When it comes to interior
design, the term “impossible”
is seldom heard at Ovation—especially
for homes purchased before cabinets,
floors, plumbing fixtures, wall
finishes, etc., are installed.
(NOTE: While the Ovation
building is complete and our
community is thriving, six homes
are still available, two of
which are unfinished—bare canvases
awaiting some lucky family’s
signature style. Even the four
homes that are finished and
ready to move into offer a world
of possibilities for that personal
touch.) The question
is
how? How in a building
where the floor plans are, by
necessity, quite similar do
you create a home custom-fit
to your lifestyle, taste and
personality?
It’s easy
at
Ovation, and it begins in
the welcoming office of
Kathy Pichowski, Ovation’s
in-house design coordinator.
Kathy is the linchpin that keeps
communications and progress
flowing smoothly among contractors,
vendors, subcontractors, designers
and homeowners, documenting,
she notes, “everything, down
to the direction of the grain
in the wood on the floor.”
A confident and trusted partner,
she walks residents through
the selection of flooring, cabinetry,
plumbing fixtures, specialty
wiring, wall surfaces. And at
Ovation, those choices are many.
“Everyone is surprise
by how customized the choices
are at Ovation,” says, Jill
Lifsey, owner/interior decorator
of
District Designs in Tampa.
She says Ovation’s selections
are among the most—if not
the most—generous in
the area. “Standard” condominium
home packages are often limited
to three to five choices of
appliances or cabinet style
or plumbing fixtures. “At Ovation,
custom is the standard,” she
says.
“This is such
a great resource,” adds Rob
Bowen, gesturing around Kathy’s
office — stocked with ideas,
samples, blueprints, renderings
and homeowners’ files that rise
12- to 18-inches along her neat
credenza. “What’s in this room
could take months to gather.
Here, it might take an hour
or two,” Rob is owner/designer
of
SPACE – Creative Planning
for Unique Spaces in downtown
St. Petersburg.
“And
if a homeowner wants something
outside of our selections, of
course we’ll research it for
them; most times we can make
that happen,” says Kathy.
With so many alternatives
and combinations, residents
are assured their home will
not mimic another Ovation home.
Another assurance is Kathy herself:
She knows the detailed design/décor
elements of every home and can
diplomatically steer designers
and homeowners away from duplicating
elements she knows already exists.
Of course experienced designers
are scrupulous about not repeating
themselves—certainly not within
the same building, and never
in a building as intimate as
Ovation, with just 45 homes.
Kathy assures potential
Ovation buyers that their personal
designers are always welcome.
“Unlike some communities, Ovation
likes working with designers,”
says Rob. “They want to help
create one-of-a-kind homes for
their unique owners!”
These two seasoned professionals
share a few tips on how to make
your Ovation home one that bears
your singular style:
Jill Lifsey
•
Gather
as many photos, color swatches,
fabric samples as you can; comb
design magazine and catalogs;
take snapshots of furnishings,
art and accessories—in your
home or out and about. Your
distinctive style will bubble
to the surface.
•
Get personal:
Make lists of your family members
and their tastes: dogs, kids,
grandchildren, daily routines
(coffee on the terrace, cocktails
at sundown—or both?), must-keep
heirlooms, hobbies, sports,
frequent visitors, entertaining
style and frequency.
•
Prioritize
furnishings, functions and decorative
items you must include—and do
it early in the process.
 |
| Jill Lifsey, District Designs |
“Many
Ovation owners have traveled extensively and have fabulous
art collections. We often design
custom display areas with specialty
lighting around their one-of-a-kind
collection.” It doesn’t get
more individual than that.
•
Expand your
expectations. Design
pros draw from a wealth of ideas,
resources and past experiences.
That huge portrait that must
hang in the family room? Jill
has designed a pop-up console
for a large flat-screen TV that
raises and lowers at the touch
of a remote control device—allowing
art and entertainment to take
turns using one space.
•
Mix it up.
Consider the tried-and-true
museum practice of rotating
art or furnishings, keeping
some in storage (or another
home), then switching out occasionally—perhaps
seasonally or based on the light/position
of the sun in different seasons.
Planning ahead not only keeps
your space fresh, it ensures
that each piece is appropriate
to the space—and always a reflection
of your taste.
•
Re-imagine.
While Ovation’s estate-size
homes are considered among the
best and largest floor plans
in the area, exterior walls
do have a finite limit. And
the gracefully curving walls
that provide our celebrated
panoramic views can be a challenge
to square furniture that typically
rests against a flat wall. One
of the most common miscalculations
new owners make has to do with
scale, says Jill. “People often
just want to use too much furniture.
Even area rugs that fit perfectly
in a rectangular room may need
to be re-cut for Ovation.” Still
all yours, but in a new space!
Nothing that can’t be overcome,
she says, “We just need to find
out what can fit. ”
•
Remember outdoor spaces.
With so many terraces in Ovation
homes, you can individualize
each one to be an extension
in style and motif of the room
it’s adjacent to.
Rob Bowen
 |
| Rob Bowen, Interior Designer |
•
Shop around.
“Interview as many designers
as you can,” advises Rob. “We
usually spend months together,
so it’s important to make sure
there’s a good connection. The
first month is basically an
‘information dump’, gathering
ideas, preferences, dislikes.”
Then he probes their reasoning,
with such questions as, “What
is it you like about that? Is
it the shape, the color, the
size …?” “By the time we start,
I know their likes and dislikes—but
they always make the decisions.
One client told me in the beginning,
‘I don’t know what’s best.’
But in the end she had made
all the decisions, all the choices.
She knew what was right all
along.”
•
Look
around you, and spend
plenty of time with your designer
in your existing home so he/she
can experience how you live
now.
•
Think
big. “Many people come
to Ovation with the notion that
they’ll be limited in their
choices. They’re surprised by
how well and completely they
can live in these condos. They
are so well laid-out and large
that you’re able to design around
how you’ll live, rather than
squeeze your lifestyle into
something less.”
•
“Out of the box”
thinking is critical,
especially when you have very
specific requirements. One family
needed space for two children
and a nanny in their three-bedroom
condominium. Rob visually divided
one bedroom into two for the
children, giving each a distinct
area that expresses a unique
personality. He also suggests
thinking beyond labels—turn
the living room into a dining
room, the study into a media
center. “Think what will work
best for the way you live,”
he says.
•
Layer
your design. Take your
design one step at a time. Cabinets,
tile, flooring, color, surfaces
are the first layer. Then, perhaps,
lighting, electronics and large
furnishings, major collections.
Next, accessories and fine tune.
Then you can stand back and
decide if you need more layers.
•
Explore technology—high
and low. “We do a lot of 3D
renderings for clients, because
it helps them gain a better
feel for what to expect. On
the other hand, we also simply
put tape on the floor so they
can walk around in the space
and understand how too much
furniture, say, can get in the
way of how they want to use
a room.”
July
2011 
