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have seized the light. I have arrested its flight!˝ with tone-on-tone geometric motifs in the paneling
declared Louis Daguerre, inventor of the and coffered ceiling. Rattan chairs echo the warm
Daguerreotype. What the French artist knew was that patterns of the mullioned French doors and transom
light and form reveal the essence of a photograph, windows. ˝We duplicated the linen draperies
just as designers Ashley Olivia Waddle and Courtney throughout so the backdrop would remain as simple
O´Bryan Whatley created their own composition: a as possible,˝ Whatley remarks.
Florida residence, conversant in Chinese elements,
But their quiet canvas is far from silent. The homes
and captured in luminous, soft focus.
most personable attribute is Whatley and Waddells
˝We wanted to create a refuge…surrounded by ability to respect the old and conjure the new without
beautiful things and incredible light,˝ says Waddell. mimicking the austere atmosphere of a museum. A
The Vero Beach-based sisters, who joined their pair of centuries-old reproduction Buddha statues
middle names to form their firm, Olivia O'Bryan, Inc., from southeastern China, hand carved from a single
were enamored with the natural light. ˝ The way it block of limestone, speaks in the dialect of the Eastern
threw patterns on the floor captivated me,˝ says Wei Dynasty (534-550 A.D.). Found in a shop in Roslyn,
Waddell.
NY, their acrylic bases gave them a faint, but lingering
To embrace the radiance, they selected whispery contemporary accent amidst the owners collection
shades of white and delicately introduced texture of Chinese jars and boxes.
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