Master Strokes

Sherry Owens
Advance, North Carolina

"I'm passionate about creating a restorative and inspirational sanctuary for my husband and me," Sherry says. With that goal in mind, she knew she had to do something about her house's breakfast nook, a tight space between the kitchen and a door that leads to the deck. Because Sherry liked how a transom over the deck door brought light into the room, she simulated the effect in the cramped breakfast nook.

To give an illusion of openness, Sherry created faux transoms: She hung two mirrors with mullion-style embellishments above the existing windows and completed the trompe l'oeil effect by placing her curtain rods above the mirrors.