineyards neighborhood in the Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch, Stock Development’s Merion floorplan is artfully landscaped and designed with coastal Florida and British West Indies influences in mind. Such an expansive lot requires the utmost attention to scale, so that both the structure and the land exist in perfect harmony. Decorative wood brackets, pre-cast accents, and a rustic trellis detail were added to the roofline, openings, and garage doors, respectively, to bring enhanced interest to the façade.
Immediately upon entering, the worldliness of the homeowners is evident. The entry is furnished with a raw metal and glass-topped console they purchased abroad and repurposed here from their Brussels home. Above it hangs a framed photo obtained at a National Geographic exhibition in London. The Loloi Tiger Hide rug from International Design Source, laid over a wood-like tile, is a nod to the Asian travels the couple has enjoyed.
The dining room embodies Parisian-chic style with the clients’ existing table and chairs from Roche Bobois. The table’s translucent glass top reveals a deep charcoal Surya area rug from International Design Source. The aesthetic of the framed giclée obtained at Soicher Marin gallery is closer to home. “The colors of lavender, magenta, and gold are reminiscent of a Florida sunset,” notes Guild.
In the great room, the color journey truly begins. On the focal wall, Guild uses a textural black wallcovering from Phillip Jeffries as an inset, while boldly-colored floral paintings from Left Bank Art blossom on either side. An ebony-toned sideboard from International Design Source by Bernhardt is accessorized with shapely green ceramic urns. Taylor King’s upholstered seating features a contrasting velvet stripe in moss green, and the other key shade, the color purple, is represented in the draperies using a Kasmir fabric.
A momentary, but meaningful color pause happens in the predominantly white kitchen, where clean, bright cabinetry is counterbalanced with rich stone surfaces. Sleek armless stools in white leather from International Design Source by Star International provide island-side seating for six. A trio of glittering Hudson Valley pendants illuminates the space.
A scenic Thibaut toile is used to a dramatic effect in the master bedroom, making the custom drapes, shades, and pillows pop. The traditional Lillian August bed is framed by horizontal decorative millwork climbing the headboard wall and is flanked on either side with apple-green-and-white-lacquered Vanguard Furniture nightstands from International Design Source. Overhead, the Hudson Valley chandelier — an asterisk punctuated with silver “candles” — ups the elegance factor.
The theatrical master bath is bursting with grape walls featuring a Phillip Jeffries vinyl wallcovering that shows off a “pond” of Global Views lily pad sculptures cascading down towards the soaking tub. A Surya garden stand, with the client’s own miniature purple dish placed on top, perpetuates the bold color scheme. The floors and the ample, open shower are graced with polished marble and tumbled mosaic.
The bonus room is a big perk of the model, and this one is brought to life with navy cabinetry inset with a rainbow-colored abstract paper by Cole & Sons from International Design Source. The black leather chair with slender stainless steel arms by Lexington Home Brands is contemporary in feel, whereas the Surya rug beneath a smoked acrylic cocktail table by Made Goods refers to the Old World. Once again, the designer and her clients refuse to be bound by “rules.”
Equally brazen with mixing patterns, Guild’s guest bedroom design boasts a dynamic bedding ensemble — a vintage Suzani tribal quilt and hemp coverlet combined with punchy velvet and silk pillows — dressing a plush black contemporary sleigh bed. The interlocking diamonds on the rug and black and white stripes on the inlaid wood nightstands and console further demonstrate the clients’ daring style mantra: it’s okay to be brave as long as it’s done right.
The home’s location, adjacent to a preserve, was a factor the residential design firm kept at the forefront of the home’s design. “It was important in our design to allow for openness throughout while keeping as much privacy in the lanai as possible,” remarks Payes.
Guild stays consistent with her palette right out to the pool area, where the outdoor furnishings are flavored with fruity plum cushions and citron accent pillows. In contrast, the finishes are muted, the fire pit is natural stone, and the deck and spa surround are elegantly appointed with Greystone travertine, delivering the familiar neutral grounding that the designer tends to use as a springboard.
Written by Robin Hodes
Photography by Randall Perry
Residential Designer
South Florida Design | South Florida Architecture
9990 Coconut Road, Suite 360
Bonita Springs, FL 34135
239.777.0616
sfarchitectureinc.com
Luxury Home Builder
Stock Development
2639 Professional Circle, Suite 101
Naples, FL 34119
239.592.7344
stockdevelopment.com
Interior Designer
LMG Design Consulting for Pizzazz Interiors
1959 Trade Center Way
Naples, FL 34109
239.449.4997
pizzazzint.com
Resources:
International Design Source
1734 Northgate Boulevard
Sarasota, FL 34234
941.552.2550
ids1.com
The Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch
8307 Lake Club Boulevard
Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202
941.907.9088
thelakeclublwr.com
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