Downsizing in style

11 Jun Downsizing in style

Front  porches, sidewalks, lots of green space, and even a lively town center. It’s the stuff small towns are made of, right?

 

 

 

Westhaven is a master planned neighborhood where all of those elements coexist and where young families and retirees have gravitated in recent years to find a sense of community.  It’s really like its own small town located off highway 96 near Franklin. And that’s what attracted Patty Jones after suddenly losing her husband. She wanted a fresh start and she wanted to downsize. So she packed up what she could fit into a 16-hundred square foot space from a more than 4-thousand square foot house and headed north from Jacksonville.  

 She wasn’t looking for another house.  So the building she found with 12 units walking distance to a grocery store was ideal.  And all the residents were moving in around the same time.  Patty says it feels like a dorm!  She always sees people she knows, and she loves her new color palette. 

It’s a big departure from her previous home that was Mediterranean in style with heavier woodwork and darker colors. Now she’s enjoying a minimalist look. The kitchen, dining area, living room and even an office all work in harmony.  She painted several pieces, adding a bit of golf leaf here and there. 

 

  It helps to have a sister close by who happens to be an artist.  Patty, a retired nurse, is on the left. Carol is the talent behind the paper line, Stone Cottage Paperie. I’ve featured Carol’s home and her gorgeous stationary, notecards and wrapping paper. She and Patty were raised by a creative mother so the apples didn’t fall far from the tree. 

As a matter of fact, the sisters did a painting that’s over the built in banquette. 

Some of Carol’s art hangs in the guest bath.  They are vintage prints from the 1940’s and 50’s that she revamped. I love these. They are also the inspiration for her new line of cocktail cards.

 

Patty’s guest suite is really inviting with a burst of color.  And it’s all furniture she brought with her from the Florida house.

Her master suite sits on the other side of the condo with plenty of privacy and that nice porch.

The handsome lamps came from Scott’s in Atlanta, and Patty made the pillow shams.

She was also really clever in designing her desk that sits in the main living room space. Instead of buying one, she assembled this one by painting a solid door she uses as the desk top, and under it are painted scrapbook cubes she found to use as drawers.  Then she added new hardware and voila!

When she’s not out playing pickle ball or walking, she also works at the resident’s club house at the front desk so Patty has met many of the people who call Westhaven home.

 Not a bad place to go to work, huh?!?  I think many people can relate to downsizing, especially after kids are raised and it feels like so much time and money is spent maintaining a  yard and house.  But it’s such a personal decision. It’s great to see that out of a sad experience, a new chapter can be written.  Glad Patty found her way back home.  

 

Thanks to Patty for opening her home to Stylish Retreats. It looks like she’s carved out a great new life for herself in Westhaven.  It you haven’t seen it before, or it’s been a few years, you really need to drive through and experience it for yourself!