House BVI Design By Fran Morrell

After Irma, I am in the process of updating each room of the house.  It’s therapeutic and practical after the the damage we sustained, September 2017.  Many of you may have read the blog about Sams room which I rushed to finish prior to his return in November.

Our eldest son, Josh, who is currently at University in Rhode Island made a quick dash down for Thanksgiving and then, one expensive plane ticket later, flew back for Christmas.  I  decided, now Sams room was ostensibly finished, to tackle Josh’s for his return.  Not being keen on surprises, I talked over the scheme I had in mind with him:  A monochomatic, simple, elegant and comfortable room for a twenty year old – An urban chic space but cool, calm and classic for the caribbean.  Josh thought this would work!!!

When we moved into our newly built house just over 5 years ago, the room was decorated as per Josh’s wishes in a rich blue on the walls which contrasted nicely with the white furniture.  I punctuated this with some very intense yellow linen wrapped headboards with red and green throw pillows – da da…… extemely bright and at the time for a 15 year old about to embark on his first semester at boarding school.

Here is the room, prior to the makeover,  (after Irma) minus the curtains and a window…..

I wanted to create a light, calm, welcoming space, not bland but with a wall colour subtle enough to contrast with the white furniture and the newly epoxy painted white floor – thank you once again Irma.

The Dash and Albert Icelandia Dove grey knotted wool rug  was at hand, so I started with that as the anchor for the room.  Choosing some soft fabrics for throw pillows; the Greek key pattern for the window blinds, and some textures for throws both in a suede like finish and a soft brushed velvet crossed with the waffle weave raised fabric for the headboard, we had a harmonious monochromatic scheme but with textures that gave the story depth and mood.

We decided to  change the twin beds in the room for a king size bed and covered a spare headboard in the waffle weave grey slate.

The colours picked for the room were decided upon using the Benjamin Moore large colour samples we use at House and after lining up the different colours against each other to compare and contrast, we decided to pick Chantilly Lace in semi gloss  for the  trim and doors, Classic Grey in eggshell for the walls and a contrast of Wrought Iron for the bedside tables.

Wrought Iron

Chantilly Lace

Classic Grey

We decided to re-cycle the large dominant wardrobe from before and substituted it for a white wood dresser chest with silver hardware.  The Tradewinds Furniture Cottage Barister Desk remained but we painted the louvred shuttered bedside tables with Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron.  My wonderful seamstress Dorca, delivered the oversized Euro cushions and fabric blinds the day before Josh returned.  Tropical shipping together with the BVI port Authority came through at the eleventh hour the afternoon of Saturday 23rd December (nothing else going on )!!!!  And we managed to deliver the new chest.  Topping off the bedside tables we placed two oversized Kuna lamps in white which brought the whole space together and with the Christmas present of a 43” flat screen TV, the room was almost complete.

Marina White Wood Chest

Kuna Lamp in white with linen shade

White Cottage Barrister Desk

Adding to Josh’s collection of surf  movie posters and James Bond film flyers, we deciding between a vintage copy of the Phonetic Alphabet (good skill to remember the correct names) for some depth on the walls, or some wrapped art to add a bit of colour….

Let me know what you think………

A)

Or B)

The following images are the rendered results, plans for how the room looks.

Final images of the bedroom will be posted beginning of January.

Post Hurricane renovation at our house is starting with a downstairs bedroom for Sam who is returning home for a couple of months before starting Boston University in January.
We moved into the new house over 5 years ago and the room was painted in a soft turquoise blue with matching blue curtains over the windows, a white desk, white built in shelves and a soft blue sofa bed. There was a large braided rug in blues, greens and beiges on the floor. However, a window and door blew in during Irma and this room was badly affected, so I am trying to make it “teenage” ready in two weeks.
Colours
A heavy suggestion from “the room’s occupant” was that the room not be too feminine! This kid is an avid sailor so I have picked out some nautical colours and chosen Benjamin Moore’s Collingwood Grey for the walls with the help of the True Colour Expert large colour sample cards – a must when picking out colours for walls.

  The soft grey palette will work with the flooring and the neutral blind fabric as well as the deep colour picked for cabinetry.

We recently laid down grey wood flooring which mercifully survived two Catagory 5 hurricanes so there was an element to start with pulling colours together. Collingwood Grey is a fabulous grey with neutral undertones that will work as a pretty grey but also in a more masculine room.
Fabric Choices
I had thought about using Norbar Jill Tidal for the replacement window treatments but on sending an image to the client (my 18 year old son,Sam) for approval I received a text with a resoundingly negative response so I am saving the lovely fabric for another room.Finally I settled on Henderson Natural from the Linen Luxe collection by Norbar Fabrics. We are dispensing witht he original curtains as they were torn off their rails and are frankly an insurance job! Blinds are less fussy and will require less fabric and give a more streamlined look to the room. I plan to give these blinds a navy blue border line for a more polished finish. The fabric was ordered yesterday once I had confirmed the yardage needed with my fabulous seamstress, Dorca, who is standing by for all upholstery work over the coming months. Hopefully the fabric should arrive tomorrow and she can begin work and installation before Saturday 5th.

I plan to edge the fabric with a navy grosgrain ribbon to give the blinds a polished finish.

Cabinetry
The painters are arriving Thursday and will paint the walls and trim. I have decided to use Hale Navy in a gloss for what is left of the cupboards and shelves which will contrast beautifully with the grey of the walls.

I am in love with this colour and cannot wait to see it in on the cupboards in a high gloss finish.

Rugs and Bedding
Still to choose is the bedding and area rugs along with cushions and lamps as all were blown away. Watch this space for those decisions, however, in the meantime, I would value an opinion on which area rug will work: Bedside tables will for the moment remain white. The sofabed has a white linen cover (for now) and the throw pillows have yet to be confirmed.

See the rug options below.  Let me know which one you prefer.

This is a blog about Elegant Island Design.  This is not a blog about bright colours and hibiscus printed fabrics, but rather how to decorate in the Caribbean with an island vibe, whilst delivering a cool comfortable and stylish space. Let the beauty of the outside balance with calming, relaxing interiors.