photography: Celia Pearson
French doors lead from the garden to the old screened porch that Miles transformed into an office. She bartered her faux-painting services for the slate tiles on the porch floor. |
Miles also enclosed the old screened porch and turned it into a home office. She traded her faux-painting services for a client's tall French windows ("I loved the layers of paint on those windows, so I cleaned and lightly sanded them smooth for an aged, textured look") and bartered with another friend for the slate tiles. Then she painted a farm table white, pushed it under an old window on the back porch, and made it into a desk where she can see into two other rooms and admire her garden, all while accessing the Internet for her work. Miles' design philosophy, rather like her life, is to keep things moving. She's forever changing out, moving around, and adding to her treasures. "A new color or accessory or a great new fabric for a seasonal slipcover is all I need to get motivated and shake things up," she says. When she finished her living room the first time, she kept the furnishings sparse "to ballroom dance with a friend." Now, it's a place to mix a drink, lounge, and write a letter. Landing in Charlottesville years ago gave her roots, she says, "but I'm never locked in."
photography: Celia Pearson
“I painted everything before I slept here,” Miles says of her bedroom. “The Italian Straw yellow walls, high-gloss white ceiling, and (what I call) ‘cottage green’ floor made it easier to move in and get inspired,” she says. |
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It’s all about giving the eye lots to feast on—not clutter, but choice accents. 
