Permanent Vacation

A designer reimagined a “blank canvas” townhome in Southern Florida as a colorful retreat, where every space stays on the sunny side

- Paige Porter Fischer

Living Room

"White is a color just like blue is a color," says designer Dana Small. "I love white, but it can fall flat in some spaces that are begging for more." She enlivened this light-filled space with a bold blue-and-green print (Bukhara in Blue/Green by Peter Dunham) on the drapes. A large, lacquered coffee table anchors the room, flanked by two coordinating white sofas and a pair of soft blue armchairs. Throw pillows and artwork accentuate the aquamarine color story without taking too much attention away from the hero fabric.

Designer Dana Small loves a blank canvas. When hired to reimagine a brand-new town house near Jupiter Island, Florida, Small dove in headfirst, confident she could bring the home to life. “[It] was well-built and had a great layout, but it had about as much personality as a big white box,” she says. “For me, the key to bringing a home to life is allabout texture, texture, texture by way of splashes of color and pattern play.”

Indeed, Small’s design firm, Dana Small Designs in Stuart, Florida, is known for its bold use of color and mixing patterns and texture throughout the home, and her clients weren’t afraid of this gutsy approach. “They love what I love, especially wallpaper, and they really let me come in and do my thing,” she says. So Small presented a palette that played to the coastal landscape the couple loves. Vibrant greens mimic the palms and lush foliage around the house. Shades of aquamarine echo the water that’s a stone’s throw from the property. And bits of coral and pink acknowledge the tropical flowers that embellish the landscape. Plenty of white—from cabinetry and millwork to custom upholstery—balances all the vibrant hues.