Unified Design Focusing on the Big Picture

   Margo Bohaty, owner of Sandcastles Interiors, describes the “Sandcastles Concept” as about more than mere decoration. Her approach to interior design eschews trendy themes and the layeringon of embellishments. She believes that well-designed spaces are about proportion and balance and a true marriage between form and function.
   Though her Scandinavian heritage has endowed her with a particular fondness for the clean elegant lines of traditional Swedish Gustavian design, Bohaty and her Design Director, Philip Gulotta (a former Manhattan-ite who favors mid-century Modern) always open their design palette to any possibility in their goal to create the atmosphere their client is seeking.
   They mix traditional antiques with sleek contemporary pieces, cool metals with warm woods, outrageously expensive pieces with flea market finds or items straight off the Crate and Barrel floor. Clients’ treasured pieces — their “artifacts” — are incorporated, and elements of the outdoor environment are introduced.
   “What we try to achieve in any space is a sense of symmetry and scale,” says Bohaty, “a harmony of color and shape and texture that unifies all of the elements in a meaningful way — the architecture, the finishes, the furnishings, the setting — rather than just ornamentation.”
   Indeed, the landing outside their offices at Towles Court in Sarasota, encapsulates this design philosophy; the very traditional lines and finish of an exquisite Baker Regency center table is perfectly complemented by a very modern beaker vase with three simple hyacinth stems, lower leaves peeled back to emphasize the blooms and the clean shape of the beaker, and a small stack of books, important to the designers.
   Bohaty and Gulotta typically begin their design process hand-in-hand with the architect. (Along with her husband Phil Chmieleski, Bohaty builds custom high-end homes on the water and in Sarasota’s upscale golf course community, The Concession.) They pay close attention to scale at this early stage. While soaring 20-foot ceilings may be all the rage, Bohaty points out that these are often out of proportion with the room’s size, creating hollow spaces that are merely cavernous. “Bigger is not always better,” she laughs.
   The designers look at the home’s structure in terms of how it will look, feel and work for the client. “We consider ceiling heights and furniture layout,” says Gulotta. “If this is the logical place for a sofa, then there should be a window here of appropriate height to address that sofa.” He continues this meticulous analysis, noting the need for an end table with a lamp and thus access to a plug.
   And rather than simply pulling out catalogues of standard furniture lines, Bohaty and Gulotta will accompany their clients to estate auctions in New York, showrooms in Chicago, flea markets, antiques dealers and yes, even Pottery Barn, to find just the piece to fit their unique space and style.
   In a recent project — a waterfront home on Siesta Key — the expansive gulf view through floor-to-ceiling windows in the home’s living room was the defining design element for the interior space. On the walls, a custom mixed shade of pale blue-green echoes the hues framed by the unadorned wall of glass, its tint changing ever-so-slightly with the light just as the water vista does.
   The furnishings in this room were carefully selected to complement and not compete with the spectacular view; neutral, soothing fabrics with subtle variations in tone and texture create richness and interest without clutter. “With the neutral upholstery, you can truly appreciate the form and shape of the piece itself, as well,” comments Bohaty. A tufted ottoman with carved walnut legs in a creamy jacquard is more than just a pretty accent, doubling as coffee table and additional seating, and fit with casters for easy sliding over to the nearby fireplace.
   It is this attention to every aspect of a room’s design — its lines and spaces, colors and textures, function and flow — that is the hallmark of Sandcastles Interiors.

SANDCASTLES INTERIORS
1901 Morrill Street, Sarasota
941 954-1657

Written by Kelly McCall Branson

Photography by Greg Brown