Page 122 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2022

HOME
Projects by David Coco.
A Fresh Start
I t’s time to say hello to 2022, and to a fresh new start! If it’s
also time to refresh your home, we’ve got some ideas on how to update your interiors without starting over from scratch. Like the sage advice offered
in a song we often sing this time of the year, when it comes to rethinking your interiors, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other gold.”
We talked to two prominent designers that share their philosophies on defining your style, trends, and quick ways to create big impact. David Coco with Dixson Smith Interiors in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Annelle Primos, of Annelle Primos & Associates in Jackson, Mississippi agree that the place to begin
any makeover is to take a survey of your furniture and accessories and decide what pieces you love and don’t want to live without.
“I always ask clients what pieces are sacred when starting a project,” says Coco. There are pieces that remind us of who we are and where we have been. They are familiar and comfortable. Quality pieces you love will be difficult and costly to replace.
Primos agrees, “I always start by walking room to room and taking note of all the furniture pieces and art that clients want to incorporate into a new design.” Adds Coco, “If things are meaningful to them, that’s what makes their house a home.”
Of the relationship between client
and designer, Primos says, “It’s my job
to understand how they live, figure out their taste – are they more drawn to monochromatic and neutral schemes
or do they want color? Are they more formal in how they use their home, or do they love curling up on a sofa? It’s about designing a look that is reflective of their life not my own personal taste.”
Both Coco and Primos share a love of antiques and have collected them their whole lives. “When I began collecting,” says Primos, “everything was English brown furniture with lots of patterned chintz flowers. Then came the decade of Country French with all its curves, inlay, and color. Following the French phase, we began to see a cleaner esthetic with a
122 | January 2022
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
story by Holly Harrison and Shannon Stage photos courtesy of David Coco and Annelle Primos