Tag sale china, handmade mosaic treasures
and a pastel palette complete this
vintage vision. By Shannon Howard

"I call this my inner vision house,” Mary Garrett says of her vibrant Venice, Florida, abode. “It’s where I can explore my spirit and enjoy all the things I love.” Nestled in a lush suburban haven not far from the Gulf of Mexico, the home spills open with
natural light and an airy, loft-like floorplan—but it wasn’t always so fresh and sunny. When Mary and her husband, John, first bought the property six years ago, the walls
were covered in dark wallpaper, the floors were carpeted and the windows were hidden behind heavy draperies. “It was just a dark, boring, closed-up house,” she admits.
Relatively modern, with few architectural details, the house also was lacking in character—a fact at which the Garretts initially
bristled. But the location was great and the home was spacious, and they figured they could improve the décor with a little creativity. “You can’t have everything,” Mary says,“so we just decided to make the best of it.”
In transforming the drab interior, she and John began by infusing the space with a sense of lightness. They replaced the original window treatments with delicate lace panels and laid earthy Mexican tiles and rich hardwoods on the floors. After removing the dark wallpaper, Mary painted the walls in a variety of dreamy Martha Stewart pastels, choosing milky white for the kitchen, powder pink for the master bath and buttery yellow with accents of beach-glass green for the living room. “I find pale colors very soothing, like a warm embrace,” she says. “Plus, I love that I can take anything from any room and rearrange it because it all blends together.”
Above: OLD MEETS NEW High ceilings and a wide-open floorplan give the living room a spacious feel. Against a sea of china, lace and other collectibles, Mary has paired a contemporary white leather sofa with a chippy old farm table, one of her favorite pieces.
SITTING PRETTY
 A weathered- door-turned-unique-chair cozies up beside a mosaic-topped picnic basket, a Mary Garrett original. When necessary, the chair can provide extra seating at the dining table.
OUTDOOR APPEAL The Garretts escape from the hot Florida sun in their “little garden cove.” The cozy niche bursts with festive touches, from a trio of handmade steppingstones to an old stained-glass window dangling from the eaves.
photos: gridley & graves
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