I Can't Resist... Rustic Meets Refined Living Room

I'm back from a long weekend in Pensacola where we fished, boated, tubed (yikes), and took in the Blue Angels show from the water.  A wonderful, relaxing time!!  I loaded up on some shelter mags to read in the car on the way down and I came across this image in July's Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles magazine.



This is the living room of the 2010 Cashiers Designer Showhouse, designed by Suzanne Kasler.  You've heard of Suzanne, right?  ;-) She's a busy lady these days, turning up in the Ballards catalog with her own product line (one of several signature lines she has out there), writing design books, and maintaining her Atlanta-based interior design business.  I love (and fully ascribe to) her theory that rooms should be collected and not decorated.  Is she singing our song or what?  Head to her website to learn more and see what inspires her.

Now, to what I love about this room! The use of ivory and blues in contrast with the rustic stacked stone fireplace, stained wood floors and ceilings, and exposed beams.   Comfy sit-right-down furniture and a sleek contemporary coffee table,  layered rugs, that fab chandelier right balancing out the antlers over the french doors... shall I go on?  With views of Whitehead Mountain right out those glorious windows, you know you're in a mountain retreat.  But she marries simple sophistication in furnishings with rustic structures and finishes to create a match made in heaven.

And this is the tip of the iceberg in this fabulous home, open from August 21 - September 5th. See the complete article in Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles.   If you're in the Blue Ridge Mountains during that time, you will want to check it out.  I'm thinking road trip?

See the entire guide to the Cashiers Designer Showhouse HERE.

Photo by Erica George Dines.