Nashville House & Home & Garden™

MAR-APR 2014

Nashville House & Home & Garden™ is the area's #1 luxury home and garden publication. We're devoted to everything for decorating and remodeling.

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56 G R E AT E R N A S H V I L L E H O U S E & H O M E & G A R D E N ™ ask a designer ™ Q. My husband gave me the best anniversary present ever! He finally agreed to custom build and showed me the nest egg he has been building for 10 years to surprise me! I am deter- mined this will be a happy project to reward the en re family. I have heard some horror stories, though, and want to make sure I get off on the right foot. What sugges ons would you give me to have a successful and smooth project? —L.L. A. I'm so happy for you! The very best plan is to have the most complete idea of your home possible before you begin. This sounds very simple, but few follow this basic advice. Typically, a home dreamer completes one stage before beginning another without consul ng a designer un l the house is complete. This approach yields surprise a er surprise requiring an unending demand on your two most precious resources: me and money. I would plan the home layout, sea ng arrangement, color schemes, and major furniture selec ons before building. In the same way that a cook envisions a well-func oning kitchen, home dreamers should envision the look and use of the house very thor- oughly. Strive to design beauty in your func oning elements so that they deliver both style and usability. Whatever is not de- signed may require decora ng as compensa on. For instance, if you want a bright and cheery room for your morning reading, your plot of land and home plan should be selected so that the room will have at least one window receiving eastern light. If the room faces west, you could end up decora ng with brighter colors and adding more ar- ficial light than you would prefer. Consider how many guests may be en- tertained at one me, at what me of day, and how formal that event might be. This informa on should translate into the appropriate room size in the correct rela- on to the entrance, powder room, and food service areas. Many plans for homes as large as 6,500 square feet contain great rooms that seat only six people comfortably. The tall ceilings and scale of the rooms make them feel grand. Typi- cally, much later, when buying furniture, a homeowner realizes that three of the four sides of the room must be used as passageways and that furniture must be placed toward the center of the room. No ma!er what events take place in the home, take care that square footage is where you need it. When planning color and style, consider the house from above as if you were a bird looking down on it. Think of it as a board game, and begin assigning colors and pa!erns. One GNHM 0314.e$S:Layout 1 3/10/14 7:05 PM Page 56

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