Prepared for Abbie and Russell Grossman  /  Port St. Lucie  /  Updated after our September 14 call

Make it look Florida, not Colorado

Thank you both for a great conversation. This is everything we settled together, room by room, plus the handful of things still open and exactly what happens next. Nothing here gets ordered until you have seen the pricing and said yes.

Property
Valencia Parc at Riverland
Plan
643, "Bianca", Vintage
Style
Modern and New England coastal
Metals
Black and brushed nickel
Install
After April 1

Where we landed

What we settled on the call

The short version, so you can see it all in one place. Each of these is explained further down the page.

  1. A blend of Modern Coastal and Traditional New England Coastal

    Clean modern lines with the classic warmth of New England. Boho and organic are off the table.

  2. The palette stays as shown, with black and brushed nickel for metals

    Brushed nickel picks up your silver plumbing fixtures, and black gives the rooms their structure.

  3. The great room, primary bedroom and dining room carry the budget

    New seating for the great room, a king and bedding for the primary, and an eight seat dining table.

  4. The club room is a den

    Your sofa, loveseat, TV and TV stand go in there. The only new piece it needs is a coffee table.

  5. No paint, no curtains

    Builder white stays throughout. Blinds instead of curtains, so more of the money goes into furniture.

  6. The laundry room stays as it is

    And if neighbors pull out their GL kitchens and offer the cabinets, we will happily put them in for you.

  7. Your art and the big mirror are coming, and reframing is approved

    Everything except the red poppies and the flower market courtyard, with frames brought together so the collection reads as one.

  8. Never more than three options per item

    For every piece we bring you, you choose from three at most.

Your style

Modern Coastal, warmed with New England

Of the four directions we looked at, these are the two you are blending. From Modern Coastal we take the clean lines, the light neutral field and the soft blue. From Traditional Coastal we take the classic shapes, the crisp white and the sense that the house has been loved for years. It also suits your white raised panel kitchen perfectly, because that door is a traditional door.

Modern Coastal living room

Modern Coastal

The frame: light neutrals, pale wood, soft dusty blue, uncluttered.

Traditional Coastal living room

Traditional New England Coastal

The warmth: classic silhouettes, crisp white, a little more polish.

What you loved

  • The swivel chairs, the same ones from Silverthorne
  • The palette, exactly as shown
  • Black and brushed nickel together
  • Tchotchkes, chosen to finish every surface
  • Your art, reframed so it all matches

What you said no to

  • Wicker
  • Woven and weave textures
  • Bamboo, including the bamboo coffee table
  • Striped chairs
  • The end of bed bench and the round side tables

Sand, oyster and driftwood as the field. Sea glass as the color. Black and brushed nickel in thin, deliberate lines: frames, lamp bases, hardware.

Your blue and green floral lithograph is the palette already, framed. Soft aqua, sea green and a little coral on a pale ground. We draw the colors out of it and repeat them around the house, so the rooms feel like they belong together.

Texture comes from linen and washed cotton, smooth painted and natural wood, and ceramic. No wicker, no weave, no bamboo.

"I don't have to go to the most expensive maker for the couch and the chairs."Abbie, and we agree. The look is the point, not the label.

  • OysterThe light field
  • DuneUpholstery, rugs, linen
  • DriftwoodWood tones, echoing your vanity
  • Sea glassThe accent, three times a room
  • BlackFrames, lamp bases, hardware
  • Brushed nickelMatches your plumbing fixtures

Room by room

Where the spend actually sits

Dots mark how much each room costs to furnish, now that we know what you want in each one. Three rooms carry the real budget. Everything else is a lighter touch.

Plan 643 Bianca floor plan marked by spend level
  • Major spendFurnished new
  • Light touchA few pieces, textiles, accessories
  • Leaving as isLaundry room

The great room is the main event

18 by 19, open on three sides, and the first thing anyone sees. One large rug holding a floating seating group, with the swivel chairs, rather than furniture pushed against the walls.

The TV walls, to nail down together

You mentioned the plan may be flipped from how we drew it, and that the club room door and the gas outlet beside it rule out one wall. We will confirm both TV walls with you before anything is mounted.

The dining room is 10 feet deep

Your current table is 85 inches and seats eight, and that length fits the 15 foot run well. The depth is the tight part, so we will keep the top on the narrower side to leave room to walk behind the chairs.

Both guest rooms are 12 by 12

Queens in both. One gets your daughter's white set in white and black, the other gets a simple bed in a box.

RoomSizeSpend What it needs
Great Room18' × 19'MajorSofa, the swivel chairs, coffee table, side tables, a pair of lamps, rug
Primary Suite15' × 16'MajorKing bed and king mattress, nightstands, dresser, lamps, bedding, ceiling fan
Dining Room15' × 10'MajorTable seating eight, eight chairs. Light fixture decided once you see the builder's in place.
Club Room (den)15' × 13'LightA coffee table. Your sofa, loveseat, TV and TV stand fill the rest.
Screened Patio20' × 10'LightOutdoor table and chairs at Costco level pricing, bought locally in spring. Outdoor rated TV, ceiling fan. Your heat lamp is coming; fire pit is a maybe.
Guest Room, white set12' × 12'LightYour daughter's white bed, nightstand, dresser, chest and hamper, done in white and black with your comforter. Needs lamps, a queen mattress and anything to fill the nightstand side. Ceiling fan.
Second Guest Room12' × 12'LightA bed in a box from Wayfair, bedding, lamp. Ceiling fan.
Kitchen15' × 11'LightFour counter height stools. No glassware or cookware needed.
Foyer7' × 15'LightYour console table with the big mirror above it, the way you have it now. Light fixture decided once you see the builder's.
Guest BathsTwoLightShower curtains for both tubs, hand towels, floor mats
Primary and Cabana BathsTwoLightHand towels and floor mats. The cabana bath is a walk in, so no curtain.
Laundry Room11' × 6'As isLeaving it alone, unless free cabinets turn up from the neighbors.
WindowsThroughoutPricedBlinds only, no curtains. We are pricing electric against the style that raises and lowers from the middle, installed through Sam's.

Your current selections

The granite is warm, so the house stays warm

These are selected and under contract, so everything we choose is measured against them.

Current selections: granite, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanity and countertop

Granite, Giallo Blanco

A creamy white field with taupe, grey, black and warm beige movement. The warm tones are why we keep the neutrals warm, and the black speckle is what lets black frames and hardware feel at home. Because the pattern is busy, the surfaces around it stay calm.

Kitchen cabinetry

Listed as shaker, but the door is actually a raised panel with applied molding. That is a traditional door, which is one more reason the New England side of your blend fits this house so naturally.

The backsplash

The builder is not putting one in, so for now the wall behind the counters stays as it is.

Vanity and bath countertop

The driftwood tone is the most useful color in the house. Repeated in living room and dining wood, it ties every room into one scheme. The white quartz is the calm the granite does not give us.

Your pieces

What is coming from your own inventory

With the measurements you gave us on the call. Everything is shipping to your rental in January and comes over to the house for install.

Media console
01Coming

Media console

Grey wash wood, ring pulls, 48 inches wide

The grey wash reads driftwood, and the panel doors quietly echo your kitchen fronts.

Goes toTo place together

Sofa
02Coming

Sofa

Rolled arm, about 88 inches

The anchor of the den, paired with the loveseat, your TV and TV stand.

Goes toClub room

Loveseat
03Coming

Loveseat

Matching, about 72 inches

With the sofa, this is why the club room only needs a coffee table.

Goes toClub room

Console table
04Coming

Console table

Cream, cabriole leg, 55 wide, 32 high, 14 deep

With the big mirror hung above it, just like it is in your house now.

Goes toFoyer

Carved table and Tiffany lamp
05Confirm

Carved table and Tiffany lamp

Mahogany pedestal, glass top; leaded shade

We did not get to these two on the call. Let us know if they are coming, and we will find them the right corner.

Goes toTo confirm

Dresser
06Coming

Dresser

White lacquer, glass top

Part of your daughter's white set, along with the white chest and white hamper.

Goes toGuest room

Bed and nightstand
07Coming

Bed and nightstand

White upholstered platform; lacquer nightstand

Done in white and black with the comforter you already have. Needs a queen mattress and lamps.

Goes toGuest room

Also coming

  • TV stand 58 inches
  • Two televisions 55 inch each
  • White chest and white hamper from the white set
  • The big ornate mirror 4' 1" wide by 3' 2" tall, over the console
  • Heat lamp for the patio
  • Guest room comforter white and black

Your art

The art is the best thing you own

Three Peter Lik photographs, two signed lithographs, a Monet, a pair of beach chair photographs and the Jerusalem print. Reframing is approved, so the frames will be brought together and the collection will read as one. The three Peter Lik pieces are heavy and under glass, so they go on studs or a cleat.

Lithograph, blue and green floral
08Coming

Lithograph, blue and green floral

Signed and numbered

Soft aqua, sea green and coral on a pale ground. The palette of the whole house, already framed.

FrameReframe to match

Sand dune panorama
09Coming

Sand dune panorama, Peter Lik

3 ft by 6 ft, horizontal, under glass

Literally the subject of the house, at a size that can hold a big wall on its own. Needs studs or a cleat.

FrameKeeps its frame

Photo to come
17Coming

Third Peter Lik

3 ft by 6 ft, vertical, under glass

The one you sent during the call. There is enough blue in it to balance the red, so it works here. Needs studs or a cleat.

FrameKeeps its frame

Windmill and canola field
16Coming

Windmill and canola field, Peter Lik

2 ft by 5 ft, horizontal, under glass

Its frame matches the dune panorama, so the two belong to the same family. Needs studs or a cleat.

FrameKeeps its frame

Junk Vendor, S. Rosenthal
10Coming

"Junk Vendor", S. Rosenthal

Signed and numbered pencil lithograph

Quiet graphite and no color to clash with anything. It rewards being somewhere people pause and look.

FrameReframe to match

Beach chair photographs, pair
11Coming

Beach chair photographs, pair

1 ft by 1 ft each, thin black frames

Made for this house, and already in black, so they are done.

FrameAlready matches

Monet, Nympheas
13Coming

Monet, "Nymphéas"

About 3 ft by 4 ft

No red in it after all, that was the wall it was photographed on. All soft water and blue.

FrameReframe to match

Jerusalem, folk art print
15Coming

Jerusalem, folk art print

Framed print

Blue, white and stone, entirely at home here. A new frame lets it sit with the rest of the collection.

FrameReframe to match

Red poppies
12Not coming

Red poppies

Acrylic on canvas

Staying behind.

Goes toNot coming

Flower market courtyard
14Not coming

Flower market courtyard

Canvas, signed M. Laughlin

Staying behind.

Goes toNot coming

Timeline

From the rental to a finished house

We plan backwards from install, so the long lead pieces are ordered first and nothing is waiting on a delivery when we arrive. There is about a three month cushion, so the exact install week stays flexible.

  1. Fall

    Pricing, then selections

    You review the proposal first. Then the furniture and decor selections, three options at most for each item, and the ceiling fans.

  2. Winter

    Ordering and early shipping

    Furniture ordered against the install date. Ceiling fans ship early so your electrician can put them up before move in.

  3. January

    You move into the rental

    All your furniture and art ships there from Colorado.

  4. March to April

    The house is ready

    The builder's current window. Outdoor furniture gets bought locally now, when Florida has the most of it.

  5. April 1

    Closing

    Not before April 1, with room to push a couple of weeks past it.

  6. After closing

    One install

    Assembly, placement, art hung, surfaces styled. Davina stays at the house during install, and it all happens before the garage epoxy goes down.

Budget

Where the money goes, and where it does not

Prices have moved since Colorado. Furnishings are up about 25 percent on tariffs, and the swivel chairs you loved are roughly double what they were two years ago. Your proposal will show the furnishing spend and our expenses as separate lines, so you can see exactly where every dollar goes.

Where to spend

  • The great room seatingThe sofa and the swivel chairs. It is the room everyone sees, so this is where the money shows.
  • The dining table and chairsEight chairs add up faster than the table does, so we budget them together.
  • The primary bed and mattressA bed with real presence under a 10 foot ceiling, and a hybrid mattress rather than memory foam, because it lasts longer and does not conform to one person.
  • Rugs, sized upNothing reads cheaper than a rug that floats in the middle of a room.

Where we are already saving

  • Blinds instead of curtainsYour call, and a smart one. More of the money goes into furniture.
  • No paintBuilder white stays throughout.
  • The club roomJust a coffee table.
  • The patioCostco level table and chairs, bought locally in spring.
  • The second guest roomA bed in a box does the job.
  • The laundry roomLeft exactly as it is.

What actually makes a room look expensive

Next steps

What happens next

Coming from us

  • Your pricing proposalJesse sends it as an invoice for you to review, with our expenses broken out separately.
  • Blind pricingElectric, and the style that raises and lowers from the middle, so you can see the difference.
  • Furniture and decor selectionsThree options at most for each item.
  • Ceiling fan selectionsReady to ship early for your electrician.
  • A mattress recommendationFor the primary, hybrid.

What we need from you

  • Are the windows cased or drywall returns?It decides how the blinds mount.
  • Window sizesWidth and height for every window, for the blind order.
  • The guest room mattressWhich one the kids bought, so we can match it.
  • Electric or from the middleOnce you have seen the price difference.

Still open

A few things to answer whenever you can

Type straight into the boxes. Your answers stay on this page on this device, so you can stop and come back. When you are done, copy them with the button at the bottom and send them over.

Windows and blinds

So we can price and order the blinds.

Are the windows cased, or drywall returns?
Window sizes, width and height, room by room.
Electric, or the kind that pulls from the middle?

Bedrooms

So the guest rooms match.

Which mattress did the kids buy for the guest room?
Are the carved table and Tiffany lamp coming?

Ceiling fans

We have five so far: three bedrooms, the great room and the patio.

A sixth over the kitchen table?
Anything else about the fans we should know?

Layout and lighting

We will settle these together, but your notes help.

Which wall do you picture the great room TV on?
And the club room TV, given the patio door and gas outlet?
Once you see the builder's dining and foyer fixtures, keep or replace?
Fire pit on the patio?

Send your answers back to us

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