Learn Faux at Donna's Design

In a Sentimental Mood BELOVED COLLECTIONS AND A TRANQUIL SETTING MAKE THIS GEORGIA HOME BRIM WITH SOUTHERN CHARM.
	Mere footsteps into Susan and Ed Sharretts' home and one realizes how much Susan treasures all things sentimental. The first thing a visitor glimpses, in fact, is a charming pink sofa set before a grand bay window, "the first piece of furniture my parents ever bought," Susan says proudly. Walk a litte further into the three- bedroom Victorian house, needed deep in the woods in Suwanee, Georgia, and you'll see even more meaningful treasures, from family heirlooms to flea-market finds discovered on memorable trips. "I do love old things and sentimental things," confesses Susan, an interior designer and mother of two. Other personal style, Susan says she has come full circle, embracing the French influence that her own mother loved. "I was raised with it, and that's what you go back to," she adds. Susan and Ed built their home, located about 30 minutes from Atlanta, nearly 20 years ago but felt its look was becoming dated. With a few coats of paint, some imaginative decorative touches and a commitment to making their house a haven that showcased the things they love, the Sharretts up
	(Top) A CORNICE GETS A NEW LOOK WITH AN ARCHITECTURAL EMBELliSHMENT AND SOME WHITE PAINT. (ABOVE) SUSAN PUTS FAUX PAINT EFFECTS TO CREATIVE USE IN VIRTUALLY EVERY ROOM. HERE, A FAUX-PAINTED PANEL WAS CREATED TO RESEMBLE A 19TH-CENTURY DECORATIVE ELEMENT COMMONLY FOUND IN FRANCE. THE TONE-ON-TONE FLORAL STENCIL PATTERN ADDS TEXTURE TO OTHERWISE PLAIN PERIWINKLE WALLS-AND PROVIDES A PRETTY BACKDROP FOR DISPLAY ARTWORK.
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dated and transformed the entire first floor, as well as a guest bedroom. One of the first things they did was convert their little-used living room into a cozier dining room. Explains Susan, "We had a lot of wasted space in the living room and found that the dining room was too small for entertaining. I also wanted to open up the house and give it more of a flow." To begin the room's transformation, the couple moved their large dining room set and placed it in front of the fireplace, which is set with a tiny Victorian stove and topped with an antique mantel and mirror. Susan decided the room called for a soft yet vivid color to complement the natural light that poured in from the large bay windows, and eventually chose a periwinkle blue shade. An admirer of unusual paint effects, she enlisted a local faux finish artist to create the distinctive wall panels adjacent to the fireplace. "It has an old, French 1800s look with an embossed damask pattern painted tone on tone using a stencil," Susan says of the panel, adding that she has used faux finishes in almost every room. "When you walk throughout my house, I think I have created a flow with the finishes," she says. A cream and periwinkle rug in a lattice pattern pulls in the colors from the dining room walls, ceiling and molding. Accent colors of pink and sage green can be found in the decorative accessories, most of which are either family pieces or items discovered on ventures with her mother. In addition to her parents' sofa, which she reupholstered in a delicate pink fabric and covered with tiny feminine pillows, Susan displays several china pieces from her family's collections, along with vintage table linens and even old lace collars and handkerchiefs used as matting in framed artwork. One of the most intriguing elements in the room is the imposing glass chandelier over the dining room table, which has a sentimental story of its own. "The chandelier was a gift from my mother and aunt, who col-
	(ABOVE) ORIGINALLY A DARK OAK ROOM, THE SHARRETTS LIGHTENED UP-AND OPENED UP-THEIR KITCHEN BY PAINTING THE CABINETS WHITE AND THE WALLS A SOFT PINK. SUSAN AND ED SAVOR TIME AT THIS TABLE, MADE FROM A DRUM TABLE TOPPED WITH A PIECE OF CIRCULAR GLASS. THE CHAIRS, COVERED IN A PERIWINKLE FLORAL FABRIC, TIE IN COLORS FROM THE DINING ROOM.
		(ABOVE) A UNIQUE TILE BACKSPLASH~ LOOK AGAIN-THE TILE PATTERN IS REALLY A FAUX PAINT EFFECT, WITH SQUARE TILES AND A LARGE FLORAL VASE MOTIF DESIGNED TO MATCH SUSAN'S CHINA PATTERNS. (LEFT) A FAUX-PAINTED CABINET PROVIDES A PRETTY-AND PRACTICAL-PLACE TO STORE CLUTTER IN THE HOME OFFICE.
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	lect fixtures. It's about three or four fixtures from their collection put together by my father, who was an engineer," she explains. While she delights in her "new" dining room, Susan also spends a lot of time in what used to be her dining room, which is now her home office. The office reflects her feminine touch, with light-sage walls painted with a softly aged faux finish and topped with a bow-patterned border in pink, (LEFT) GLASS PANELS PROVIDE A SHOWCASE AREA FoR SUSAN'S PINK-AND-WHITE COLLECTION.	green and gold. She especially loves the room's hand-painted corner cabinet with a stenciled design of flowers, berries and bows. "I put my invoice books and papers in there, anything I want to get out of the way," she says. The office is conveniendy located next to the kitchen, which allows her to start dinner, grab something to eat or drink, or catch up with her sons when they return from school. The kitchen, too, is a reflection of Susan's love of romantic colors, textures and patterns. When the couple was updating the house, she decided to get rid of the dark cabinets and accessories and open up the space. "I wanted the kitchen to be light and airy, and have a garden feel," she recalls. With the help of Ed's brother, the Sharretts repainted the oak cabinets white and covered the walls with the same pale-pink shade found in the living room and dining room. Look closely at the backsplash and you'll notice that it too has a faux tile finish, complete with a floral vase stencil de- sign. "We had to put like five layers of protective coating on it," says Susan. "But it's one of my faux finishes no one else has." SUSAN HAS FILLED HER KITCHEN WITH EVEN MORE SENTIMENTAL PIECES FROM VARIOUS CHINA COLLECTIONS, SOME OF WHICH ARE SHOWCASED IN A UNIQUE END TABLE TOPPED WITH GLASS TO SERVE AS THE FAMILY'S KITCHEN TABLE.

SUSAN WANTED HER KITCHEN TO COMBINE ALL OF THE COLORS USED IN HER HOME- PINK, PERIWINKLE, SAGE GREEN AND WHITE. LIKE THE REST OF THE HOUSE, THE KITCHEN INCLUDES A VARIETY OF CHINA DISPLAYS, FROM FORMAL ARRANGEMENTS IN LIGHTED CABINETS TO A PLANT-FILLED SERVING PIECE SET ON THE COUNTER. A PAINTED FLOO~CLOTH BY THE SINK MATCHES SUSAN'S CHINA PATTFRN"
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(LEFT) THE HOME'S GUEST BEDROOM REFLECTS SUSAN'S SELF-DESCRIBED "FEMININE TOUCH." FAUX-PAINTED PINK WALLS PROVIDE A SOFTLY NEUTRAL BACKGROUND FOR THE ANTIQUE BED, WHICH FEATURES A HEADBOARD MADE FROM HAND-CARVED FURNITURE TRIM AND FLORAL UPHOLSTERY THAT SUSAN AND HER FATHER MADE TOGETHER. ALSO ON DISPLAY ARE MORE PIECES FROM HER EVER-GROWING PINK AND BLUE CHINA COLLECTION TUCKED INTO A CABINET. PERCHED ATOP PICTURE FRAMES AND PROPPED ON A SKIRTED TABLE.
To make the room flow more-and accommodate Susan's own meal preparation needs-the Sharretts took out a side wall used to house a small laundry room and turned the space into a pantry. Another functional addition: Susan had the countertop bumped out by the sink for more workspace and to allow her to "do the dishes without becoming sopping wet," she says. As for decorative accessories. Susan has filled her kitchen with even more sentimental pieces from various china collections, some of which are	showcased in a unique end table topped with glass to serve as the family's kitchen table. Susan's affinity for femininity also continues in the recently redone guest bedroom: Here, the pink faux finished walls include an intricate lacy pattern in the corners, designed to resemble flourishes found on wrought iron pieces. This room, too, is home to several antiques from the family's collection, including a hand-carved bed, charming hand-painted chair and light fixture with one-of-a-kind painted porcelain roses that was a gift from	her mother. The eggplant and sage-colored master bedroom, as well as the boys' room, are decidedly less feminine, of course, but Susan feels her newly revamped home is just what she intended it to be. "I wanted my home to be tranquil and peaceful," she says. "It's just us here, and we're happy." BY LYNN PETRAK STYLED BY DIANA KING PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS LITTLE .