Views often draw people to their homes, whether it’s a skyline or wooded backyard. Maximizing that view can be difficult, though.
Sometimes, you may have to figure out how to provide shade from harsh light without covering the windows. When buying furniture, you may need to decide how to fit your style and space without overcrowding a window or door.
Rearrange it
For a condo on the 23rd floor of The Residences at W Atlanta-Downtown, Cantoni designer Kohl Sudnikovich converted one of the three bedrooms into an additional sitting area with a small white-and-black sectional, mirrored side tables and TV. The space is separated from the living room and dining area by a chiseled marble, three-sided fireplace. The homeowners are a couple with no kids who were willing to give up a bedroom, he said.
“We created the space for the way they live and the way they entertain,” he said.
He selected sleek, contemporary furniture and lighting with glass, chrome and mirrors. Instead of a chandelier, Sudnikovich spaced out the three glass pendants over the table and hung them higher for unobstructed views of skyscrapers such as Westin Peachtree Plaza and 191 Peachtree Tower.
Mirror the scenery
Shiny objects can polish your perspective of what’s beyond the windows and doors.
“Mirrors are my biggest thing. They create a more open space,” says Atlanta-based interior designer Brian Patrick Flynn.
In a riverfront home, Flynn used oversized mirrors on each side of the bed in a master bedroom to reflect the views from various vantage points.
Suspended rectangular mirrors hanging from the 10-foot ceiling in the W Atlanta condo make a design statement and reflect the city architecture back into the home. The sitting area’s mirrored cocktail tables are angled to capture different views of the scenery, Sudnikovich said.
“Everything was reflective in the unit, even the accessories on the cocktail table,” Sudnikovich said.
Pick your palette
Flynn suggests using as much white as possible to highlight, not detract from the views. In the 2016 HGTV Dream Home in Merritt Island, Florida, for example, Flynn used a tone-on-tone color scheme that blended with the home’s pool and river views. He kept the terrace bedroom mostly ultra-white and accented it with touches of a languid French blue.
A palette of white, brown, black and a bit of gold with beige keeps the furnishings and light fixtures from battling the views in the W Atlanta condo.
“They wanted the city backdrop to be the colors,” Sudnikovich said.
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