By MICHELLE REESE
FOR THE TRIBUNE
Move beyond the neutral color scope and be inspired by the blues and greens of the Cabrini model of Element Homes’ Shamrock Estates in Gilbert.
This five-bedroom, 3,546 square foot home has been designed to be welcoming and comforting. “It’s really a classic modern look,” said Deborah Hattoy of Creative Color Consultants Interior Design, which created the interior of the model. “It lends itself to be very contemporary and warm and livable all at the same time.”
The classic modern design differs from the contemporary design of chrome, brass and glass with the addition of wood. Immediately upon walking in the home, one is greeted by the living room and its large wall units filled with pottery in wall shapes of greens and creams.
“It’s the kind of house, even thought it’s a model home you would feel completely comfortable sitting on the sofa and watching TV,” Hattoy said.
Across of the living room sits the formal dining room. Hanging above the table is a metallic colored chandelier. The chairs are dressed in strips and dots in blues and greens. The place mats, normally rectangular, are folded to appear square and have one blue plate and one green plate resting on it.
The kitchen standard comes with ceramic floor tile, Corian countertops and maple cabinets. On the kitchen island rests large glass jars clustered together and filled with decorating kitchen items: beans, greenery and vegetables. Three metal lights hang down from the 10-foot ceiling above the breakfast bar
Wood is incorporated again in the family room, where a ceiling to floor entertainment unit dominates the wall across from the large L-shaped couch. A low wood center table sits in the middle of the carpeted room.
The teen room downstairs, created in a bonus room of the floor plan, is completely decked out in color. Resting on the dark wood floors are four comfy, cushioned striped chairs sitting around a fabric covered game table. On one wall is a painted green entertainment unit with lots of drawers and shelves for games, books and videos. The walls are two-toned. Two walls have a pale blue and two are a light aqua green.
The area rug brings it all together with various-sized blue and green dots. More fun colors come alive upstairs in the young-in-mind bedrooms. The first room has one wall sectioned in four parts with two in blue and two in green. Two other walls have a light neutral tone and the fourth is in blue. The bed is pushed into a corner, rather than in the middle of the room, to allow for more space. A large, block-shaped wooden shelf is hung above the bed across one entire wall and can hold several metal baskets for organizing.
The second youth bedroom has a teen girl in mind. Yellow, blue and green make up the walls, but bright pink is also incorporated in the letters ‘S-H-O-E-S’ hung above a chest of drawers. The drawers have colorful shoes hand-painted on it and a purse-shaped jewelry box resting on top.
A third room incorporates colors from the house into geometric shapes on the wall. It matches the fabric pattern above the window. A plaid bed cover brings it all together.
The master bedroom retreat is simple with two end tables on either side of a queen bed. Above the bed and each table are prints hung on the walls. The table lamps are made of glass and the aqua colored bench at the foot of the bed accents the green colored bed spread.
“I think regardless of whatever age you are, color has an impact on our sense of well being. Green and blue does that. All of the design elements in a project contribute to that,” Hattoy said.