When interior designer Barbara Gardner and her husband, Tom, were downsizing from a 4,500-square-foot home on Bird Key to a smaller Lido Beach high-rise condominium, they viewed it as liberation from home maintenance.
Interior designer Barbara Gardner (owner of Collins Interiors) and her husband Tom recently downsized from a large home on Bird Key to an apartment at Orchid Beach. She brought about a third of her existing furniture with her and then added new things that are appropriate to the size of the rooms and to her design scheme which is a combination of traditional and contemporary. She used the water views of the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay as inspiration for her color palette. (April 22, 2016; STAFF PHOTO / THOMAS BENDER)
“The pool, the palm trees that got a disease, the yard and the fact that Tom travels for business, and I work fulltime in my design company, meant a big house was unnecessary to the way we live,” said Gardner, who owns Collins Interiors.
“We wanted something easy, comfortable and convenient that was on water,” she continued. “Dealing with less living space was fine, although the place we chose is 3,000 square feet and has three bedrooms and three baths. But, there’s no separate dining room and no family room, and that was a challenge because of the television and where to put that big, unattractive thing.”
Designers tend to get dispirited over a wall-mounted television that looks like a big black hole the same way they want to banish just about every recliner that turns up in clients’ homes. Tom wanted the TV in the living room, and Barbara acquiesced.
“I took up the problem of how to hide the thing when it wasn’t on,” she said. “And, then I discovered the Museum Channel, and, working with an expert from Encore electronics system, I accessed this fabulous television option, which provides images of paintings from museum collections that fill the TV screen. When we’re not watching a program, I have framed wall art. It’s brilliant, and I can change the art with my remote control.
Barbara and Thomas Gardner recently bought a 7th floor, 3,000-square-foot apartment at Orchid Beach, a downsizing move from a large home of Bird Key. The couple embarked on a complete renovation, a job that Barbara (who is an interior designer and owner of Collins Interiors) was ideally suited to tackle. Orchid Beach is at the south end of Lido Beach and consists of 54 units in two 11-story towers. Views are of the Gulf, city of Sarasota and Sarasota Bay. Built in 2005, the modern architecture has Caribbean influences and conveys the promise of a sophisticated but relaxed lifestyle. (April 22, 2016; STAFF PHOTO / THOMAS BENDER)
“This is my best-ever design strategy for dealing with the television in the living room, and I recommend it to everyone. Even if you’re not technical, you can learn to navigate the Museum Channel and make your television transform itself into fine art.”
This couple is definitely not part of the tiny-house movement, but they were determined to pare down their possessions for a new lifestyle that, for Barbara, was going to be a huge change in attitude. She decorates in a classical style — English and French antiques and transitional pieces for upholstered furniture. For the Lido Beach condo, she was determined to introduce a large dose of contemporary flair into her domestic setting, while sustaining a look of quiet elegance.
But, the move to a smaller place meant the baby grand piano got donated to the Sarasota Opera, and 30 boxes of books went to a friends-of-the-library bookstore.
A view of the Gardners’ spacious living room at Orchid Beach. The floors are polished marble. The gray-green velvet pair of club chairs by Barbara Barry swivel so that the homeowners can turn to enjoy the water views. (April 22, 2016; STAFF PHOTO / THOMAS BENDER)
“I gave kitchen utensils, clothes, decor accessories and furniture to SPARCC (Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center),” she said. “Before you start to downsize possessions, it’s good to have a strategy. Know what you can take and what you need to give away or consign. If you’re moving to a two-bedroom house and you come from a three-bedroom, you haven’t got much choice: Some things have to go.
“Start early in the process and give yourself time to make good decisions. When we moved, we took roughly one third of what we previously owned with us. And then we filled in with new stuff for the condo as needed. The new things are contemporary in styling.”
Gardner knew exactly why she wanted to downsize to Orchid Beach, which consists of two Caribbean-styled towers on the south end of Lido Beach that have a total of 54 units.
“About five years ago, I did a renovation for a client who lived there, and I fell in love with the gracious proportions of the rooms, the views and the high-quality finishes, as well as the flow of the space,” continued Gardner. “When I saw a unit come on the market, I acted fast.”
This terrace accommodates an outdoor kitchen and is one of the reasons the homeowners chose Orchid Beach and this unit. They like to grill and entertain in their outdoor spaces. There are three terraces for the homeowners to use. The furniture is from Lane Venture. (April 22, 2016; STAFF PHOTO / THOMAS BENDER)
She and Tom chose a seventh-floor apartment with views of the bay, city and Gulf. They are the third owners; the second owner had done some renovations and upgrades. Orchid Beach was completed in 2005. What the Gardners particularly like about their apartment is that the elevator opens directly into their foyer, a spacious room that functions as transition space and is lavishly decorated.
Gardner’s new, downsized home might have a high-powered foyer, but there’s no formal, separate dining room. Determined to have that kind of space for dinner parties, Gardner worked with her open floor plan to create a dining area off the kitchen. She made a feature wall behind the china cabinet of metallic English damask wallpaper, and she used paint beneath the chair rail. She put metallic grasscloth on the tray ceiling and suspended a contemporary Thomas Pheasant light fixture over the Georgian table. By taking out a few leaves and measuring the table before leaving the Bird Key house, Gardner knew the table would comfortably fit the space.
In the living room the Gardners have solved the problem of the ugly wall-mounted television in an otherwise charming and sophisticated space. They subscribe to the Museum Channel and can enjoy a constant supply of changing art work just by pushing a button on the remote. Interior designer Barbara Gardner says that if you must have a TV in a formal space, you want this option of turning your TV into a painting. (April 22, 2016; STAFF PHOTO / THOMAS BENDER)
The contemporary kitchen, with its high-glass lacquered wood Neff cabinets and marble floors, is convenient and sophisticated, and Gardner made only one major change. “I switched out the black granite counters for a creamy white quartz,” she said. “Black granite counters are difficult to keep looking good, and I never recommend them to clients. I also had all the marble floors throughout the condo stripped, cleaned, polished and sealed. This should be done every 10 years.”
The homeowner changed all the light fixtures in the apartment, going for contemporary styling, and she repainted all the rooms, adding wallpaper in two bedrooms and to the laundry room. The third bedroom is Tom’s study/home office. The walls are grasscloth, and the comfortable sofa in there is red leather.
Barbara Gardner's breakfast room is a combination of contemporary and traditional furnishings. New Light fixture by Barbara Barry. The homeowners collect Mediterranean pottery and some of it is displayed on walls throughout the home. The round table and chairs are French. (April 22, 2016; STAFF PHOTO / THOMAS BENDER)
In the living room, Gardner kept the dark built-ins installed by a previous owner, but she painted them Benjamin Moore White Linen. One of the cabinets conceals a full bar. Books and collectibles fill the other side. The couple chose a new contemporary sofa, a pair of Baker velvet swivel club chairs and a modern Barbra Barry rug for the room, which is a blend of old and new, both in styling and in family possessions.
“The glass-and-chrome Mies van der Rohe coffee table is a piece I’ve had since college,” said Gardner. “It’s been in every apartment and house I’ve lived in, and it’s the one object I could never part with. It was in the family room of our last place, but it fits in just beautifully here in the living room. I guess it followed the television to this spot.”
