New homeowners in Belvedere, California, an island facing an extension of the San Francisco Bay, fell in love with their home’s spectacular water views and urged their interior designer, Linda Applewhite, of Linda Applewhite & Associates in nearby San Rafael, to minimize distractions. They requested walls and ceilings to be stark white to frame the views and create a backdrop for furnishings they wanted mainly in blue and green—their favorite colors. Applewhite obliged her clients, but tactfully warned them they might come to regret the absence of any warm colors.
Five years later, when the couple decided to remodel the kitchen, they called Applewhite and admitted their mistake. “The house never felt warm,” said one of the homeowners. “It looked so cold and felt so cold, I hated going into the living room.” On days when gray clouds hung low in the sky or fog shrouded the island, her clients’ white walls looked drab, making the blue-and-green palette seem lifeless. The only real color was in the couple’s collections of paintings and art glass displayed throughout the house. Applewhite was certain that adding rich colors to her clients’ blue-and-green palette would soften the background for their collections and enhance their enjoyment of the bay, visible from nearly every window.
Columns that frame the space between living and dining rooms were painted a shade more intense than the wall color. The owners’ art and glass collections provide colorful accents.
Soft Roman shades on living-room windows and French doors can be lowered when the sun pours in. The paint color in the room repeats the colors of the incredible water view seen through the windows. Twin sofas are upholstered in a lively stripe featuring the owners’ favorite colors, blue and green.
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