Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Home & Garden
  • Style & Culture
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • These Haircuts Are Going To Be Huge in 2021

      The trendy haircuts you’ll be seeing everywhere next year. Read More Next
    • How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Read More Next
    • The Right Way to Heat a Pre-Cooked Ham

      It's so easy, trust us. Read More Next
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food

    Lost Cakes of the South

    These simple and spectacular Southern cakes deserve a comeback
    • All Food
    • All Recipes
    • Holidays & Occasions
    • Quick Fix Suppers
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Casseroles
    • Healthy Recipes
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See All Holidays & Entertaining

    70 Wedding Vow Examples That Will Melt Your Heart

    Fight writer's block and find ways to express your love with these romantic, funny, and short wedding vow examples.
    • Christmas
    • Entertaining
    • Thanksgiving
    • Southern Weddings
    • Easter
    • Kentucky Derby
    • Valentine's Day
    • 4th of July
    • Mother's Day
  • Home & Garden

    Home & Garden

    See All Home & Garden

    7 Paint Colors We’re Loving for Kitchen Cabinets in 2020

    ‘Tis the season to ditch your all-white palette in favor of something a little bolder and brighter.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Before & After
    • Inspired Communities
    • Curb Appeal
    • House Plans & Builders
    • The Grumpy Gardener
    • Plant Names A-Z
  • Style & Culture

    Style & Culture

    See All Style & Culture

    50 Books Everyone Should Read in Their Lifetime

    Curl up with a classic!
    • Southern Culture
    • Hair
    • Travel
    • Beauty
    • Pets
    • Southern Fashion
    • Healthy Living
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Southern Living
  2. Home
  3. Home Decor Ideas
  4. Incredibly Stylish Space

Incredibly Stylish Space

By Julie Feagin Sandner
September 04, 2008
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Credit: Photography: Laurey W. Glenn
Four basic updates step up your style--some take just a weekend.
Start Slideshow

1 of 4

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

1. Freshen Up

Credit: Photography: Laurey W. Glenn

It's common: You find a house on the perfect street, and you fall in love with it--the street, not the house. Patti and Claude Perrier gave some TLC to a ranch-style house in their dream neighborhood--and now they have an incredibly stylish space. They prioritized what they could live with and what could be covered up with paint. They had an advantage though. Patti, a designer, knows tricks that don't require a total overhaul. Keep reading for her secrets.

One great feature of this 1950s Houston home: The large rooms flow from one to another. However, the lack of architectural details is consistent from room to room too. Instead of adding such details, where they'd be a tad out of place, Patti removed dingy carpet and gave everything a coat of creamy white paint, a nice backdrop to her antiques collection. Existing hardwood floors add a rich feel.

1 of 4

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 4

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2. The Art of Disguising

Credit: Photography: Laurey W. Glenn

Replacing a 14-foot-long living room window would be costly. Instead, Patti creatively covered it up with drapery panels paired with natural blinds. To mask the metal window frames, she ordered four panels, not just two, to flank the window. Hang the drapery rod as high as it will go to visually raise the height of a room. The blinds add dimension while also filtering the sun.

2 of 4

3 of 4

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

3. Wise Furniture Buys

Credit: Photography: Laurey W. Glenn

Furniture style and placement does matter when updating a room. In the living room, Patti grouped a sofa and a pair of tufted chairs in front of the large window and positioned two large wing chairs on either side of the fireplace. This gives the room plenty of seating without feeling cluttered.

The tufted chairs are covered in a soft coral ticking, providing a hint of color. The wing chairs sport cotton canvas. Pillows add a splash of color to the neutral slipcovers. The dramatic scale of the chairs creates symmetry.

In the dining room, Patti selected an oval table to break up the rectangular lines of the house and generously fill the space.

3 of 4

Advertisement

4 of 4

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

4. Accessories Matter

Credit: Photography: Laurey W. Glenn

The living room also features rectangular niches on one wall. Patti uses neutral accessories and stacks of books to establish a more restful scene in this area. Avoid colorful items, which call attention to these spots.

A patterned rug anchors a room. The Oriental one that Patti chose pulls together all the colors found in the living room and connecting dining room.

Elegant coral silk draperies introduce color in the dining room. Patti repeats the natural blinds here to lend a more playful, less serious look. A large antique mirror creates a beautiful focal point in the room. Two iron floor lamps repeat the symmetry and clean lines found in the living room.

This article is from the January 2006 issue of Southern Living.

4 of 4

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Julie Feagin Sandner

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 4 1. Freshen Up
2 of 4 2. The Art of Disguising
3 of 4 3. Wise Furniture Buys
4 of 4 4. Accessories Matter

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Login

Southern Living

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Books from Southern Living
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Southern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com

View image

Incredibly Stylish Space
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.