A Sense of History
Seasoned Interior designer, Chris Goddard is known for his timeless, eclectic and luxurious spaces. With over 30 years of international experience, Chris’s work has included both commercial and residential projects as well as many in his home state of Arkansas. His main office based in Springdale, Arkansas allows him to take care of his state wide clients as well as those throughout the US, Canada and the Cayman Islands.
Like many designers, Chris is seeing several of his clients investing in second vacation homes, primarily in Florida. Although he has been working in Florida for many years, it has undoubtably become a second, big vacation hub. “We have several projects now from Miami to Palm Beach. Our clients want to be on or close to the water because they own yachts. Having a dock out front or nearby is important for them but taste and style fluctuates dramatically the further south you go. Once you get to Miami, it’s much more modern, then say, Palm Beach.”
Palm Beach does have its own sense of style. Although many of the homes throughout history designed by the likes of Mario Buatta, Billy Baldwin, Mark Hampton and Carlton Varney, captured international fame through their use of color and luxurious fabrics, that trend seems to have lost some its appeal among the new Palm Beach crowd. Now, many new residents are leaning towards the resort style, that relies heavily on wicker furniture and seashell mirrors, but this style is way too predictable for Goddard’s design team.
“I like to bring in more English antiques,” adds Goddard and “the return of brown is really major. I’ve never gotten tired of it and we have lots of clients that are wanting a warmer tone injected in their water front spaces because it makes it feel “more homey”. I think warmer tones at the beach is nice. If everything is white and bleached out, there is no depth or personality. The other major factor is that many of our clients have become year-round residents and that makes a difference in designing a space for them. 30 years ago, these clients spent maybe 3-4 months in their Florida homes. Now, they are there for over 9 months or full time and they want things from their main house to be there with them. That requires incorporating many of their antiques so their homes are no longer just their beach houses. Mixing a little bit of the past, I think makes good design,” smiles the affable designer. “I always like rooms with a sense of history, ones that tell a story.” he chuckles. “And lord knows, I love a good story!”
