It's easy to replicate the tranquility of Aegean seaside villages in spaces large and small. Home staging specialist Rosemary Wardell offers these tips for creating a Mediterranean paradise right outside your door.
A Backyard Greek Island Retreat
Greeks honored harmony and balance in design, originating "less is more." Such decor as clay pots, urns and busts, Spartan furniture, and sun-drenched colors should be used to highlight the pre-existing natural beauty of your space in creating a classical retreat.
In backyards, place terra cotta pots (among existing trees and plants to fill in bare spots in the landscape. Use a trellis to grow a grapevine for a dramatic entrance to an outdoor seating area. Use simple wood furniture padded in white canvas. For yards with pools, build a cabana draped in white canvas for poolside R&R.
In urban dwellings, whitewash patios and use fewer decorative pieces to create a (con)Crete paradise. Evenly space plants in ceramic and terra cotta pots along the patio perimeter. Candles in wine bottles and copper serving pieces add a splash without tipping the scale into overabundance.
For a dramatic and fun effect, hang shutters painted in terra cotta-red on the wall in the closed position, or opened to frame a painted scene of the Aegean coast. Toast yourself with a nice glass of ouzo: With a little imagination, you've created an inexpensive island getaway.
Rosemary Wardell
Designer, R Gallery
818-554-0759
www.rgallery.com
