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Sallyann Cox used her creative talents to extend a small bungalow and make the most of the delightful coastal views. Idon’t want to live in a bungalow – I’m not ready for that!’ was interior decorator, stylist and maker Sallyann Cox’s reaction when her husband R ichard suggested it. It was back when the couple were regularly spending a few months at a time sailing around Greece and knew a lock-up-andleave home would fit the bill. The idea became a sad necessity, however, when Richard was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and had to use a wheelchair. ‘We’d looked at so many places, none of which were suitable,’ remembers Sallyann. Finally, and with no real enthusiasm, she went to see a small, two-bedroom bungalow almost untouched for nearly 50 years and had a change of heart. ‘During the viewing, I walked into the cluttered garage and noticed a tiny window on the side – one glimpse at the view and I realised there was so much untapped potential here,’ she recalls. The house itself had effectively been built facing away from ever-changing views across fields to the Salcombe-Kingsbridge estuary much beloved by the couple. ‘I knew that by doing some rejigging to the garage, I would be able to make a special place where Richard could enjoy sitting and watching the ebb and flow of the tides, and the boats down on the water – it would be a nourishing environment.’ In the end, Richard was not able to move in as his illness progressed quickly, but, after his death, Sallyann decided to continue with their plans. ‘It was very hard to be there without him and, for the first couple of years, I didn’t do much at all apart from replacing the bedroom window with French doors onto a little balcony; I had a constant need to get outside rather than be cooped up, so opening up the house as much as I could became a priority.’ Two years later, when she felt able, Sallyann began work on the rest of the house. The garage and carport were demolished and replaced with a sleek extension. ‘I knew I wanted an open-plan space where I could cook, eat and relax,’ she says. The original rooms were reorganised making an extra bedroom and guest bathroom, as well as a large, bright hall where Sallyann makes lighting and mirrors from items she salvages on nearby beaches. ‘I’ve always been drawn to the sea, whether living on it or near it and I’m always out collecting all manner of things!’ Her creative eye has also been used on the interiors. ‘I’ve designed and decorated shops and restaurants in the past, invariably in vivid colours with a Mediterranean influence, but in this house, I’ve been more restrained with lots of neutrals. I decided to think of it as a blank canvas that I could add to or remove from if I felt like a change.’ There are still pops of colour evident in the soft furnishings and the odd wild wallpaper and vintage find. ‘I used to have a lot more furniture and general “stuff” but we sold practically everything when we went off sailing. I had to start again which is surprisingly cathartic, if expensive!’ Renovating the house also proved to be a turning point. ‘It was completed in nine months and I barely had time to think about much else as there were so many decisions to be made but it was good to engage with something,’ she says. So has Sallyann been converted to bungalow life? ‘I actually feel really lucky to live here,’ she says. ‘The house makes for such easy living and with beautiful views, too – it’s an absolute privilege.

During her three-decade career within the trade, triumph designer Gigi Lombrano has assembled associate spectacular list of purchasers WHO wouldn’t dream of operating with anyone else. These homeowners, 1st discovered her abilities twenty years past and, even once relocating to alternative cities, known as on her to individualise their homes.Returning to the St. gladiator space in 2006, the couple purchased this historically titled, 8,000-square-foot residence in Frontenac, wherever they raised their twin sons. once the boys left home, Lombrano and also the woman joined forces to make a replacement seek for their empty-nester modus vivendi. By this point, what had begun as a designer/client relationship had evolved into a shut friendly relationship. “Gigi is a nice attender, and she is aware of American state like the back of her hand,” says the woman. To that Lombrano responds, “We collaborate on everything; nothing intimidates her, and that we ne'er tire of every alternative.”Last spring, with houseguests regular to arrive for the PGA Championship in August, the inventive couple appropriated the chance to provide the home another complete makeover. Describing her consumer as “very tailored and dressmaking, however amorous details,” Lombrano urged a “neo-glam” aesthetic, fashionable and complex with a small amount of “flash.” The decoration would specialize in lovely shapes and contours, intriguing textures and patterns, meticulous particularization and a dignified palette of grey, blue, silver and black. For “flash,” they selected fuchsia, one in all the owner’s favorite hues. The challenge for Lombrano was to include this daring color selection and alternative shocking parts into every area therefore seamlessly that they would complement, instead of trim down from, the elegant atmosphere. With solely 5 months to attain their goal, the design was a significant endeavor. “Friends and family ar everything to U.S., and that we entertain a ton,” the woman explains, “so I wished the areas to flow along.” beginning at the front entrance, the exterior was accented with stone, and a custom, dark mahogany entry door with a neo-classic X motif particularization that will be perennial elsewhere in the home. Inside, the main-level oak flooring was stained and refinished to match the entry door.Open to the vestibule, the formal eating area could be a good illustration of their cooperative ingenuity. associate niche on the back wall was eliminated and remodeled as a full-wall cold wine bucket with a 498-bottle capability. The remaining walls were coated in antimonial grasscloth, accentuating the high-gloss, dark-toned furnishings, that embrace the owners’ original eating table and chairs, reupholstered in a Kate Spade silk with stripy velvet backs and antimonial trim. Positioned against a facet wall ar a graciously semicircular dessert apple Charles bombe chest and mirror in black eucalyptus with lustrous hardware and trim.An antique silver tea set, Edwardian candlesticks and a mid-1800s clock from Paris add straightforward magnificence, and the silk-and-wool floor covering hints at things to return with its deconstructed fuchsia pattern. Overhead, the wealthy grey ceiling introduces a shocking bit of glam, shimmering subtly with what house owner refers to as “pixie dirt.” Transitioning from the vestibule to the front room, the fireside surround was fake painted to tally the foyer’s marble flooring, and the ornamental firescreen repeats the ornamental X motif pattern of the entry door. Demonstrating her own inventive talent, the owner refinished every button on the firescreen by hand for a similar antimonial end. The living area ceiling soars to eighteen feet, and to make a additional intimate atmosphere for this expansive gathering area, the original 2 sofas were replaced with a Baker loveseat in a tone-on-tone Manuel Canovas fabric stripe and four sleek, modern klismos chairs in rough-textured silk.The denouement arrives within the activity areas, wherever the cool, serene atmosphere is remodeled by a vivid burst of fuchsia. within the casual eating space, a classic, dark-toned harbor pedestal table is encircled by modern Vanguard wing chairs that mix fuchsia fake animal skin with an attention-grabbing fuchsia-and-gray houndstooth cloth.Similarly dramatic, the adjacent fireplace area was equipped new sofas in an exceedingly neutral Manuel Canovas windowpane cloth, organized around associate outsize, made-to-order ottoman. Pre-owned and a old family “essential,” the ottoman was reupholstered for the third time in an exceedingly fuchsia-and-gray Romo cloth with fake animal skin sides. Granite was put in on the fireside surround and also the firescreen has associate X motif pattern; the wallpaper resembles grasscloth and also the windows ar lined with drapes in an exceedingly straightforward design style.A soothing blue-gray was chosen for the exquisite main-floor master retreat, wherever the eye to detail virtually becomes associate sort. The clean-lined cover bed is swathed in silk city district bedding, cut with Houlès beaded tassels. higher than the bed hangs a gorgeous cartouch from a church in Italia, and once this piece didn't adequately fill the area, Melodie Shocklee was engaged to color a trompe l’oeil frame, smartly ornate with his/her crowns in Swarovski crystals. Reupholstered in an exceedingly lush Scalamandré cloth, the bench at the foot of the bed options beaded trim and Houlès rosettes. The theme is perennial in carriage House drapes, accented with Houlès braid to that Lombrano additional rosettes. Still additional particularization is evident within the récamier chaise, coated in John Osborne cut velvet with a mix of Houlès braid and antimonial fringe.On the lower level, the fuchsia-and-gray color theme makes its reappearance in the amusement space, however every of the 3 guest suites has been given its own distinctive decoration. The “black-and-white” bedchamber showcases a Barbara Barry cover and bedding, florals and polka dots and another cartouch, this one noninheritable in Memphis. A second bedchamber encompasses a Tyrolean theme with associate FFDM bed and facet tables, a crewelwork-covered loveseat, framed antique needlepoint and gold-finished gladiator XVI chairs “rusticated” with potato sack sacking and upholstery tacks. The third bedchamber emphasizes pattern, texture and metallics with a Universal bed, beaded crystal cage lighting fixture and a fuchsia-and-gray cover contrasted with footstools in an exceedingly Clarke & Clarke stripe.The epitome of “neo-glam,” this extraordinary residence proves many things: handled skilfully, daring style decisions will be each tasteful and spectacular. Meticulous particularization adds excitement and a whole new dimension to the decoration of a luxury home. And, in an exceedingly extremely competitive field, Gigi Lombrano’s distinctive ability to interpret her clients’ modus vivendi and vision is clearly the reason for her enduring success. See stlouishomesmag.com for resources and extra photos.