Q&A with the Designer of the Southern Living Idea House
We were honored to participate in the Southern Living 2019 Idea House through our exclusive Zuri® Premium Decking by Royal® sponsorship. Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing design insights and behind-the-scenes photos from the home.
Crane Island, Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway community on Amelia Island, is home to the 2019 Southern Living Idea House. This idyllic location embodies simplicity, natural beauty and the joys of island life. The Idea House was built from the ground up to have all the touches of a classic Southern home, including nearly 1,400 square feet of outdoor living space encircling the home from top to bottom.
The home’s design team carefully selected the appropriate products for the architectural style and coastal environments, including the Zuri® Premium Decking by Royal®, which was used throughout the outdoor spaces. Zuri, which mimics the warmth and beauty of natural wood and even feels like a hardwood floor underfoot, was used on the expansive porches and balconies to ensure that the outdoor spaces could be enjoyed as much as possible.
Interior designer Heather Chadduck, who formerly served as the style director for Coastal Living and Southern Living, chose Zuri in Weathered Gray for the majority of the porches, and chose to alternate the cool gray boards with warm brown Chestnut on the Sleeping Porch, creating a striped deck pattern.
We were thrilled to ask her about her experience working with Zuri Decking to create the outdoor spaces on the home.
The Southern Living 2019 Idea House has nearly 1,400 square feet of outdoor living spaces. Can you speak to the importance of outdoor living in design and how that influenced your vision for the porches of the Idea House?
In a Southern home, outdoor living spaces are very important. They are an extension of the living and dining rooms and quite often can be used year round. They should be as stylish, comfortable and ready for entertaining as any room inside the home.
What was the inspiration behind the pinstripe design you created using Zuri Premium Decking in two different colors on the Sleeping Porch?
Everyone loves a pattern on the floor and rugs achieve this in the interiors! For the outdoors, we achieved the same design by alternating two colors of the decking on this playful swinging porch.
How did the decking style influence the rest of the design for your outdoor spaces (choice of patterns, colors, furniture, etc.)?
We selected the decking color, exterior paint colors and the standing seam metal roof color as an entire design scheme. Each of these tones and colors plays well with each other. It was nice to have such rich choices from the vendors. The furniture pairings were chosen to follow suit. All of these colors were selected in response to the colors in the natural surroundings, pale blues, mossy grays and greens, and whites.
What benefits did you see in using Zuri Premium Decking?
We were impressed with [Zuri’s] durability and the color choices available.
To get started on your Idea House inspired decking, visit www.royalbuildingproducts.com/products/decking/zuri.