Our most recent project in Florida is a little house we are calling the Cocoa Cabana. I have mentioned before that each property has a personality which I like to tap into with the design. Sometimes I see it from the beginning, but sometimes the personality doesn’t start showing up until some of the design pieces are in place. The latter is how the super cute personality of the Cocoa Cabana made its way into our hearts.
We purchased this house, which was small and dated, early this year. After we refurbished it, I began to feel the personality emerging, and I wanted to use a mix of old and new in the design/staging elements. I just happened to find a beautiful, vintage dining room set with cane back chairs on FaceBook Marketplace. It had a definite beachy vibe, was extremely sturdy, high quality—more so than a brand new purchase—which is often the case with vintage furniture.
Next I found a fold-out couch, also on FaceBook Marketplace, that had never been used. It was at least 3 times the quality of anything I could have bought brand new within our budget. These two pieces ended up being the staples in each room, and I built my decor around them. The pillows I chose to complement the couch were a little old fashioned/French country and the mix of old and new brought out a cozy personality in the whole house.
I know I have hit the mark when I want to hang out in a space and I’m not in a hurry to leave. A sense of beauty and peace gets a hold of me, and I am confident I have accomplished the goal we have with all our properties. I hit that groove about ¾ of the way in on this project, and from that point on I was just perfecting the details. I would love to hear what you think and also to hear your stories of discovering the personality of your own home or property.
With beauty and peace,
Karen Conrad Metcalfe