Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

Whether it be sipping wine in her cool living room or hanging out on the beach with friends, Withers uses her condo at Villa Del Sol as a great escape.

By Diane S. Morales, Caller-Times

August 20, 2006

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

This dresser was a garage sale find and the mirror was $120 at Kirkland’s. Small boxes with toile are placed in a few areas in the one-bedroom condo, adding a classic elegance to the spaces.

PHOTO GALLERY

A beach theme welcomes visitors to cool comfort at the condominium at Villa del Sol on Corpus Christi Beach. While the one-bedroom home invites an anything-goes attitude, when interior decorator Jennifer Withers got her getaway home a year ago, her attitude was “Everything goes.”

Everything, including the kitchen sink.

In two months, she tore out the walls and cabinets, took out bunk beds, moved and reframed doors, relocated the water heater, updated the wiring and added insulation.

“This place was literally a skeleton,” she said. “The only thing I didn’t take out was the ceiling. I took off all the popcorn and repainted, but that’s all that’s left from when I got it. It was the hardest project I’ve ever worked on. But the guts of it have been reinforced immensely.”

The unit, which has a bird’s eye view of the beach and Lexington Museum on the Bay, was painted a Tiffany box blue, a color she created herself at Ashmore Paints. The color is called Wither Away, and after her painter, Sammy Rodriguez, painted the walls, her carpenter, Dennis Kunz, installed crown moulding throughout.

She replaced the plastic covered wall with Sheetrock, got prefab cabinets from Lowe’s, painted the doorways a crisp white and had her tile expert, Robert Midour, install all of the floors throughout in ceramic tile with a hardwood look.

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

This room originally had mirrors on the wall on the left. Withers tore them down when she replaced the walls and installed flooring in shorter strips to eliminate the runway affect that stemmed from the entryway. The couch, from Furniture Warehouse, has storage space underneath. ‘All of the furniture has multi-purposes,’ she said. Instead of a coffee table, Withers took the advice of a friend and purchased folding TV tables.

The bulk of her budget was used on construction. The decorator’s touches were done on the cheap. Many of her touches were purchased from places such as Ross, Marshall’s and Hobby Lobby.

“My pocketbook was the devil on my shoulder,” she said. “My pocketbook won out on the decisions.”

Warm flow

Because the door to the condo leads directly into a hall toward the living space, Wither wanted less of a runway affect in the hallway.

“I had them put the floors horizontally, rather than vertically and long to break up the runway affect,” Wither said. “I eliminated the energy of the runway.”

She moved two large sliding doors into the hallway to create an open look to the bedroom. Across the hall, where narrow bunk beds used to be, she installed simple cabinets for storage and a small dresser that was a garage sale find. A funky, round mirror from Kirkland’s is above the dresser.

In the bathroom she moved the access to the air conditioner above the shower. To camouflage it, she placed draperies, instead of a shower curtain, around the shower.

“Standard curtains are 84 inches long, so I raised the bar so you couldn’t see that ugly panel,” she said.

Enjoying the view

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

‘An eclectic look creates depth to a home,’ Withers said. The classic artwork, Louis XIV chairs and weathered table create a cozy eating area near the kitchen.

The bathroom counters, and those in the kitchen, are flecked granite tile. The kitchen was redone so that the sink is in a peninsula that sports cabinets and a built-in cutting board, her trademark. The work area is highlighted by a touch of sand-colored ceramic tile interspersed with glass tile.

“I loved this tile,” she said. “It’s so funky, and I wanted more of it, but my pocketbook told me no.”

When she purchased the condo, the kitchen sink had the cook facing a wall. Wither’s design allows someone to work at the sink and see outside.

“What’s the point if you can’t get the view?” she said. “I wanted my sink facing the water. I want to talk to people in the living room.”

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

The picture over the bed is a replica of a painting owned by one of Withers’ clients. The bedspread, sheets and matching bedskirt came as a “Bed in a Bag” set that cost $40. Withers added punch with soft, gold-toned throw pillows.

Her living room furniture also was inexpensive. The couch, from Furniture Warehouse, folds out into a bed. One chair, from Wal-Mart, folds out into a twin bed. Two classic Louis XIV chairs sit opposite each other with a weathered table in between.

“I really go for this shabby-chic-beachy-cottage look,” Wither said. “I mean look at the dangling crystal with the weathered seagulls that look like buoys that washed up on shore. I think mixing things adds depth.”

Sundays are her favorite days to head to her home on the water, although she spends plenty more time there when the mood strikes her.

“It’s like having your own beach,” she said. “And rather than running to the Circle K for a drink or something, I come up here and grab something. It’s my place to relax.”

Contact Diane S. Morales at 886-3758 or moralesd@caller.com