Living Room

In the living room, Susan created layers of texture with sheer draperies, wicker furniture, and a metal table. "I wanted the house to look more 'evolved' than 'decorated,'" she says. "This room has a great mix of old and new with the contemporary paintings and slick rope chair, and then the crusty shell box. It reads as collected rather than stylized."

Susan anchored the living room with slipcovered furniture and plaid rugs that unite all of the colors, then added accents such as a cork table and custom pillows appliquéd with sea life. "We used sand tones, soft blues and greens, and a little pop of aqua on the lamps for contrast, so everything didn't seem the same," Susan says. "I didn't want any one thing to stand out and be too strong. I wanted it all to flow. At the beach, you don't want your vision to stop anywhere. It should go straight through to that fabulous view off the porch."

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