THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611010065
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARCIA MANGUM, HOME & GARDEN EDITOR
LENGTH: 140 lines
BRILLIANT BERRY RED colors the dining room. Rich emerald marbles the living room. Cheery yellow warms the girl's room. Deep blues and reds mark the boy's domain.
And there's more: vivid apple green and white in the guest room, warm earth tones in the recreation room, traditional green and burgundy in the study, soft lavender in the laundry room and soothing taupe in the master bedroom and bath.
The Lowe's & Southern Living 1996 Show Home at Linkhorn Oaks in Virginia Beach presents a broad spectrum of colors, unified by shades of green.
``The casual feel of the home was conveyed through muted colors and comfort-minded furniture,'' says Mary McWilliams, interiors editor for Southern Living magazine, who coordinated the home's interior design.
``The key to the transition from the formal to informal living spaces was the color.''
McWilliams chose the colors, fabrics and furnishings for this and the 14 other show homes in 12 states to create the style associated with Southern Living. It's a welcoming, comfortable look that lends itself to entertaining.
The 4,800-square-foot house, located with a view of Linkhorn Bay on the Old Oak Hill Farm, was built by Chris Ettel and Chancey Walker III of VB Contractors. Its $545,000 price tag isn't within reach of everyone, but for a $2 admission, anyone can go and gather ideas. And proceeds from the 2-month-long showing benefit The Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters.
Lowe's, co-sponsor for the home, supplied most of the construction materials, along with such elements as light fixtures, rugs, mirrors and plants, while most of the interior furnishings were supplied by Haverty's of Virginia Beach.
The house's exterior, with rough, colonial-style bricks and white columns, sets the tone for the classic styling within. But with a nod to contemporary living, some of the dormers function as skylights in the two-story foyer and family room, and there are plenty of modern conveniences, such as recessed lighting, whirlpool tubs and a gas fireplace.
The front's traditional feel is carried into the foyer, which is framed by custom-built, fluted columns and four-piece crown molding.
To either side of the foyer, the dramatic colors of the dining room and living room announce a warm welcome.
The bold holly-berry red of the dining room has become a McWilliams trademark, as likely to show up in a country kitchen or guest bedroom as a formal dining room. An ornate gold-gilt mirror, brass chandelier and collection of blue ceramic dishes add to the room's richness, while the slipper chairs add to its coziness.
The window treatments throughout the house are worth seeing. The dining-room drapes of hunter-green-stripe fabric hang from a wrought-iron rod with grapevine finials and puddle luxuriously on the oak floor.
Both the dining- and living-room windows have old-style panes and 2-inch wooden blinds.
The living room's deep green faux-finish wallpaper provides the backdrop to traditional dark-wood furniture, burgundy upholstery, a warm looped-wool rug, plenty of plants and wrought-iron accents.
From the foyer, visitors can look through to the picture window at the far end of the family room and see the trellis, pool and waterfall in the backyard.
The abundance of windows, dormer-style skylights and vaulted ceiling make the family room a sunny gathering place. Warmth is created by its gas fireplace, built-in hunter-green book cabinets, tongue-and-groove pine paneling and furnishings such as as a wicker coffee table, folk-chest table and plaid draperies.
An arched opening leads to the spacious kitchen and breakfast area, where the color theme is carried out with green wooden chairs and green in the fruit-print wallpaper and backsplash tiles.
If you're looking for decorating ideas, McWilliams' style shines in the bedrooms. The girl's room avoids being ``too cute'' and is a place where a girl of any age could feel comfortable. Pale-yellow walls are accented by red-yellow-green plaid fabric that repeats throughout the room. McWilliams drapes a large piece of the fabric on the wall behind the bed, eliminating the need for a headboard.
She also creates an inexpensive and attractive bedside table using a round, pressboard table padded with a layer of foam, covered with a cheery farm-print fabric. The foam makes it more plush and inviting than the normal draped table.
Mixing stripes, plaids and florals is another of McWilliams' creative touches that shows up in the girl's bedroom and bath, as well as the guest bedroom.
And it's all very colorful. The bright green walls of the guest room are toned down by the white metal bed, wicker chests and warm floral and stripe bedding coordinates.
In both the girl's and guest rooms, she uses mirrors with dividers to resemble windows, and she positions them so that they reflect the outdoors into the bedrooms.
Another McWilliams touch that shows up throughout the house is the use of fringes, tassels, braids and other decorative trim. Even the sisal rugs are bound with tapestry or other fabrics.
``She's used a lot of trim work on spreads, pillows and window treatments,'' said Emily White, president of the Beacon Circle of the Norfolk City Union of The King's Daughters, which is assisting with the fund-raising show home.
The boy's bedroom and bath, decorated in rich reds, greens and blues, has a few ideas to take home, too, such as golf clubs used as curtain rods and an old chest locker for storage at the foot of the bed.
Colors are toned down in the master suite, clearly designed to be a relaxing retreat. Soft shades of taupe, beige and gold are warmed by the wooden sleigh bed and an upholstered sofa and ottoman. Different styles of bedside tables typify McWilliams' eclectic eye.
Upstairs, the colors run to the darker end of the spectrum. A home office, decorated in deep green and burgundy, is nestled in the eaves, with pictures hung below the slanted ceiling line and a framed mirror used to visually enlarge the space.
The large recreation room is decorated for family relaxation, with comfortable terracotta-colored sofa and chairs and puddled black drapes.
If you're not in the market for home-decorating ideas but are gearing up for the holidays, wait another couple of weeks to check out the show home. McWilliams will return soon to decorate the house for the holidays, said Kathie Vermillion, committee chairwoman for the Lowe's & Southern Living Show Home.
It's the only one of the show homes being redecorated for the holidays, and the new look should be completed by Nov. 14. ILLUSTRATION: Color Photos by TAMARA VONINSKI/The Virginian-Pilot
The dining room is a rich, inviting room with its holly berry red
walls and accents of gold, hunter green and blue. Slipper chairs
invite guests to sit and linger around the table.
ABOVE: The master bedroom and bath are softly colored in taupe,
cream and gold. Decorator trims adorn the pillows. RIGHT: The show
home has a rough brick exterior.
Photos by TAMARA VONINSKI/The Virginian-Pilot
A mirror over a sink reflects the relaxing master bathroom, which
offers a view of Linkhorn Bay from the sunken tub.
A large archway opens from the kitchen to the family room, creating
a bright, spacious area.
Graphic
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