Read any good (decorating) books lately?

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • August 2020

If you’re like me, some days you just want to curl up in your favorite spot with a good book (preferably with pretty pictures) and escape from the stress and nonstop news.

As a Southwest Florida interior decorator working with clients virtually and in their homes, I find a lot of solace and inspiration in design books. Here are a few of my favorites and if you would like to share some of yours, please do so on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Spectacular.Spaces

Sophisticated Simplicity by Suzanne Kasler

Serene but far from boring, this book offers what we’re seeking right now. Easy, calm suggestions and beautiful photos to inspire us. Maybe encouragement to try something a little different in our homes. Or to just enjoy the pretty vignettes and color palettes.

One of my favorite designers, award-winning Kasler, combines American and European touches with eclectic design to create comfortable living spaces. Her timeless sophistication and use of color combine to make the most of architectural details. And her books are a joy with suggestions for room arranging and finishing touches. This one is especially so.

Note: 10 years ago, Kasler partnered with Ballard Designs and developed a signature collection. In celebration, the company is highlighting her designs. Check them out at to be found at www.ballarddesigns.com/furniture/design/suzanne-kasler-collection

Key West: A Tropical Lifestyle by Leslie Linsley

This book has been around a while but it remains one of my favorite “escape” books. If you’ve ever walked the streets of Key West, you know that feeling that makes you wish you could take a quick peek in so many of the beautiful homes in this island paradise.

Although some homeowners are fairly laid back about curious tourists trying to sneak a look inside their abodes, a better way is Linsley’s beautifully photographed book that explores 22 residences along with interviews with owners, architects and designers.

And like every trip to Key West, you’ll come away with something that you want to incorporate into your own Southwest Florida tropical oasis.

Soul of the Home: Designing with Antiques by Tara Shaw

Warning: make sure you have some time because you will not want to leave these beautiful rooms. Each page is a treat. Hot off the press this spring, Shaw’s book is a feast for the eyes as the past meets the present as she mixes antiques and modern design. I could not get to my computer fast enough to order this book. And it is among my favorites.

With decades of collecting in Europe, she is a supplier of antiques to Elle Décor A-listers. And she offers her tips for selecting the perfect pieces to display in contemporary interiors. You will come away with a renewed love for vintage and antique pieces and new ideas for incorporating them. I like what she says:

“Antiques bestow an incomparable sense of history…their flaws, scrapes and bumps are hard-earned and make your interiors (and maybe even you) more forgiving.”

Shaw even shares her favorite antiquing spots throughout Europe. We can dream a little from our homes, right?

India Hicks Island Style

She’s the British-born daughter of famed interior decorator David Hicks and Lady Pamela Hicks and the granddaughter of Lord Mountbatten. Prince Charles is her godfather and he wrote the foreword to this book. She was a bridesmaid at his wedding to Lady Diana. Having said all of this, let’s add one more: she’s very cool.

Hicks takes us on a journey through Hibiscus Hill, her family’s Bahama enclave. And teaches us the importance of shoestring decorating, repurposing and leaving room for spaces that offer sanctuary.

It’s a beautiful and fun trip that in its 10 chapters, shows us the basics of capturing the look of timeless and under-decorated rooms. It’s a perfect escape for these times and there’s a lot of royal glitz thrown in.

Happy readying and stay safe.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her articles appear the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Finding design inspiration in a decorator show house

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • February 22, 2020

Decorator show houses always leave me with new inspiration. They show us tricks for creatively providing solutions to problems that we all face in our homes. And they are just plain fun!

That’s why I made the trip to Palm Beach this past week to preview what I knew would be a worthwhile experience at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House. The proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach and the same organization in New York. It’s a win-win for everyone.

When you take a group of 19 top designers and give them each a room in a fabulous home, the result is bound to be spectacular. It can be a room, entry, hallway, closet or outdoor space. Or cottage in the backyard. So to speak. They are hardly cottages and this is no ordinary backyard.

Kips Bay Decorator Show House. Photo: Sargent Architectural Photography.

What you can expect

• A home that does not flow. Each room is done by a different designer so they bring their own creativity to the space. Enjoy each individual space.

• The latest colors, fabric, furnishings, window treatments, wall coverings, paint colors, patterns, textures, accessories and trends.

• Ideas and solutions for your own space. As a Southwest Florida interior decorator, I always look for tips to pass on to my clients and this home did not disappoint. Tips are below.

• These rooms each had their set of “challenges” and it’s interesting to see how designers overcame them. Much as we do when we work with clients on a daily basis. No home or room is perfect.

The show house

The 8,751-square-foot home inspired by South African and Dutch architecture is located at 260 Palmetto Lane in West Palm Beach. It features four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a great room with vaulted ceilings and French doors that open up to an expansive loggia, and a spacious kitchen with an adjacent outdoor dining terrace. The home includes two guest houses, a pool house, and an expansive private garden with lush tropical flora.

Design challenges

The home is lacking in architectural features for most rooms and in some spaces, the walls do not go all the way to the high ceilings.

Tips you can use

Use paint in a voluminous room with no focal point. In Southwest Florida, we know something about this challenge! With our open concept and lack of walls, we understand the dilemma. But one of my favorite designers, Suzanne Kasler cleverly dealt with this in the huge living room with high, high ceilings and no architectural details to speak of. And she also had to overcome walls that did not reach the ceiling.

Great Room “Edited Style” ​was designed by ​Suzanne Kasler. Built on a quintessential Palm Beach color palette of pink and white and featuring rattan, linen, and natural materials, the Great Room boasts stunning views of the outdoor garden and swimming pool. High-gloss, built-in bookcases in ​Benjamin Moore’s​ Custis Salmon stretch across an entire wall, housing a number of books and white sculptural pieces, while a stunning wall covering sets the scene for the room. Photo: Sargent Architectural Photography.

Solution: Paint. She made you forget the shortcomings with built-in bookshelves in Benjamin Moore’s Curtis Salmon and trim and walls in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove, both in high gloss. For the main walls, she designed a beautiful floral wall covering framed in white millwork. This all helps draw the eye away from the irregular ceilings. She also uses moldings to bring the volume down to eye level.

Paint the outdoor ceiling. This has been a trend for a while, although I find many homeowners are a little reticent to make the commitment. Another of my favorite designers, Sherrill Canet created a fabulous palette of black, white, and jewel tones on the shaded terrace. She uses Benjamin Moore‘s Fantasy Blue to create the effect of an open air space on a covered porch. It’s a great trick that can be used on any outdoor space. As for furnishings, embracing its role as the heart of the plantation-style home, the Loggia blends modern touches with antique pieces for a tailored look for comfortable outdoor living. Gorgeous.

Sherrill Canet created a fabulous palette of black, white, and jewel tones on the shaded terrace. She uses Benjamin Moore‘s Fantasy Blue to create the effect of an open air space on a covered porch. It’s a great trick that can be used on any outdoor space. Photo: Sargent Architectural Photography.

Fake it with a beautiful wall covering. At first glance, the master bedroom by designer Alessandra Branca, is like waking up in a tiled bedroom in a villa in Portugal. In reality, the hand-painted wallpaper that Branca designed for DeGournay, gives the look of traditional Portuguese ceramic tiles. The furniture is a mix of Dutch and French pieces with 18th-century painted chairs mixed with modern pieces. On the terrace, floor-to-ceiling custom window treatments by The Shade Store lead to sweeping views of the garden and pool. It’s a room you never want to leave.

The master bedroom by designer Alessandra Branca, is like waking up in a tiled bedroom in a villa in Portugal. In reality, the hand-painted wallpaper that Branca designed for DeGournay, gives the look of traditional Portuguese ceramic tiles. The furniture is a mix of Dutch and French pieces with 18th-century painted chairs mixed with modern pieces. Photo: Sargent Architectural Photography.

Colorful kitchen with an antique. There is no dining room in the home so the spacious kitchen could easily handle that function. Designer Sarah Blank created a timeless space that offers a relaxing and refreshing gathering place. Benjamin Moore's brilliant Swiss Blue adds dimension, while artwork depicting birds and coral pays homage to the home’s South Florida location. The island, an antique tailor’s table anchors the room and is the focal point.

Benjamin Moore’s Swiss Blue and an antique tailor’s table are the stars of this kitchen by Sarah Blank. Photo: Sargent Architectural Photography.

If you go

Dates: the show runs through March 1.

Admission: $35 per person. Proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach and New York.

Details: www.kipsbaydecoratorshowhouse.org/palmbeach

Home and location: Home of interior designer Lars Bolander, it’s known as Bambo Hill and is located at 260 Palmetto Lane, Palm Beach.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her articles appear the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog