Tampa Bay Living

Jen and Adam Alonso and their children love their Tampa Bay home and their casual Florida lifestyle. Unfortunately, they are stumped on how to decorate their formal living room and adjoining casual sunroom so that the two areas reflect a cohesive design yet maintain their distinct personality and functions. With a budget of $40,000, the couple puts local Tampa designers to the test.

Before

Before

After

After meeting with all the designers, the Alonsos choose Suzan Decker Ross and Janet Marie Thomas for their redesign. The new rooms are a warm and inviting mix of the casual Florida lifestyle and the formal elegance found in more traditionally decorated homes. In the sunroom, wallpaper is replaced by yellow paint; whimsical drapes open up the space and interesting lighting is added with a stained glass window. In the living room, the fabric sofa and built-ins create additional comfortable seating, dentil molding retains the character of the house, and a custom-made tile with the Alonso family crest finishes off the design of both rooms. Using color, texture and personalized details, Suzan Decker Ross and Janet Marie Thomas created a bright, open sunroom with an airy, garden feel and a cozy, inviting living room equally suited to formal entertaining or family evenings by the fire.

custom built-in around fireplace and on living room wall, crown molding in living room — Harden House
wall paint (living room: 6832-2 Lantern Glow; sunroom: 6830-2 Sesame; trim: 6909-1 White Gold) — Porter Paints
stained glass — The Stained Glass Company
tile on sunroom floor and fireplace surround — Suncoast Tile & Marble
area rug (living room) — Carillon Carpet
area rug (sun room) — D&D Designs
ceiling fan — Kraftmaid
hardware on secretary — Cobblestone Court