breezy
Coastal and transitional in style, this one-bedroom model apartment was furnished, its designer says, to exude happiness for its occupants.
If this one-bedroom model apartment had a name, in the way that residents of Bermuda give charming names to their homes, it might be "The Breezes." Not that the trade winds are always blowing here in Glen Cove, N.Y., but gazing at the work of designer Beena Ramachandra, you can almost feel a gentle tropical breeze.
Glimpsed through the open balcony door is a slice of Glen Cove’s thriving downtown. The designer, Safavieh’s Beena Ramachandra, says she made the apartment colorful "in order to exude happiness."
In the living room, Carias brought in sea green with a watercolor-like area rug, framed abstract prints and art glass.
Ramachandra, who is based nearby in Safavieh’s Glen Cove flagship showroom, had a hypothetical couple in mind when she chose a coastal, transitional style for the project. She made the place colorful "in order to exude happiness," she says. There’s an undeniable Midcentury Modern, Floridian vibe in the living room—think Pompano Beach in the ’60s and ’70s. Retro silhouettes, glass-top tables and aqua tones abound.
The room is highly accessorized: A planter spills over with succulents. There are small tabletop forests of ceramic vases, a seeded glass bottle and mirrored Moravian stars. An etagere brims with sculptural objects and art glass. And then there’s Ramachandra’s favorite, a wall sculpture with overlapping organic forms that reflect the coastal setting; the shapes seem to be a cross between lily pads and sand dollars.
The bedroom, a study in blue, beige and gold, is loaded with texture. Hung above the tufted headboard is a pair of wall sculptures, whose curving metal forms stand proud of the wall by several inches. A curvy golden sculpture, suggesting the work of Henry Moore, sits atop a linen-covered dresser. Cobalt and gold bedside tables are topped by ceramic lamps, themselves fired with a light wash of blue and gold.
The setting may not be tropical, but the decor will certainly put any visitor in a warm-weather state of mind.