Designer Crush: Summer Thornton Design

I have been following Summer Thornton's design work for some time now, so when I opened my May House Beautiful and saw her latest project featured, I was thrilled!   Summer is a Chicago-based designer who first gained considerable notoriety when she was featured as one of Traditional Home's "New Trad" designers.   Her style is bold, eclectic, and colorful; full of juxtapositions and surprises.

{Major girl crush- she's beautiful!}

To date, this is my favorite Summer project- a historical home in Wilmette, Illinois that Summer and her team modernized with glamorous, cheeky touches:

Talk about a statement ceiling!

And have you ever seen a dentist office look this good?  The brass door hardware, the wall panelling, and the paint colors create a seamlessly chic waiting room:

While I've always adored her maximalist approach, I loved seeing Summer's take on a more toned-down, casual aesthetic in her House Beautiful feature (after the jump)-

Summer worked with Chicago couple Dan and Karen Heller to decorate their second home in Naples, Florida that they planned to utilize as an entertaining space for their large family and friends.  Karen posed the following question to Summer at the beginning of the project: "Is it possible to be casual but also elegant?"    The finished product of the home shows Summer's ability to do just that- merge high style with cool, laid-back vibes:

{One of my favorite wallpapers, China Seas' Java Grande, was used on the walls of the powder room}

The saucy touches (like the outdoor tiled wall and the bright tangerine hues) and balanced with blues, whites, and warm woods.  Karen told House Beautiful, "I'd describe Summer as daring and myself as safe- she was exactly what I needed."

Lovely work as always, Summer!

Read more about Thornton and her design process here.