When it came time to leave her storm-damaged apartment—the ceiling in the dining room had fallen in—there was something else that Pam Lyons was going to leave behind: a bright color palette. Hues of hot pink, chartreuse, orange and other intense colors dominated her decorating scheme. For her new condominium, Pam “wanted to do neutral shades,” she says, which came as a shock to her friends who were impressed by Pam’s ability to stylishly blend color.
But Pam’s biggest challenge was how to downsize: her apartment is 1,750 square feet, while the condominium is 1,110 square feet. For help, Pam called her friend, designer Tari Lagasse. Tari breezed in and took charge, helping Pam choose which pieces to keep and the ones to get rid of. First to go: the couch. Pam found a new one, as well as a new coffee table and side table at Juliet Home Furnishings. The ultrasuede American Leather couch was brown, which set the neutral tone for the living room: the curtains are an off-white linen and she had new slipcovers made for two wingchairs she already had. The only hint of color comes from a painting by Chip Pique.
1 The living room is a study of neutrals. The brown ultrasuede couch by American Leather and Oly coffee table are from Juliet Home Furnishings. Pam found the zebra rug on the Internet. The off-white linen curtains are from the Curtain Exchange.
2 The dining room’s neutral palette is punched up with bright color, such as the persimmon taffeta curtains from Interiors and Extras and the chairs covered in a chartreuse silk. The painting of a pear is by Pam’s mother, Betty Lyons, who also gave her the silver set on what is an antique medical desk. The chandelier and the table are by Luis Colmenares.
3 Detail of Pam’s bedroom: The mint green silk taffeta curtains are from the Curtain Exchange. The wing chair is covered in hot pink silk. The dragonfly lamp is by India Stewart.
4 The living room’s fireplace mantel is topped by antlers found on her parent’s property in the country. The painting is by Chip Pique.
5 Pam’s dogs, Louis and Jacques, at rest in her bedroom. The chandelier is from Orient Expressed. The Aubusson rug is from a store in Houston. The bed linens are from Neiman Marcus.
The bedroom takes the temperature down even further, with pretty off-white bed linens and lush mint green taffeta curtains. But, even here Pam couldn’t resist adding color: a wing chair slipcovered in hot pink silk made the cut from apartment to condominium. In a studied contrast, the bathroom is warm: the moss green walls complement a Fortuny silk curtain—in the same green shade and terracotta red—that was made into a shower curtain. They’re subtle hues that create a relaxed ambiance.
It’s in the dining room where Pam couldn’t resist adding back some color. A painting of a pear by Pam’s mother, Betty Lyons, cues visitors to the hues that pop in this room: the chartreuse chairs and persimmon taffeta curtains. Pillows made in Manuel Canovas fabric ties the colors in. But unlike in her old apartment, where the walls would have been a bright shade, Pam kept the predominant colors neutral.
All the furnishings are durable—with two lively dogs, Jacques, a yellow Labrador, and Louis, a Brittany spaniel—it’s essential. Pam loves to entertain, so much thought by her and Tari went into what type of fabrics to choose and where to place the furniture. The pieces and colors are sophisticated but don’t intimidate, so guests are put instantly at ease—and if someone does spill something, it can be washed away.
When friends come over, they often can’t tell what she got rid of in the move, as many of her favorite pieces from the apartment made it into the condominium. Pam didn’t lose her love for color, she refined it.
