SOUTHERN SWAP

A MIDWEST COUPLE TRADE THE DESERT FOR WATER VIEWS IN THEIR GEORGIA GETAWAY

- WRITTEN BY KRISSA ROSSBUND

Kim Scodro and her husband, Bruce, had a to-do list Labor Day weekend of 2023. It went something like this: Saturday—Look at a house in the coastal community of Sea Island, Georgia. Sunday—Seriously discuss the beautiful farm-style house they had just toured. Monday—Make an offer.

The Chicago couple, who had owned a vacation home in Arizona for years, checked off all three tasks and, just like that, the Scodros found themselves dropped in the middle of a vacation home redo that Kim, an interior designer, spearheaded.

It seems safe to assume that crafting a home with an alluring interior plan would be an easy feat for Kim, whose prolific portfolio includes projects that are charged with the femininity of soothing colors and spirited patterns. But this time Kim was designing for herself, and she had to play researcher, presenter, and decision maker all at the same time.

“Many designers will tell you that designing for yourself is not easy,” Kim says. “My job is to edit for my clients, and with this house, there was nobody to edit for me. I had to ask myself questions and then make decisions.”

The first decision was choosing the element that would serve as a springboard for the scheme. In this case, a wallpaper with a branch motif that Kim pegged for the foyer stepped into that role with elegance. It established the aqua and turquoise palette that would dance around a few public spaces before evolving into true blue in the kitchen and living room.

The soft hues carry into the dining room, a showstopper with vaulted ceilings and a floral-stripe wallpaper that visually heightens the architecture. A sunny contrast of golden checks on window panels softens the angles. Around the dining table, chair fabrics alternate between a toile and a printed flame stitch.

Foyer Aqua wainscoting contrasts the natural tones of the pecky cypress door and ceiling in the foyer of Kim and Bruce Scodro’s home.