Can You Do Bunny Williams Punta Cana Home On a Budget?

Dear Laurel,

I love it when you do the high-low posts and was wondering if you could tackle John Rosselli’s and Bunny Williams Punta Cana home. I’ve been drooling over its beauty ever since you published the post about why John hates you. lol

I imagine that this room if one were paying retail would be well into six figures? And how I wish that our home had those soaring ceilings and gorgeous architectural detailing. Please don’t tell me that is all it is. Is there any hope for us peeps of far more modest means to get the look?

Our budget to do our living room is no more than 20k. The room is about 14 x 25 and there is a lovely fireplace and there are four windows that are the standard six over six sash windows. There is a four-inch crown and a 5 inch colonial baseboard. And the far end does have French doors which go out to the patio.

We recently moved and are only starting to decorate but I want this look for the entire house. Love their bedroom too!

 

Does this style have a name? Hope that you can do a blog post about it. Oh, one last question. Love the striped rug, but is that practical? We do have two children and a dog. But the slipcovers, I adore!!!

ILuva Bunnee

 

Thank you “ILuva.” ;]

 

I mean who doesn’t love La Colina, John Rosselli and Bunny Williams Punta Cana home?!?!?

 

As Mark Sikes said in this post, the home is magical.

And yes, I won’t kid you, the magnificent architecture absolutely plays a part. But if we can imagine ourselves standing in this living room which sounds a lot like this one, we did a couple of years ago, then it is clear, that we can do something really lovely.

 

What is this style?

 

I believe that it’s based on a British Colonial style which features pale colors coupled with dark mahogany furniture and tropical themes. It is so named because of the English who colonized the West Indies.

 

The Rosselli/Williams home is also filled with plenty of “john and bunnyisms” like those fabulous colorful throws that she frequently uses in her interiors.

 

ILuva doesn’t say where she lives. Does one have to live somewhere tropical or Mediterranean in order to do this style? Well, certainly if you do, this would be perfect. But, I don’t get too hung up on things like the location. I mean, if you live in a forest on a mountain, this one would be more difficult to pull off, but I think this color scheme and feeling could be adapted for other regions.

While some designers might find that horrifying, I feel if one loves something, then they should find a way to make it work.

I read in my research that Bunny told someone that she was using chintz for a job and the person said, “Oh, isn’t chintz out?” (I would not have asked such a questions!) But Bunny said that it’s out if you don’t like it. Oh, how I love her for that!

Therefore, let’s quickly examine what it is about this room that gives us such joy.

Certainly the grandeur of it. But the colors, the personal touches, the eclectic furnishings that never match but always go together. Bunny and John make it look easy. It’s not.

 

Alas, it’s getting quite late now and I actually started this yesterday.

 

I have to admit that the art is really difficult. Yes, yes… I know… support your local artists. And that would be fantastic. If you know someone who could paint a couple of fabulous panels like the ones here, that would be incredible.

Those fabulous pieces that they have are untold thousands, I am quite sure. But I think that they make the room.

John Rosselli and Bunny Williams Punta Can Home on a budget

But there’s something a little different this time. (not just the furniture which changed if you’ll notice!)

A while ago, I create several floor plans which I never did anything with, but I’m going to include two of them tonight. A little holiday presie for y’all.

This is a pretty standard layout and there’s a small room behind the living room.

And this layout is one I’ve been confronted with many times in terms of door openings. There are either one or two on the right side and usually two flanking the fireplace going out to a sun room that used to be a covered porch! There are other configurations for both rooms.

A few notes.

 

The striped rug is very difficult. First of all this room is 30 FEET by 50 FEET!!!

 

Wowza is right! That is FOUR times the size of the two living rooms above. FOUR TIMES! And the ceiling is at least 15 feet higher in the Punta Cana House.

The rug is undoubtedly a custom rug. It is a wool dhurrie which is not impractical because it’s wool, but just depends on how you guys live. I would do sea grass for your budget. In fact, if you check out the hot sales page, there is an image in the widget that links to a 9 x 12 sea grass rug that’s only $325!!!

That will be helpful, because while most everything I selected is very reasonable, a few pieces are more. And also, there are some furnishings for the dining room which was not included.

 

But, I think that we managed to get the feeling of Bunny Williams Punta Cana home.

I have a few more shots for you to examine.

 

dining area outside. sublime! John Rosselli and Bunny Williams Punta Can Home on a budgetThe dining room is outside! But if doing one indoors, there is no reason that one can’t incorporate some beautiful wicker or rattan chairs.

And one thing I want to point out are the windows that open up from the ground. That’s crazy wonderful! That way, one doesn’t have to walk through the doors and you can put furniture there. Brilliant!

 

John Rosselli and Bunny Williams Punta Can Home on a budget

 

Bunny Williams Punta Can Home on a budget - beautiful library table filled with Chinoiserie porcelains
And because the image above this one was a GINORMOUS file, I was able to zoom in for us to see everything on the table. Of course, our living room doesn’t have enough room for a large center table like this. I would call this a library table. But, here, it’s just a fabulous display for their vast collections.

Please enjoy all of the furnishings I found.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the high-low of John Rosselli and Bunny Williams Punta Cana home!

 

I’ve probably left some things out, so if you have any questions please fire away!

xo,

PS: Please don’t forget to check out the Holiday Shop if you’re looking for gifts and/or gift ideas. And also the Hot Sale’s Page.

Also, One Kings Lane is having a 70% OFF Warehouse sale!!! And there are some insane values. A few I’ve added to the Hot Sale’s Widget.

 

36 Responses

  1. Your high/low posts are so excellent! You do such a great job of capturing the luxe details while respecting a reasonable (for the average of us) budget. Thank you!

  2. LOVE your choices to copy the room–especially the blue velvet sofa. Have to admit that I was a little critical of the loveseat in the Punta Cana home. I’m all about oversized accessories, but YIKES! The scale of that mirror over a loveseat was a bit over the top. With the size of the room and the tables under the palm panels so far away, a sofa would have easily fit. Scale was preached constantly in design classes and proved to be the trick time and again when working with my clients. Everything else about the house I loved. Thanks for all of your work pulling together the “Low” version.

    1. Well, the question is… should the mirror be in scale with the settee or the wall? Its size doesn’t bother me because the frame is white and feels like more of a texture. Plus there are other HUGE elements in the room.

      But I do prefer the later iteration that used her furniture. (furniture in her line) Just looks more comfortable.

  3. I’ve seen pictures of John and Bunny’s house in Punta Cana before, and it’s gorgeous, and thank you for sharing the floor plans. Something like that is always helpful to a person like me, who can be stumped when it comes to size and placement of furniture, especially in a large living room.

    Just as an aside, (and please forgive me for sounding obtuse, Laurel), I don’t understand why John Roselli doesn’t like you – because at a moment of enthusiasm you gave his wife a hug?

    1. Hi Lisa,

      Not sure if you read the post or not. John is jealous of ALL of the bloggers who are captivating Bunny’s attention. This was all said with a wink and she shared my post or her social media peeps did, on her FB page!

  4. THIS IS SO VERY HELPFUL. OUR NEW NEIGHBORS GAVE US THIS BOOK AS A WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD GIFT WHEN WE MOVED THIS SUMMER. THEY HAD NO IDEA WE ALREADY GRAVITATE TO BRITISH COLONIAL STYLE. WE NOW LIVE ON A COASTAL PENINSULA ABOUT 30 MILES NORTH OF PALM BEACH. WE LOVE HIGH CONTRAST, DARK WOOD, TROPICAL INFLUENCE. WE HAVE 2 STORY LIVING RM CEILINGS, FIREPLACE, WHITE WALLS, WOOD FLOORS AND BEEFY CROWN & BASE ALREADY. CURRENTLY HAVING OUR LIVING RM FURNITURE REDONE IN SHADES OF CREAM. IVE BEEN STUDYING THIS BOOK AND TRYING TO INTERPRET IT FOR HOW WE LIVE AND DECORATE. INSTEAD OF THE BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK WE USED 2 VINTAGE FISH (SAILFISH AND MARLIN) MOUNTS OF MY HUSBAND’S THAT WE HAD REDONE. IT DOES NOT FEEL CAMPY, I DON’T LIKE CAMPY. THEY ARE HUNG AT THE 2ND STORY LEVEL BECAUSE THEYRE BIG. THANK YOU FOR THIS HELPFUL POST. NOW I’LL READ ALL THE COMENTS THAT ARE USUALLY HELPFUL TOO.

  5. I LOVE Bunny Williams and have all her books! She is so refreshingly practical in explaining how she puts a room together. I originally bought a book of hers just as a coffee table book (i.e., “for show”) but then proceeded to read it page-by-page, including all notes!! It was so informative. She details how she decorated her Punta Cana house in her book called “Bunny Williams’ Point of View.” Believe it or not, those huge bird panels aren’t antiques…they were commissioned by John and Bunny from an artist they knew to fit the space. The huge white mirrors were from China and John painted them a chalky white. Much of the other furniture they had and simply recovered in blue duck cloth (it must help immensely when your husband is a famous antiques dealer and you yourself have amassed a vast collection over time). I highly recommend that book. Even where she details other rooms that have a very different vibe, you can still take away something from every page about color, space planning, etc.

    1. Thanks for sharing all of Therese. I have to confess that ironically, I’m a lazy reader. That goes for everything. A lot of that I did know, either from listening to her talk,(which is always a treat) or other blogs, like that they used what they had. I figured that the paintings were commissioned, not antique. They’re so beautiful!

  6. As I was scrolling down & admiring the items you found, I came to the bamboo stool. I thought “Where was the stool used in the inspiration pictures?”
    Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was used on the table to elevate a large vase. I never would have thought to do that. Leave it to Bunny!

    1. Hi Mary,

      Actually, although it looks like a stool, it’s way too small except for a young child as it’s only 7.5″ high. I suppose one could use it to tie their shoes. haha. And I have no idea what that thing is on top. It is meant to be a stand, although not as grand as Bunny’s!

  7. Thank you so much for doing this post. I have been studying all your ebooks and paint books, looking for inspiration for my new to me Houston home. I hate the Texas Tuscan look which is still going strong. Trying to reconcile my love of Georgian Colonial (previous 1904 Illinois home) with HOA planned community cookie cutter, no architectural features home. Then this post. I love this, a tropical vibe to go with the palm trees but also classic and traditional. Your widgets are spot on. Lusting after the Robin Bruce light blue sofa. Hopefully, it is comfy. I want to try to get a sample of the fabric, haven’t had a chance to touch the cryton velvets yet. Have you?
    Christine
    P.S. I have now hooked my 20 something daughter on your blog, whose laste is nothing like mine. Her comment, I love everything on Laurel’s blog. Thought you’d like to know you are appreciated across all ages.

    1. Hi Christine,

      I can’t vouch for this particular fabric, but I’ve used crypton that I got through Thibaut and it’s very nice.

      And thanks for sharing that about your daughter! How cool!

  8. I ordered that Robin Bruce light blue Crypton velvet sofa a few weeks ago and I’m dying to get it in my living room! My husband is terrified that we weren’t able to sit on it prior to ordering because we’ve been burned by some internet furniture purchases in the past, but I have my fingers crossed!

    My living room walls are already light blue, so hopefully the blues will look good together because I’ll also be in trouble if we have to repaint, since we just paid to have it done this summer! I have blue and white porcelains all across my mantle and built-ins, and lots of other blues and whites throughout the room, along with the original fireplace and built-ins in dark stained oak. If I can ever get around to settling on a fabric for drapes, the room will be close to done. (Of course, since I CAN, I will be required to sew the drapes as well, which I’m not looking forward to!) If only the fabrics I want for the drapes aren’t all $125/yard or over!!!

    1. Hi Holly,

      The sofa is manufactured by Rowe furniture which is good quality, so you should be fine on that front. And the color will most likely be fine too. And of course, I’m sure that you’ll have some pillows on the sofa. :]

      But, the room is sounding quite gorgeous. Please send pics when it’s finished!

    2. Hollie,

      Please post when your sofa arrives. I would appreciate you sharing your impressions of the comfort level and workmanship of the Robin Bruce sofa. Oh, and I checked out your shop online, you have lovely things.
      Christine

    3. Oh yes, please let us know how you like the Robin Bruce sofa! I have been eyeing it for a few months now but have been afraid to pull the trigger on it!

    4. I’ve just ordered two Robin Bruce sofas over the internet and I’ve had them for a week now. Let me tell you that they are so comfy and wonderful! My husband and I are very happy, I’m sure you’ll both love yours too!

  9. Great job, Laurel! Beautiful pieces and well under the prices that Bunny must have paid. However, even $20M is probably higher than lots of homeowners can swing. What do you think, could the same effect be attained on a micro-low budget, say $5-8$????

    1. Hi Diana,

      Well… I’ll answer the question like this: What kind of car do you think that you can get for 5-8 thousand?

      Of course, I’m going to get someone that’s going to say that they have a room that looks like this and they did it all by going to tag sales and the like. I’d like to see this room.

      I suppose if one already has the upholstery pieces and you know how to sew that would be helpful. But the accessories alone would run at least 2 or 3k. And if one starts to add up everything I did which I didn’t do, I bet that with S/H and tax we’re still over 20k!

  10. Thank you for finding so many of the items one might use to create the look of John and Bunny Williams decorating style .

    You did a very good job !

    If anyone would like I am able to paint large panels similar to the ones in the House Beautiful photos

    I would use watercolor on paper or acrylic on canvas .

    The link to my website is in my name.

  11. Yes, there’s a lot of gorgeous furniture and design going on in the room, but why do they have every single table covered with stuff? Where is there room for a book they’re reading or for a guest to put a glass down easily or just some open space to give relief? I’ve never understood why people cover every inch of every surface–and what does the housekeeper think of having to dust all that? Help me understand, please!

    1. Hi Mary,

      Well, to get a definitive answer, you’d have to ask Bunny. :]

      The rooms are styled for the photo, not necessarily the way they would be if they were having a party. And they are almost definitely not styled by either John or Bunny. In fact, they probably weren’t even there, when the photo shoots took place for the magazines.

      And the other thing is that rooms look very different in person than they do in photos. This is a HUGE room!

  12. Wonderful post Laurel ! I have to confess I really love British Colonial style. I’ve never been anywhere near the West Indes ( I was born in Britain though) but it just appeals to my travel imagination in some way. Light colors, dark furniture and lots of greenery. Love the artwork. My faves are the white mirror and the adorable little elephant ceramic.

  13. Laurel, this is an especially great post! There are so many of your featured items I’d like to buy right this minute! I have the book on this house and have long admired it – you found so many wonderful things! Thank you!

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