The JUNE 2018 How-to Issue!

THE 48-HOUR SHE-SHED MAKEOVER!theJUNE 2018How-toIssue!theBring onties!Barn ParClever, Creative Ways to Make YourHome the Happiest House on the Block(ice cream sandwiches included!)Old Sofa;NewSwing!COUNTRYLIVING.COM 4.99

A HAPPY HOME IS AcolorfulHOMELooking LivelyLayered with thoughtful pops of color, casual natural texture,and a very merry menagerie (95 animals and counting!),this South Florida home is, fittingly, a true lesson in warmth.written by LACEY HOWARD photographs by RIKKI SNYDERstyling by ALEXANDRA SCHMITTadd color withPAINTThe vibrant green shadeseen throughout theproperty (on trim bothindoors and out) wasinspired by homeownerGany Lalo’s trip toMykonos, Greece. “WhenI travel, I take lots ofpictures, and when I gethome, I head straight forthe paint store, and weeyeball it,” she says.For a similar shade, tryAqua Quartz by Valspar.CRE ATCOM FOU RERTLucEngli ky theshsoaks mastiffuFlorid p thea sun.70COUNTRYLIVING.COM / JUNE 2018COUNTRYLIVING.COM / JUNE 201871

SHappy HomeownersWho Lives HereGany Lalo, husband Jimmie,and children Benjamin,Misha, Hanna, and ShanaHappiest House Memory“The entire family witnessedthe birth of our horse, Rocky,”says Gany. “I was a neuroticmess for three or four days,but it was spectacular.”Happiest Room“Everything happens in thekitchen. Everyone, includingthe dogs, crams in around thekitchen table. You really haveto know how to maneuver!”Happiest Tradition“We love eating dinneroutside and hanging out bythe fire pit. It’s the best.”72COUNTRYLIVING.COM / JUNE 2018even years ago, Gany Lalohad a decidedly vibrantvision. “I saw my family on abig piece of land. There wasa house that offered a way oflife that very much included animals,”she says. “I could see a chicken, andshe was walking through a kitchen.”So Gany, the CEO of InvictaWatch Group, and her husband,Jimmie, set out to make that dreama reality. They traded Florida beachviews for 10 acres on the eastern edgeof the Everglades that afforded plentyof room for their four children—Benjamin (age 20), Shana (age 19),Hanna (age 15), Misha (age 12)—aswell as animals galore, including thefamily’s eight beloved horses. “That’sreally who we are—horses are ourthing,” says Gany. Jimmie is a horsetrainer, and she and Shana andMisha compete in dressage.Inspired by both the love forhorses and tons of color, Ganyimmediately christened the propertyBlue Stallion Farm. But the namewas more wishful thinking thanreality. The land hadn’t been usedas a working farm in more than12 years, and everything wasdecidedly drab, from the fourbedroom Spanish Colonial ranch tothe dilapidated barn. But Gany wasundeterred. “I knew I could figureout how to work with what we hadto create whatever kind of home wewanted,” she says.Before focusing her efforts onthe house, Gany opted to get the barnup to snuff for the equine membersof the family. “We did so much workon the stables—everything frommodifying stalls, building out feedrooms and tack rooms to restainingand painting,” Gany says. They alsoadded paddocks and a riding arenato show and school the horses.But because she knew how manyhours the family was going to spendout there every day—up to four andfive hours a day on the weekends—she added some extra-special touchesto make the barn more friendly fortwo-legged living. “It was importantto me that it become a place wherepeople actually wanted to hang out,”says Gany. “We created a sittingroom at the entrance with accentlighting and punchy, fun furniture.”She also furnished the stableswith a long picnic table with brightorange accents for a casual diningspace beneath ceiling beams wrappedin twinkle lights. “We keep the lightson until after night check,” she says.“It just all looks so pretty.”add color withFLORALSThe beautiful archedporch—once coated ina not-so-breezy shade ofred—is now the perfectairy setting for floralfinery both fleeting (likethe ranunculus andaster blooms in a crustygreen watering can)and forever (like thebright embroideredtablecloth made in Israel;gingerhome.co.il).ECRE ATU RTCO M F O R erude thGertnrpingtoBuff O y fordareison tea.afterno

add color withRUGSWhile South Floridaheat makes tile floors amust, Gany likes to layeron a variety of colorfulrugs ranging fromkilim and Oushak to ragand dhurrie, includingthis find in navy,pink, yellow, and coral(caitlinwilson.com).Its vibrant colors areechoed on the openshelving in the form ofvases, bowls, typewriters,and luggage.TU RECRE A ORTMCO F n theaMelm paloosaApmini ts for ahun ck.snaadd color withAPPLIANCESTo offset the kitchen’sdarker wood cabinetry,terra-cotta tiles, andconcrete sink (nativetrails.net), Gany selectedretro-inspired appliances—both a refrigerator anddishwasher—in Jaditegreen (bigchill.com).Other colorful touchesinclude cobalt blue shelfbrackets, a red vintageruler stool, and, quiteoften, the day’s bounty ofproduce from the garden.add color withBEDDINGA charming vintageGrandmother’sFlower Garden quilt(thedestinationmarket.etsy.com) brings a littlelevity to the Indonesianbed. “I used to be onconstant lookout forbed coverlets at antiquesmarkets,” says Gany.“Now I have a hugecollection of suzanis,kanthas, caftans,crochets, patchworks,and chenilles.”With the horses settled in freshdigs, Gany began devising brightideas to right all the wrongs in the3,000-square-foot family rancher.Her first priority: Let the light in.“It was so dark,” says Gany. “Thecolor scheme, all the heavily carveddoors and cabinetry, and even interiorshutters—everything seemed likeit was designed to repel any trace ofnatural light.” Gany’s solution?Resurfacing every single grain of woodin the house. She restained all theinterior doors, all the cabinets in thekitchen and bathrooms, and built-inbookcases in much lighter hues.Once the woodwork was in order, shepainted the majority of the walls acustom white and then chose a varietyof hues ranging from a deep blue torust orange for bold accent walls.“I like to mix it up—things are alwayschanging around here,” says Gany.COUNTRYLIVING.COM / JUNE 201875

“I love all color —I don’t really have aspecific favorite,and I don’t have aformal approach tousing it. It’s just afeeling. I’m drawn tobright things thatspeak to me andfeel authentic to theway we live.”RECRE ATURTSCOM FO Dutchar, aZanzib blood,Warm s tableeeovers up.set–GANY LALOCRE ATCO M F O U R ERTSRocky,old A a 5-yearrabiathe fir n, wassborn t foalon thfarm. eadd color withFURNITUREGany ordered a beergarden set (beergardenfurniture.net forsimilar) for fun, casualdining in the stables.“When we need extraroom, the whole thingfolds up flat,” she says.“It was originally greenbut we repaintedit a bright orange.”76COUNTRYLIVING.COM / JUNE 2018“But the white really works as abase for all the color and texturethat I’m constantly bringing in.In any given room, you might findwood, terra-cotta, copper, andconcrete.”While Gany says she doesn’thave any sort of master plan asto which colors go where, her mainpops at the moment are bluesand greens, inspired by the lushFlorida surroundings. The shadesalso mesh nicely with the home’soriginal terra-cotta floors, as wellas the porcelain wood-like tiledfloors she added in the living room.“We like the way the floors lookwith our bright palette, retrofurniture, and kind of global style,”she says. “Of course, it doesn’thurt that they’re also extremelyanimal friendly!”Because at the end of the day,creature comforts are the numberone priority here at Blue StallionFarm. In addition to the stable fullof horses, the family has adopteda lot of animals. Thanks to the 10acres, a dreamy barn, and chickencoops that look like guest cottages—“We call them the chicken condos,”says Gany—there are plenty ofwide-open and otherwise spaces forall of them to roam.COUNTRYLIVING.COM / JUNE 201877

add color withNATUREFresh vegetables,including tomatoes, kale,and broccoli, floweringblue potato bushes,and banyan trees provideplenty of shade(and shades!) around thechicken condos. Foranother vibrant kick,Gany painted galvanizedplanters a neon-likelime green.RECRE ATURTSOFMCOn 80thaMore s strutnchicke stuff.theirRECRE ATU RTCOM FO ning-winAward n HaloArabia watchkeeps stall.hisfromadd color withUPHOLSTERYOn the barn patio,furniture in peppy fabricsmake for lively seating.The tropical patternedchair (anthropologie.com)complements a leathersofa, transformed withpaint. (Really!) “We justused a paintbrush andit has lasted about fouryears now!” says Gany.Striped pillows (dearkeaton.com) and an indigorag rug (annieselke.com)add extra zest.But, true to Gany’s dream, thehouse is far from off-limits. Humanshappily share elbow room withseven dogs (ranging in size and breedfrom English mastiff and Frenchand English bulldogs to Chihuahua,dachshund, and a cocker spanielpoodle mix), Melman the miniAppaloosa (often found hanging outby the kitchen pantry), and morethan 80 chickens, including Gertrude,a Buff Orpington who is alwaysunderfoot in the kitchen, just as Ganyhad envisioned.“I live life on a playground,” shesays. “Executive me gets dressed upfor work on the weekdays, but thereal me is here at the farm, barefootin jeans and a T-shirt. I can’t believeI get to call this place home.”78COUNTRYLIVING.COM / JUNE 2018COUNTRYLIVING.COM / JUNE 201879

tablecloth made in Israel; gingerhome.co.il). Happy Homeowners Who Lives Here Gany Lalo, husband Jimmie, and children Benjamin, Misha, Hanna, and Shana Happiest House Memory “The entire family witnessed the birth of our horse, Rocky,” says Gany. “I was a neurotic mess for three or four days, but it was spectacular.” Happiest Room