APRIL 2i
: Romantic
Decorating
Returns
From Dreamy Houses
To Charming Gardens
•jU
APRIL 2011 $5.99
Io""74470 l l 08785" l l 4
I
I
SOFT COLORS.
TIMELESS STYLE.
IRRESISTIBLE CHARM.
THIS FLORIDA
HOUSE IS ENOUGH TO
SWEEP YOU
OFF YOUR FEET.
INTERIOR DESIGN BY JAMES MICHAEL HOWARD ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN BYROBERf HART
VNDSCAPE'ARCHITECTURE BY ALEC MICHAEL1DES PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIGUEL FLORES-VIAN'
PRODUCED BY LESLIE NEWSOM RASCOE WRITTEN BY STEPHEN TREFFINGER
The foyer's faux bois walls
harmonize with a limed wood
center table and chests. THIS
3E: Antique mirrors and famps,
Irs. Howard, Custom table and
Weeks, Rug,
bv Liz
Windows an
i
^mrtrr:
Antique beams add patina to the
living room. Custom sofas and
wingchair in Romo and Summer
Hill fabrics. Pillows in C&C
Milano, Mrs. Howard and Cowtan
& Tout fabrics. Highback chair,
Formations, in Jane Churchill
fabric. Lounge chairs, Sherrill
Furniture, in Schumacher linen.
Custom tables. Three-arm
sconces, Niermann Weeks.
Antique sconces, Mrs. Howard.
Mantel, Stone Yard. Shades
in Brunsehwtg & Fils linen.
Lanterns, Festoni. Rugs, Merida.
PERHAPS THE SERENE ROMANCE OF
THE DESIGN WAS INEVITABLE.
)T MARRIED ON VALENTINE'S
DAY, AND I BECAME MRS. HART,
SO I LIKE TO THINK FATE PLAYED
A ROLE," SAYS SALLIE ANN HART,
who along with her husband, Robert, created their
classically inspired home near the ocean in Ponte
Vedra Beach, Florida. They named the place Serendipity, acknowledging their good fortune at being
able to build it and live close to part of their family, just down the road. Mr. Hart acted as architect,
Mrs. Hart supervised the interior design, and both
were aided by decorator James Michael Howard.
"She thought she was getting a little beach house,
and he wanted Villa Barbaro!" Howard says, referring to the stately structure by Renaissance
architect Andrea Palladio in northern Italy.
"We spent months studying Renaissance architects in the Veneto," says Mr. Hart. "Palladio was a
master of symmetry and proportion, attributes that
were important to me in the design of our house."
Although its interiors are grand in scale—soaring
ceilings and tall, arched doorways and windows—
the overall effect manages to be luxurious and stylish while also being low-key. There's an airiness
and subtlety that derive from the rooms' perfect
proportions and the careful use of fabrics in antique
designs, colored plaster and distressed wood.
"I like a sense of calm. I want people to walk in
and feel as if they are at home here," says Mrs. Hart
of the gracious, light-filled living room.
Howard, ever humorous, puts it bluntly: "Because
of its size, the room could've looked like the reception area of the Breakers Hotel" in Palm Beach.
"So I organized it to make it feel more intimate." He
broke up the vast expanse of ceiling with reclaimed
beams from an old French farmhouse. He designed
back-to-back sofas so that two groups could occupy
adjacent seating areas. He cloaked the windows in
palest blue linen as "a nod to dressmaker details."
Central to Howard's scheme is the concept of
100
Pain
overwhelming, Custom cabinets.
ana a
ArrtU
AA
'A'
• El
rp"r
I ML m.
makes it an intimate retreat. THIS
PASS: fitagere, Mitchell Gold +•
Bob Williams. Tub, Waterworks,
Fittings, Lefroy Brooks. OPPOSITE
Custom bed. Bed curtains in
Hodsoi! McKenzie sheer antt
Pindler& Pirsdler iinen. Pillows
on bed and chair in Summer Hill
fabric. Wall lamp, Circa Lighting,
Antique chandelier and table
lamp, Mrs. Howard. Rug, Saxony.
Bench, Chelsea Textiles,
in Summer Hill cotton. Chairs
in Jim Thompson linen. Wind
in Hodsoll McKenzie fabric.
complementary elements. "You have to have the
big and the small, the rough and the smooth, the
textured and the slick. If all parts are the same, it
will fail." The stone of the dining room's towering
fireplace and overmantel contrasts with the glass
fronts on a pair of custom Gothic Revival cabinets.
The kitchen's cabinets are intended to resemble
furniture. "We gave the top of the walnut island a
limed, rubbed finish. The more you use it, the better it'll look," says Howard. The kitchen, breakfast
room and a seating area form one big space. "I can
hear a conversation in the sitting area and be part
of it while I'm cooking," says Mrs. Hart.
102
Inspired by Bill Blass's iconic dining room,
Howard used a two-tone print on the owners' breakfast room chairs. "They're a little more uptown now,"
says Mrs. Hart. "I like the contrast with the simple
table and its zinc top and rustic wooden base."
Everyone's favorite space is the master bedroom,
at once simply elegant and restrained. "The scale
is Baroque, but the paint makes everything quieter," says Howard. A canopy bed reaches up to a
wooden, swirling ceiling painted with barely-there
laurel leaf embellishment. Mrs. Hart confides,
"In the morning, the electric shades go up, and
Bob says, 'Another beautiful day in paradise!' " EH
FOR JAMES MICHAEL HOWARD'S FAVORITE SOURCES, SEE VERANDA.COM
'EOPLE TO WALK IN AND FEEL AS
IF THEY ARE AT HOME HERE.
Marble countertops mix with a
walnut-topped island. THIS PAGE:
Custom cabinets and ceiling
fixture. Sink and fittings, Ron!,
Floor, Aurora Custom Homes,
OPPOSITE: Club chair and custom
ottoman in Colefax & Fowler
fabrics. Armchair, BeeLine
Home, in Jane Churchill fabric.
Side table, Noir, Custom dining
table. Chairs in Cowtan & Tout
fabric. Chandelier, Mrs, Howard.
Rug, Crescent Carpet Importers.
^^^g
'WHfe
^PALLADIO WAS A MASTER OF SYMMETRY AND PROPORTION,
ATTRIBUTES THAT WERE IMPORTANT TOME *
The pavilion is the perfect
gathering place for cocktails
or dinner. Pavilion by Robert
Hart, Pool by Hart and Alec
Michaelides. Tile, Fondovalle
and Cercan Tile, Coffee table,
Restoration Hardware.
Wicker chairs, Gloster, with
cushions in Perennials fabric.