Take the Tour!----- 1. Project Overview 2. Builder 3. Neighborhood 4. Friends 5. Head Decorator----- ROOMS 6. Sherilyn's Room 7. Bonus Room 8. Teenage Bedroom Suite 9. Guest Suite 10. Master Suite 11. Dining Room 12. Home Theatre 13. Kitchen (Cabinets) 14. Kitchen (Appliances) 15. Kitchen (Countertop) 16. Family Room----- FEATURES 17. Details 18. Water System 19. Tile 20. Elevator 21. Staircase 22. Building Materials 23. Roof 24. Concrete Masonry 25. Concrete Countertops 26. Landscape & Hardscape 27. Pool

NHI DREAM HOME | HEAD DECORATOR



BY KATHY GRANT WESTBROOK/PHOTOS BY RAY STRAWBRIDGE
WINTER 2005 ISSUE

Pat Cashman, owner of Today’s Interiors, has been working as an interior designer for 23 years. So, when asked to serve as head decorator for the 5th Annual NHI Dream Home, she brought a wealth of knowledge to the project.

A less-experienced designer might have been overwhelmed by the job, but not Cashman. She handled her mile-long list of responsibilities with aplomb.

Her first task was to develop an overall vision for the home. Since different designers are enlisted to decorate the various rooms, it is imperative that someone provide a unifying concept to ensure that the rooms mesh with one another. That someone was Cashman. A recent trip to Las Vegas influenced her decision. “I wanted a Mediterranean style with a Southwestern influence,” she says, “but I wanted to adapt it to the Triangle area.”

With this image in mind, she started pulling the look together by selecting roofing materials, plumbing fixtures, tile, cabinetry, carpets and paint colors. Cashman had already established a solid working relationship with the builder, Bost Custom Homes, on previous projects, so she was allowed great freedom in making her selections. “The builder trusted me and said, ‘Go for it!’” she recalls.

Now, it was time to communicate her ideas to the other interior designers. “I gave them pictures of how I envisioned the rooms,” says Cashman, adding, “We consulted and met several times during the project.” She applauds her fellow designers for their success in carrying out the look she proposed. “It was amazing how we got all the rooms to flow,” she says.

Cashman, herself, handled the decor for some of the rooms, including the breakfast nook, where terra-cotta colored walls set the stage for Southwestern style. She chose earthy furnishings and accessories to complete the look. A copper table with an iron base serves as the room’s focal point; it is surrounded by six rattan-covered chairs. The window treatments consist of bamboo shades, while twigs poking out from beneath the dinner plates indicate that even the chargers are made of natural materials.

In an upstairs bedroom and bath, Cashman took an entirely different decorative approach. Charged with creating a little girl’s suite, she used her one-year-old granddaughter, Bella, as inspiration. The result is a room packed with Flower Power. Cashman “planted” flowers throughout the room: on the duvet, pillows, lamps—even on the chandelier. Of course, anywhere you have flowers, you have color—this suite is awash in cheery blues, pinks, greens, lavenders and yellows. One lime green rug plus one hot pink beanbag chair equals one little girl squealing with delight!

“Delight”—or rather “delightful”—is the word Bella’s grandmother would use to sum up her experience working on the NHI Dream Home, if she were allowed only one word. But, who says she’s allowed only one? “This project was a dream-come-true for me,” says Cashman. “I’ve never done anything that I’ve been so involved in or dedicated to.”▪

KATHY GRANT WESTBROOK IS A FREELANCE WRITER FROM FOUR OAKS..

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