home of distinction
d
with five rooms, each paneled by different
colors. She looked out of the window, at
a white mare standing in a field of yellow
mustard flowers with a thatched-roof cottage
in the background.
“The whole area was so natural. That country
is so beautiful,” the interior designer says.
To Howell, that moment was part of her
inspiration to design a retreat in Wilmington,
harkening back to the Swedish style. She
teamed up with local builder Jimmy Doster
to create one of the first custom homes in
Autumn Hall.
In Sweden, Howell fell in love with the
Gustavian type of architecture.
“I love the European feel. I said, ‘This
is going to be a Gustavian beach house.’”
The Swedes tend to create light-filled
interiors to counterbalance long periods of
darkness in the winter.
“Their idea of bringing light inside
appealed to me because I love a light
interior,” Howell says. “The homes are so
light and bright inside, it made the cold
weather nonexistent.”
St. Augustine architectural elements including
deep overhangs and balconies accentuate Patti
Howell's Swedish-style home at Autumn Hall.
41
atti Howell recalls visiting
a place outside of Copenhagen
where she saw an image so
striking, she relives it today.
She walked through a restaurant
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