Interior designer Clarence Brooks is a close friend of the Harbins and has worked with them on multiple homes, so when they decided to move to a house that was in mid-construction, Clarence was already on board. “They wanted a comfortable and concise area for living and dining,” Clarence says. Moving mid-construction afforded them some liberties to make the necessary adjustments to the house plan, making the home perfectly suitable to their needs. “The living room, dining room, and kitchen all needed to flow together, and to get the correct flow we didn’t want a bar or anything separating the two, so we added the French table and chairs instead,” Clarence says. Simple cabinets with elegant arches tie the space together.
This house is “a representation of items that the Harbins have collected over the years, and their tastes tend to run to anything that has sort of a French flair,” Clarence says. “It doesn’t have to be from a certain period or style, just something that has a French flavor or influence.” Clarence notes that it is perfectly acceptable to mix elements from different periods or styles as long as you follow his personal design mantra: Line complements line, form complements form, and color will complement color. “If chosen correctly you’ll always find that line and form and color will complement each other. And that’s what you look for,” he says.
