Lake Jewel

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  Looking back through the dining area towards the kitchen shows a few of the subtle devices used to define the dining area as its own space within this very open plan. A simple sheet of plywood treated with a finished edge provides a lowered ceiling for lighting and a way to ground the table within the room. Instead of floating in the "middle," it now feels like it belongs exactly where it is. The small built-in buffet, painted with an accent color, is centered on the table and dropped ceiling, and further accentuates the location. Both of these design moves provide a sense of place without doing anything to disrupt the visual or physical openness of the room. The use of the same dusky blue accent color in the computer nook (on the left of the lower photo), the buffet, and the entry (on the right) together give the dining area a strong sense of itself.

All color selections done by Susan E Brown Interior Design. (Though please note that the colors look even better in real life than they do in our photos!)