What’s In Store?

Tips and trends from local home & design professionals

by Jacqueline Miller

Green. Gray. Gold. Mixed patterns. Happy motifs. Unexpected twists. Pushing boundaries. These are just some of the colors and terms being used by the home and design industry when it comes to what’s in store for 2017.

If this is the year you’re looking to spruce up your home, we certainly have lots of local home and design professionals who can help. Here, they share some of their tips and trends that may just help you love your home all over again.

Award-winning interior designer and IDS member Kristin Pantone established her design services company in Sarasota and Manatee in 2012 (kristinpantonedesign.com). Since that time, she has not only brought her artistic skills to her projects, but also her technical skills from her 15-year background in engineering.

One of her latest projects was the interior design of a beautiful home in The Oaks Country Club. As you can see from this dining room photo, Kristin used the green and gray colors as well as gold tone metals trending in 2017.

From Kristin:

“I used the Mason chandelier from Hudson Valley Lighting in this Oaks Bayside dining room. Gold is back in a big way with lighting and accessories, and this chandelier is brushed brass, which is a much more modern take on polished brass. I love this chandelier because it has elements of modern, bold, and glam, but it’s also a nod to a very classic design and it works in both traditional and contemporary spaces. Every room deserves a bit of glam, and this chandelier delivers in a very classy way.”

When it comes to modern and contemporary furnishings, one local store rises far above the rest – Home Resource (homeresource.com). In our search for what’s trending in contemporary furniture, I stopped in to chat with our local experts, owners Michael and Kathy Bush. Not only do they know the latest trends, they are widely known as the Gulf Coast’s premier purveyors of modern and contemporary furniture designs offering a large selection of the finest collections.

In the Home Resource showroom, I immediately gravitated to what Michael told me was the “Hug” chair by Giorgetti, an Italian company that got its start in wood working more than 100 years ago. It is their superior craftsmanship in the use of wood in their furniture, as well as their use of unusual organic shapes in their designs, that uniquely identifies the Giorgetti style as original and luxurious. Giorgetti is exclusively at Home Resource.

Like stones trapped between the roots of a tree, the soft back and seat cushion of the Hug chair are held in place to provide the maximum comfort to anyone that decides to sit down or nestle in it for a carefree nap.

Its low profile and back height of 28 inches makes the Hug chair the perfect choice for a living environment where spaces are small, where sight lines are important, or where a room needs impact from the sculptural shape. The chair can be covered in either fabric or leather and the wood can be walnut or a painted walnut. Prices start at $7900.

You have everything decorated perfectly except for one wall in your living area. Hmmm…perhaps a console table is the perfect solution. When it comes to finding perfect furniture and accessory solutions, Robb & Stucky on S. Tamiami Trail (robbstuckyintl.com) undoubtedly will have the answer.

When I came across this new Alden Parkes Oceana Console at Robb & Stucky, I thought, wow, what a unique and artistic statement piece. The powerful movement of an ocean wave is captured in this beautiful console that embodies art in furniture. Finished in Champagne Leaf and featuring a cascading effect of waves as seen in nature, the “Fusion” glass completes the wave effect with ripples in the underneath side of the glass. It also comes with a clear glass top.

How perfect is this piece to make a statement in your home and especially in one of our many magnificent beachfront estates!

If you want to see the latest and greatest in kitchen and bath fixtures, John Smithman’s The Plumbing Place on Fruitville Road (theplumbingplace.com) is always the place to go.

The luxury modern bath has gone through a revolution of late with the “intelligent” Neorest toilet by Toto on top of discriminating homeowners’ must-have list. Some of its incredible features include:

• An integrated UV light and special ceramic glaze to break down dirt and grime in the bowl, and clean rinse with ewater+ (three wash modes)

• Heated seats, deodorizer and oscillating and pulsing warm water sprays

• Tornado/Siphon Jet Flushing System

• Programmable Energy Saver System

• Multifunctional Remote Control

In addition to the intelligent toilet with its modern and sleek design, the Neorest bathroom suite of products also includes a vessel sink with LED lighting, an air bath with a hydrotherapy massage system, and a freestanding soaking tub. In 2017, this soaking tub will be wall-hung and include the same integrated UV light cleaning system and personal cleansing system as the intelligent toilet.

Everything about this collection is innovative and responsive to your every need, featuring a highly intuitive approach to every aspect of your bathroom experience. You can go see for yourself everything this brainy line of products can do for you at The Plumbing Place.

We can never have enough storage, right? But sometimes that storage needs to be close by in an important room in your home. It has to look stylish, not like storage cabinet!

Great-looking pieces of furniture like this are hard to come by, but we found this beauty at Rugs As Art (rugsasart.com), the store always known for the best selection of rugs in town, and now also for unusual furniture and accessories.

Hand carved in heavily-aged ivory and washed with gray glaze with accents of gold on cabriole legs, this versatile cabinet has a hinged door, which folds down for storage. This piece is perfect for many rooms in your home.

Can’t you just envision this fabulous cabinet next to one of the Magnolia Homes’ rugs by Joanna Gaines? You can also view this trendy rug line that’s all the rage at Rugs As Art.

Christopher Guy is internationally known for his vast collection of hand carved and hand finished furnishings. His pieces can be found in the finest homes. When you see a Christopher Guy piece, you know it.

We found this stunning dining table and chairs at Parker Robinson Interiors on Main Street, Sarasota. If you’re looking for something that will add a touch of grandeur to your dining space, this is it. The table, which comes in 14 hand rubbed finishes plus custom finishes, features delicate marquetry work, symbolic of the fine craftsmanship and refined splendor of Christopher Guy furnishings. It also comes with a choice of a gold or silver leaf base.

The sophisticated and artistic chairs with tall, slim tapering backs, and hand carved scroll detail, are supported by the signature Christopher Guy “Chris-Cross” legs. The chairs are also available with arms.

If you’ve never seen what they can do to vintage and antique furniture at MAS (Mission Avenue Studio, Sarasota | missionavestudio.com), you need to check it out. What they do is restore well-made furnishings into contemporary pieces, which is the latest trend, making these unique pieces the ”new” family heirloom that everyone wants!

At MAS, their in-house artisans repair, seal, lacquer and refinish every piece by hand using the best materials to preserve the quality. With over 10,000 square feet of studio space and around 800 finished pieces for sale at any time, you may just find the statement piece you need at this unique showroom.

We really like this beautiful mahogany wingback chair delicately carved to give the look of bamboo. The sides are caned and the seat back and cushion are newly upholstered. The seat & double welting are in Ralph Lauren’s Highrock fabric in red, white and blue stripes and the seat back is in Kravet’s white cotton blend.

If you want to know where the lighting industry is heading, look no further than the 2017 lighting trends. Gold and copper lighting fixtures are back in, as is mid-century modern lighting, chandeliers with geometric shapes, lighting with clean lines, a warm retro style, and lighting that can change shape.

This is a look we love. Using a chandelier over a side table instead of a table lamp not only makes a dramatic statement, but it lets you have the tabletop space to accessorize your table with pieces that add more color and interest to your room. The classic white linen shade and clear globe accents of this Bankloft chandelier brings contemporary elegance to any room. We found this one at Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting on 17th Street (FergusonShowrooms.com).

If you didn’t know, Ferguson’s is not just about fabulous bath and kitchen products; it is also a lighting gallery. And there is nothing that can finish a room and create the best atmosphere than the right lighting fixtures. Maybe that’s the only updating you need!

If your style is contemporary, let your kitchen appliances say contemporary, too. The Wolf brand is always near the top of the list when it comes to appliances, and there’s no better place to test drive many of Wolf’s latest offerings than Mullet’s Appliances on Clark Road (mullets.com).

There’s the contemporary handle-less single or double oven with a spring and damper door hinge system, color touchscreen controls and an advanced system that delivers the most consistent cooking ever.

The control you get when cooking with gas has been taken up a notch with Wolf’s contemporary gas cooktop. Its patented, dual-stacked sealed burners deliver maximum heat for restaurant-quality sears and faster boils, while the lower ports turn down to just a breath of steady flame for delicate simmers and melts. The signature red Wolf knobs also add to this cooktop’s sleek and contemporary feel.

Want your refrigerator to disappear? Wolf’s integrated refrigerators have no visible hinges or grilles, making your refrigeration unit look like your other cabinets. With over 30 sizes and configurations, integrated refrigerators can be customized to fit seamlessly into your contemporary kitchen.