Touring a model home decorated by a professional interior designer is one of the best ways to get a feel for how a home’s floor plan will function in real life. But do you know what goes on behind the scenes? We talked to Brookfield Residential’s interior designer, Holly Royvall, to get the inside scoop. Let’s take a look at her process and inspiration and see how the Villa Portfolio: Villa 2 came to life at Barefoot Lakes in Denver.

“The Villa Portfolio boasts great floor plans and people of all walks of life can enjoy the well thought-out layout. With the master bedroom and living areas on the main level and extra space and bedrooms in the finished basements, most of daily life unfolds conveniently upstairs. After researching our demographics and studying the plans, I wanted to design around an older couple and a younger family showing that the Villas are a good match for all ages.

Here is an example of how my design process starts out: I find an impactful inspiration photo then choose the finishes and paint colors that will achieve that feel. Villa 2 at Barefoot Lakes has a sophisticated, upscale feel using deeper colors and wood tones. I like to pull finishes that we use in the homes alongside a couple inspiration photos, as to not get off track.

Next, I thoughtfully space plan each room within the floor plans. Sectionals in rooms tend to make them feel larger, whereas using two sofas instead lend a more sophisticated feel. I apply specific design rules to each room. You should always walk into a foot of the bed and use the headboard wall as the focal point of the room. Rugs should ground the space and it’s mandatory at least the front feet of the furniture pieces in the room sit atop of the rug. Lighting acts as the jewelry for the room and it’s nice to have ambient lighting with table lamps and floor lamps. Greenery is a great way to fill up empty corners and add life to surfaces such as cocktail tables, desks and built-ins.

I always keep in mind the initial first impression. I like having an accent wall visible as soon as one walks in. Adding simple trim and paint is one of the best ways to design an accent wall.

In this villa’s dining room, a simple trim detail made out of cost-effective mdf was painted dark gray. To layer in extra pop and light, I added a saturated piece of art grounded with a high-end looking console and stacked mirrors to draw the eye up to the tall ceiling heights.

This is my concept page for the dining room. I choose all furnishings prior to presenting and design each detail. I render the details in Photoshop to give a semi-realistic idea of what the actual detail will look like alongside the furnishings I selected. By doing this, it helps keep me on track and show people what my ideas are look like rather than me trying to describe them with words. In this case, I’m thrilled how similar the project turned out in comparison to my design.

Here is the concept page for the living room:

And here is how it turned out:

My favorite way to add pop to a room is by art. Large scaled art and mirrors capture attention immediately. An extra impact is to accent paint the walls the art is placed on a deeper color so the art definitely stands out. It’s very helpful to see how art will scale in and how colors play with each other in the initial design process and then really exciting to see how it all worked out once built and installed.

And here is the design concept for the master bedroom:

And here is how it turned out:

These models were installed just about a year ago. These were the first models I got to design as Brookfield Residential’s in-house model designer. This was such a fun day to see them open to the public and enjoy all the thought and detail that went into each step.”

Take a virtual tour of the Villa Portfolio at both Barefoot Lakes and Brighton Crossings and explore these wonderful designs in depth. Be sure to FOLLOW us on Facebook for more design ideas and insight!