By Donna Cornelius
Journal Features Writer
There’s only one negative about Perry Umphrey’s guest quarters: Your company may never want to leave.
Umphrey, a ShowHouse veteran, transformed three connecting rooms on the house’s lowest level into inviting quarters designed to accommodate visitors for an extended stay.
“I knew my ideas would work only by taking on all three rooms,” said Umphrey. “It made more sense to treat the area as one space.”
The designer turned to his own experiences for inspiration.
“You’re in Mountain Brook, Alabama, but I wanted this to feel as if it were a hotel suite in Barcelona or Paris,” he said. “When you walk into a nice hotel suite in this country, you’re likely to see antiques and a traditional look.
“When I took a Mediterranean cruise, I stayed in European hotels that were more contemporary, with clean lines and colors and more architectural in feel.”
Umphrey used variations of blue as the palette for all three rooms – a sitting area with built-in-bar, bedroom and living room. Walls are a cool robin’s-egg shade accented by cream, chocolate brown, celadon and teal.
“I wanted to do things a little quirky – imagine that!” said Umphrey, who’s well known for his never-ordinary designs. “Rarely do people do a strictly contemporary or traditional look. Most rooms are more eclectic.”
The trick to mixing time-honored and trendy elements, he said, is “to start with a base of one style – here, it’s clean and contemporary – and then add to it.”
ShowHouse visitors need only look into the bedroom to see a successful marriage of styles. On the Ethan Allen bed, crisp white linens are decidedly classic, but the designer threw some deep brown fuzzy pillows into the mix. An ornate full-length mirror that would be at home in any formal room leans against a wall; close by are two stark metal stools and a sleek glass and chrome table.
“Nothing’s matchy-matchy, and there’s tons of texture,” Umphrey said.
Don’t miss the details throughout the suite. In the living room, a lampshade is covered with primary blue, hand-applied sand. And look closely: You’ll see a tiny crystal bird perched on the edge of the shade.
In the sitting area, a glass-topped table is surrounded by four leather chairs – two brown and two cream-colored. The table’s base is covered in snakeskin paper.
Also in this room is Perry’s “pet,” a decoupaged dog that adds a touch of fun – and who doesn’t need feeding or walking.
Side tables throughout the suite are of varied materials – wooden, ceramic and glass. On one bedside table, you’ll find a turquoise Clocky. The much-in-demand timepiece walks itself off the bed and onto the floor if you fail to respond to the snooze alarm.
In the bathroom that adjoins the bedroom, clouds are painted on the walls rather than on the ceiling – another twist to Umphrey’s design plan.
All these elements prompted the designer to offer some advice to ShowHouse visitors.
“Don’t rush through the rooms,” he said. “Stop and look under things and around corners. You never know what you’ll find.”
