aspire design and home Winter 2022/2023 SoCal Issue

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An ancient rabbi once asked the pupils how they could tell when the night had ended and the day was on its way back. “Could it be,” asked one student, “when you can see an animal in the distance and tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?” “No,” answered the rabbi. “Could it be,” asked another, “when you can look at a tree in the distance and tell whether it’s a fig or a peach tree?” “No,” said the rabbi.

“Well, then, when is it?” his pupils demanded.

“It is when you look in the face of any woman or man and see that she or he is your sister or brother. Because if you cannot do this, then no matter what time it is, it is still night.”

– OLD PROVERB

Thank you for sharing 15 years of joy and beauty with us at aspire design and home. We wish you a happy and healthy year ahead

Amy Sneider amy.sneider@hudsononemedia.com

VINTAGE MIDCENTURY YIN YANG OTTOMAN

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Painting by Jules Olitski

DESIGN • LIFESTYLE • ARCHITECTURE

SPECIAL SECTION: 68 ITALIAN DESIGN

TORONTO, CANADA

74 BACK STORY

Want interiors that sing? This Canadian project is an object lesson in the essential importance of a room’s envelope

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA

82 GEE WILLIGER’S

A West Hollywood residence gets a new starring role with architect Paul Brant Williger at the helm

PIATEDA, NORTHERN ITALY

88 RISE AND SHINE

Modernist furnishings elevate a venerable Italian barn the architect Alfredo Vanotti reimagined as a home and studio

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

94 RED-HOT

Renowned artist Isabelle de Borchgrave’s passion for the color red breathes new life, creating a harmonized environment

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

100 THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK Sparano + Mooney Architecture creates an of-the-moment home in an established Salt Lake City neighborhood

WARSAW, POLAND 110 THIS X THAT

There’s no theme to the scheme of this eclectic home

VALENCIA, SPAIN 116 TRAILBLAZING

Artist and collector Mathieu Mercier shapes the trajectory of a long-abandoned 18th-century building with the help of Niney et Marca Architectes

ROME, ITALY

122 ON THE STREET WHERE HE LIVES

Roman architect Massimo Adario makes himself at home in a 16th-century palazzo along the left bank of the River Tiber

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA

128 TRIALS AND REVELATIONS

An entrepreneur and film score producer updates a West Hollywood home left halfrealized by a prominent, deceased acting coach

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

136 COLLECTING BEAUTY

Interior designer and events planner Otto De Jager’s pied-à-terre is brimming with an enviable assortment of what he dubs “artisanal antiques”

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

146 GROUND CONTROL

This contemporary Modern house connects all the bases in this attractive suburban community

DININGROOM:Interior designer Gideon Mendelson draws you into this Greenwich Village, New York dining room with a gold teapaper ceiling paired with brass accents for an added dose of drama. Sources: Phillip Jeffries Grecian Squares Wallpaper. Studio Van den Akker, Hallard Chandelier. Kravet Couture, Scramble Silk Curtains. Jean-Marc Fray French Antiques, Italian Murano Art Deco Glass Sconces. New Day Woodwork Custom Dining Table. Dmitriy & Co, Sibet Dining Chairs. Stark Carpet. John Rosselli & Associates Vases. mendelsongroupinc.com

LIVINGAREA:Valencia, Spain. Interior Designer Mathieu Mercier calls the shots with a vibrant Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec carpet from Nanimarquina in Barcelona, enlivening the living area. The armchair is by Archizoom Associati. GUESTBATHROOM:Brescia, Italy. Edoardo Monti's 12th-century palazzo. Coat rack purchased locally and a tapestry by Barbara Prenka.

COVER Denver, Colorado

Interior Design: FORMA (PAGE 58)

© Devon Banks Photography

Eric Piasecki

Helenio Barbetta & Chiara Dal Canto

Photography

Daniel Schäfer / Stylist Cristina Gimenez

PRIMARYBEDROOM

Architect Massimo Adario's Roman palazzo. The armchair is by artist Jimmie Durham, the print, Esposizione in tempo reale n. 4 Lascia su queste pareti una traccia fotografica del tuo passaggio, by Franco Vaccari from Galleria P420 Bologna. massimoadario.com KITCHENA whimsical space from Warsaw, Poland, designed by Poco Design and Architect Patrycja Suszek-Rączkowska. Sources: Moooi Table. Handmade ceramic wall tiles by Ardea Mosaic. Nivito Faucet. SMEG Hood. Kitchen furniture custom-made by Poco Design. Antique Chairs. pocodesign.pl CERAMICS Mambo Unlimited Ideas' Fauna Collection consists of ceramic figures with brass details. The pieces can be used on a surface or attached to walls, making them versatile and unexpected elements of decoration. mambounlimitedideas.com DAYBED Proporzione Mediterranea, Daybed 01, 2021, by Annarita Aversa. Ceramic, iron and brass. Studio Architetti Artigiani Anonimi. architettiartigianianonimi.com

Omar Golli

BOOK NOOK

Mexico City – A study in libraries

Organic, fluid lines and sculptural spaces inspired by cloisters, caves and igloos influence these bookshelves in celebrated Mexican architect Javier Senosiain’s unique semiunderground home, Casa Orgánica. The interior of the dwelling is accessed by going down the spiral that leads to the tunnel. The original concept, defined by two large spaces connected by a tunnel (one for the day, the other for night), was created for his family when his children were young.

Nin Solis

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WORKSHOP/APD HOMES: ARCHITECTURE, INTERIORS, AND THE SPACES BETWEEN BY ANDREW KOTCHEN + MATT BERMAN RIZZOLI $55

FASHIONING DESIGN: LEE BROOM BY BECKY SUNSHINE

RIZZOLI $65

Mexico City

Mexican artist Pedro Reyes and his wife, fashion designer Carla Fernández, open their brutalist home in Coyoacán, the district in Mexico City where Frida Kahlo used to live. The library, which houses Reyes' own sculptures, is a concrete oasis for both living and creating. The stone floor was inspired by the nearby Anahuacalli Museum, designed by Diego Rivera in 1957 to house his collection of 60,000 pre-Hispanic artifacts. Mexican sources of inspiration are many: Reyes has always loved studying the artists and artisans of his own country.

Nin Solis

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CALIPSO COLL e C t IO n eth I m O . CO m

MIKE VAN TASSELL

CWI DESIGN

DELIGHT IN THE RITUAL OF COOKING

Icons of design and the personification of performance, Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove are the refrigeration, cooking, and dishwashing appliances found in the world’s most luxurious homes.

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ALWAYS BE FIRST WITH WHAT’S NEXT

KITCHEN I BATH I HARDWARE I OUTDOOR

Welcome Home

Birgit Klein designs an idyllic indoor/outdoor lifestyle for her own family in Montecito

TEXT JENNIFER QUAIL PHOTOGRAPHY SAM FROST STUDIO STYLING LISA ROWE, ROWE LOS ANGELES

When designer Birgit Klein and her husband decided to create their ideal family home in Montecito, California, the hunt began for land that would allow their vision to take shape, with the perfect combination of lovely views and a central location. “We wanted someplace we could really make our home,” recalls the designer, who leads her own namesake firm, noting the property needed space for a large garden, a lap pool, and a lot of entertaining, not to mention a more than 4,000 square foot home for which she would design the interiors first.

“I built the home from the inside out,” describes the designer, who specifies the importance of light throughout the home, as well

as perfect flow among the interior spaces and through to the exterior, as driving forces for the design. “I knew how I wanted to live and how my family lives,” she says. “It’s really all about how one will use a home.” Ultimately, Klein created an inspired plan for yearround indoor/outdoor living, and a home that is at once elevated and comfortable, and perfectly suited to her family. “It’s a place where our children can have their friends over to swim and watch movies, and also a place where we can have our friends over for dinner or a glass of wine. We can enjoy all the things we love doing.”

Klein’s native German roots, as well as the many years she and her husband lived in the United Kingdom, are reflected throughout

Spread across 1.5 acres, the grounds were designed to welcome all ages and events large and small. Surface material from MATERIAL Bespoke Stone + Tile offers ample space for gathering, including a cozy grouping around a firepit. Cedar siding on the home’s exterior speaks to the natural surroundings, while the metal roof adds a modern element.

A 16 by 50-foot pool, where the designer and her husband enjoy swimming laps, completes the outdoor space.

1 Klein loves to sit at the breakfast bar, in part, she notes, “because the counter stools are just so comfortable.” The Thomas Hayes Studio stools pull up to a counter surface from Marmi Natural Stone and gain a glow from a trio of pendants from Allied Maker. The walnut cabinets are original designs by Birgit Klein Interiors and were fabricated by Santori Woodworking. 2 The custom wet bar, fabricated by Santori Woodworking, is a focal point in the home. The sink and counter add drama with Arabescato Orobico from Marmi Natural Stone and an elegant faucet from Kallista. 3 A vintage dining table and chairs meet with a custom bench designed by Birgit Klein Interiors and upholstered in sheepskin. The bench is a favorite spot for the designer who often selects this location when working from home.

the home, as is a preference for a mixture of styles and textures, all of which contribute to a home that is richly layered, intensely personal, and eager to be shared. “We wanted to build a home where all elements of our personalities were conveyed and honored,” she explains. “It’s important to incorporate small treasures that have been collected through the years, and to mix the modern with the traditional… to incorporate different design styles and then juxtapose them with each other beautifully.”

The back of the house fully opens, allowing for a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces. “It works so well for us,” Klein says fondly, noting the space accommodates smaller family meals as well as parties up to 100 people. “The doors are pretty much always open, even in the evenings when it’s cooler. We entertain, we cook. Entertaining is very important to us.” In fact, the outdoor living space includes a bar area, a pizza oven, and multiple seating areas, including one gathered around a fire pit. Welcoming seating, whether indoors or out, was selected as much for comfort as for style. “A home, for me, should never feel like a museum or like I can’t sit down,” the designer says. “Every piece of furniture needs to be comfortable, and it needs to have a purpose. There needs to be a

reason why you sit in that space.”

And no space in this home is too small to make a statement. The dark and dramatic powder room, for example, is a favorite among Klein’s friends. “We sourced this old sink and built a base out of reclaimed wood,” the designer describes. “Then, we added more contemporary light fixtures and it’s just stunning. It’s like a jewelry box.” Meanwhile, the custom-made bar area, which the designer describes as “the hardest space to design in the whole house,” had a great deal of demands to satisfy. “It needed to be complementary to the kitchen, but not too similar,” Klein explains, “And I wanted a little edge to it too. It needed to be a really spectacular space.”

Such special moments and the very way a home has the potential to make one feel are all part of the design process for Klein. “For me, when I walk into a home, it evokes different feelings and emotions,” she says, stressing the many spaces throughout her home that she considers favorites. “Curling up on the sofa in the family room after a long day is like a warm hug from an old friend. And when I cook in the kitchen, it feels energizing because I usually have people around. A home needs to support all of the emotions. It’s about evoking emotion in whatever I do.”

A custom sectional meant for gathering is upholstered in a Designs of the Time fabric via Una Malan, as is the Christian Liaigre chair where Pierre Frey Boucle via Kneedler Fauchère is employed as a complement. The metal fireplace façade adds a modern edge while wall-mounted lights from Circa Lighting shine upon softer, natural wood shelves.

The large leather custom ottoman from the designer’s own showroom makes every seat feel like a lounge. Fabric & Steel stonewashed fabric on the sofa is met with a colorful and inviting striped vintage textile Klein had been saving for something special. The Pure & Original, Marrakech Walls in Dark Forest add rich depth.

A favorite space among guests is the powder room. Set against the dramatic backdrop of Pure & Original, Marrakech Walls in Slate Grey, a vintage sink and cabinet find their homes beneath a mirror from Lulu and Georgia and sconces from Allied Maker. Fixtures from Kallista and a hanging light from Birgit Klein Interiors round out the “jewel box” room.

1 The doors to the primary suite were custom designed by Birgit Klein Interiors and fabricated by Ponto Woodworking. Wide-plank white oak and a series of vintage hanging lights and bookshelves lead the way to the more private space. 2 Dramatic wallcovering guides the palette for the bedroom where welcoming, earthy hues set the stage for comfort and rest. 3 Walls covered in an abundance of flora and fauna reflect the natural surroundings and set the backdrop for the pool bathroom.

In the primary bath, a soaking tub from Native Trails sets a relaxing tone at the entry to a custom steam shower. Flooring from MATERIAL Bespoke Stone + Tile and Portola’s Roman Clay on the walls surround the space in peaceful hues.

JIUN HO

SOCIETY OF WONDERLAND

ARONSON

FOUR HANDS

BLUEPRINT LIGHTING

ARONSON OSBORNE & LITTLE

ARCHETYPE / JONATHAN PRINCE

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“Why are we making art in the first place?” asks sculptor Jonathan Prince. His answer: “It’s never been about making money; it’s been about the passion of creation.” For Prince and his partner in life and business, curator Stephanie Manasseh, that passion is central in their holistic approach to how they exist in the world.

The couple are founders of Berkshire House in Western Massachusetts, the 23,000-square-foot property where they live, Prince creates his art and they host conferences and other events that focus on the interrelationship of art, digital technology, architecture and gastronomy. It is also a nexus for collaboration with artists, architects and designers on a variety of projects that arise out of a respect for science and spirituality.

Prince has a lengthy and prestigious résumé in the fields of science, technology and medicine. But 20 years ago, he began creating sculpture from stone and steel that explores more ambiguous mysteries of the universe and reality.

“Really, my art is about the relationship between the aims of science and the wisdom of spirituality – how they elucidate, inform and complete one another,” he explains. “They’re not mutually exclusive. Science is in its infancy, and spirituality is a way of asking questions that science hasn’t answered yet. All my work asks more questions than it answers – about how it’s made, what the material actually is, where perfection meets imperfection or chaos, whether it’s ancient or futuristic.”

Take Transcendent, a wall piece that hangs over a fireplace in the couple’s great room. It is made of ceremonial buffalo hide normally stretched over drums for Lakota rituals, so the material itself carries both physical property and spiritual resonance. Its natural tendency in this dried state is to bunch up and contract. Yet Prince pulls it tight within a steel frame, thus conveying the sense of the material resisting being conformed and confined into a state of perfection, completely flat and without wrinkles.

Or his Shatter sculptures, whose exterior presents perfect Euclidean geometric forms (in this case, Cor-Ten steel cylinders), but inside seem to be fracturing and crumbling. Amazingly, these pieces are neither digitally modeled nor molded using 3D printing. In the faceted fracturing, he describes, “each plate’s position is informed by the one that came before.” Prince does innovate machinery and methods for grinding and polishing, but these pieces can take some 500 labor hours to construct.

WPrince and Manasseh live with these and other artworks at Berkshire House, namely a Sol LeWitt fresco in the great room that is on permanent loan from his estate. (It came to reside here as Manasseh was assembling works for a LeWitt show at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, during which she developed a relationship with the artist’s widow, Carol). The fresco lives alongside a Piero Lissoni sectional sofa and coffee table.

There is no separation between art and design (or anything else, for that matter), according to the couple. In many cases design is, in fact, a direct outgrowth of art, which is, of course, an expression of the artist’s soul. To wit: the enormous light fixture over the dining room table. Its creator, John Procario, was an admirer of Prince’s work, and it arises out of a collaboration of ideas between the two men. A coffee table and end table near the fireplace are sculptural riffs on Prince’s Torn Steel works, for which he developed a technique to emulate cracked stone using metal. The latter pieces combine art, technology and science, with the more spiritual concepts of imperfection and surrender of control.

All of it ultimately stems from that “passion of creation.” In that passion, we sense the human desire to reconcile what is rational or knowable with that which is abstract and impossible to quantify with the human brain and its necessarily limited capacities.

These are the sorts of interchanges that take place during events, dinners and conferences at Berkshire House. Ultimately the couple wants, states Manasseh, “to create a sense of community by invitation. We have to know something about what you’re interested in – the Sol LeWitt, Jonathan’s art, our lifestyle.” It is at the intersection of many ideas that something new is created and deeper understanding is possible.

TEXT JORGE S. ARANGO PHOTOGRAPHY ANTOINE BOOTZ

“Really, my art is about the relationship between the aims of science and the wisdom of spirituality – how they elucidate, inform and complete one another. They’re not mutually exclusive.”

– Sculptor Jonathan Prince

ARCHETYPE / JONATHAN PRINCE

1

SWING IN PRINCE’S STUDIO ADDS A MOMENT OF LIGHTHEARTEDNESS.

2

BERKSHIRE HOUSE BEGAN LIFE AS A DAIRY FARM IN 1902 BEFORE BECOMING THE STUDIO OF SCULPTOR JONATHAN PRINCE AND HOME TO HIM AND HIS PARTNER, CURATOR STEPHANIE MANASSEH.

3

WHITE-PAINTED FLOORS EXTEND FROM THE HALL INTO THE PRIMARY BEDROOM, CREATING A CONSISTENTLY SERENE EFFECT.

4

SHADOW BOX, A WOOD AND ALUMINUM SCULPTURE FROM PRINCE’S TUMBLE SERIES.

5

PRINCE’S JELLO CUBE TRIO, PART OF THE GEL STATE SCULPTURE SERIES, IS MADE OF MIRROR-POLISHED STAINLESS STEEL AND TRANSPARENT COLOR. FROM LEFT ARE STRAWBERRY, ORANGE AND LIME 6

JOHN PROCARIO CREATED A CUSTOM LIGHT FIXTURE OVER THE DINING TABLE, WHICH IS SURROUNDED BY BELLINI CAB CHAIRS.

7

PIERO LISSONI’S SECTIONAL SOFA IN FRONT OF A SOL LEWITT FRESCO THAT’S ON PERMANENT LOAN TO BERKSHIRE HOUSE. 8

THE POOL OVERLOOKS THE ROLLING HILLS OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS. 9

PRINCE DESIGNED THIS FLATWARE AFTER A CREATIVE EXCHANGE WITH A CLOTHING DESIGNER AT BERKSHIRE HOUSE.

10

THE GALLERY SPACE AT BERKSHIRE HOUSE WITH SCULPTURES FROM THE EROSION SERIES (LEFT) AND TUMBLE SERIES (RIGHT). 11

A CORNER OF THE KITCHEN FEATURES A CUSTOM-BUILT TABLE AND A PRINCE PIECE CALLED LOOKING GLASS FROM THE LIQUID STATE SERIES. 12

SCULPTOR JONATHAN PRINCE AND CURATOR STEPHANIE MANASSEH IN THE GREAT ROOM WITH PRINCE’S TRANSCENDENT, MADE OF BUFFALO RAWHIDE, OVER THE FIREPLACE.

Black, white and natural wood floors.

BRESCIA, ITALY

MUSE:

ELBOW ROOM

AN OLD PALAZZO TAKES ON NEW LIFE. LITERALLY.

A legacy can take many forms; it can come as wisdom, grace or passion. It can appear, of course, as a tangible asset. Sometimes the two merge and the thing bequeathed is so expressive of the giver’s personality or outlook on life that it achieves a value no assessor can define. And when that gift is extended out into the world, when it is not privately enjoyed but shared, its value rises higher still. TEXT THOMAS CONNORS

PHOTOGRAPHY HELENIO BARBETTA & CHIARA DAL CANTO

WORKS IN VARIOUS MEDIA BY ANTONIO FIORENTINO SHARE THE ENTRYWAY WITH AN ANONYMOUS PORTRAIT.

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When New York-based collector and fashion industry PR specialist Edoardo Monti inherited a 12th-century palazzo in the northern Italian town of Brescia, he didn’t drop everything for la dolce vita. He remained moored in Manhattan as he devised a plan to transform the stately residence into a haven for artists. As his vision grew to encompass more of his time and imagination, he returned to his native Italy to better administer this cultural project and oversee necessary renovations.

THE PALAZZO’S CENTRAL STAIRCASE, ENVELOPED IN 18TH-CENTURY FRESCOES DEPICTING THE HOROSCOPE AND THE FALL OF PHAETON. A CANVAS BY ANDREA BOCCA HANGS ABOVE A BED IN THE ROOM BEYOND.

“At first, we did small things in order to accommodate the artists. Then over the past few years, we have been going through the complete renovation of five bathrooms, the kitchen, exhibition rooms, the bedrooms and our archive,” shares Monti, who was raised nearby in Bergamo. “This has given a beautiful new look to the palazzo, while still maintaining its ancient vibe.”

When Monti was 14, his grandfather gave him a tapestry created by Italian futurist Fortunato Depero, for whom textiles were a primary medium. “My grandfather understood the value of passing something on to the next generation before he was gone so that he could teach about caring for something of value while taking joy in the pleasure that gift brought,” explains Monti. “Receiving a piece and embracing the responsibility to look after it for the years to come was definitely a turning point in my life and made me appreciate art in a way that I didn’t before.”

Ever since, Monti has been drawn to art and artists. He studied at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts in London and has long counted creatives among his friends. He is drawn especially to figurative painting, an attraction he attributes in part to the juggernaut of social media. “It’s natural to be drawn to figurative images when we are bombarded by thousands of photographs and videos every day,” notes Monti, who identifies iconic New York gallery owner Leo Castelli as an inspiration. “Our eyes are drawn to pick out any human element in whatever we see, so I have an automatic response to figurative pictures.”

To date, Palazzo Monti has provided residencies to over 200 artists from 50 countries, from painters and poets to performance artists and architects. A board, with members in New York, London, Paris and Seoul, helps Monti review the many applications that come his way. “Each and every month I spend with a new set of artists is a gift,” admits Monti, who describes his undertaking as an effort to allow artists to “showcase the best of their practice or to come up with new experiments, which sometimes are great and other times don’t work out yet are still part of the important process of constant evolution.”

Like any home that has endured for centuries, the Palazzo Monti has seen its share of owners and has been put to purposes for which it was never intended. Built by the noble Maggi family, it later served as a hospital. So perhaps it is only fitting that after passing through several families since the 18th century, it has found a new life under Monti’s stewardship. For all the substantial formality of its central staircase and the antique quality of its myth-inspired frescoes, this grand pile from the past meets the present perfectly. “You have neoclassical architecture and all the things you normally find in an old palazzo – high ceilings, large windows, spacious rooms – and each month, artists shape their studios in a different way and bring along their very special energy, which is directly reflected onto the entire house,” observes Monti. “It’s magical.”

FURNISHINGS IN THE ART-FILLED SALON INCLUDE GHOST SOFAS BY PAOLA NAVONE AND AN IRON AND GRANITE CHAIR CREATED BY ARTIST FREDRIK PAULSEN.

AN EXHIBITION SPACE IN THE PALAZZO, WITH A CONSTRUCTION IN WOOD, LATEX AND IRON BY VENICE-BASED GIUSEPPE DI LIBERTO.

NEUTRAL GROUND

Black and white form an elegant base for richly layered texture and muted colors in five different projects, from a historic townhouse in Greenwich Village, New York, to a Mediterranean/Modern abode in Denver, Colorado.

BY DEBORAH L. MARTIN

DESIGNER: Tina Ramchandani/Tina Ramchandani Creative

LOCATION: Greenwich Village, NY

PHOTO CREDIT: Ellen McDermott

For the Greenwich Village home of a globe-trotting, art-loving couple who love to host cocktails and go out to dinner, Tina Ramchandani created dramatic, sophisticated spaces that reflected her clients’ interests and art collection. While construction was ongoing, the couple stayed abroad in Morocco, and Ramchandani handled all the details. “They are an older couple who have been married a long time, and they are FABULOUS,” Ramchandani exclaims. She shares that their art framer also frames works for MoMA, and they have several homes in Manhattan, as well as an upstate home in Hudson.

Ramchandani notes that the black-and-white palette is something that occurred naturally. “I see black as a staple. It’s a bold color that adds emotion to a space. It can be dramatic, sophisticated, even calming.” She saw black or deep hues in much of their art, so the dark tone naturally came into play. And while black and white are often thought of in a very modern context, Ramchandani says that they also work “beautifully with more traditional shapes and lines.”

For this home, the designer didn’t use a lot of color but rather brought visual interest by using a wide array of textures and materials. “Texture and a mix of materials is very important when dealing with contrasting colors.” Plush fabrics, leather, and a watercolor-inspired rug from Crosby Street Studios are paired with metals, glass, stone and a variety of woods and finishes. Two walls of custom millwork add a graphic effect and provide a backdrop for small paintings, sculpture and objets. Taken together, the space feels very layered and rich, despite the monochromatic palette.

Ramchandani’s own style runs along the same vein, so this was a natural fit for the designer. “By nature, I’m a neutral person. While I can appreciate color and colorful spaces, I prefer to live in a neutral space as I find it to be more serene and restful. However, I do also enjoy designing in color, and I love mixing colors, patterns and textures to create interesting environments.”

SOURCES: Living room sofa and chairs, Poliform; living room rug, Crosby Street Studios; dining table, Lepere; dining chairs and living room coffee table, Molteni; custom millwork.

DESIGNER: Alison Giese

LOCATION: Great Falls, VA

PHOTO CREDIT: Jennifer Hughes

For clients in Great Falls, Virginia, designer Alison Giese created a casual yet refined home that is a study in high contrast, warmed with organic texture and muted color. Giese explains, “They wanted the home to feel welcoming and loved the idea of letting the outdoors and the beautiful property influence the color palette and textures.” A color palette of white and a deep, almost black smokey blue had already been applied to the kitchen cabinetry, so Giese continued that palette into the great room but brought in textures such as a vintage wool rug by Passerine Home, along with wood, leather and metal, to create an organic, richly layered feel. “We used items with clean lines – like the modern crosshatch chairs – to maintain the balance between crisp and cozy. In some areas we used tumbled travertine floors to add an instant warmth.” In contrast to the open-plan kitchen and great room, the dining room called for a warm ambience, which Giese created with a textural wallpaper, linen fabric on the chairs and curtains, and wood furniture and millwork.

Giese’s favorite space in the home is the hearth room. She shares, “The room is so architecturally striking, particularly as you approach it from the dining room. The vaulted ceiling with dark beams allowed us to play with scale on the fixtures. We created a seating arrangement with four chairs – a perfect place for family chats, reading or listening to music. The smokey palette of the wooden walls creates a cocoonlike space with lighter-hued upholstery to balance the darker walls. It’s just the coziest space.”

To add texture and visual interest to a black-and-white interior, Giese shares, “I have a mental checklist to go through: woven/natural weave (like seagrass or jute rugs, baskets or rush seats), leather, linen, velvet, metal (unlacquered brass, black iron) and wood. These textures often lend themselves to a more organic color palette, so I rely heavily on what I refer to as ‘muddy’ colors: greens, yellows, purples, oranges and blues that have a good amount of brown in them, so they are nuanced and complex.”

SOURCES: Foyer light, Urban Electric; kitchen, dining room and bar cabinetry, Lobkovich, Inc.; hearth room rug, Merida Studio; great room rug, vintage from Passerine Home; dining room rug, vintage by District Loom.

DESIGNER: Nina Magon/Nina Magon Studio

LOCATION: Houston, TX

PHOTO CREDIT: Pär Bengtsson par@b-son.com

Nina Magon’s Houston clients wanted a very modern home with a sleek and classic color palette, but also filled with warmth and a lot of natural light. Magon was involved in this project from conception to completion – from the architectural details and space planning to the selection of finishes, and finally the furnishings, accessories and styling.

“The home was inspired by the beauty of nature and was meticulously designed to merge abundant natural light and the views of surrounding oak trees with modern interiors,” explains Magon. To celebrate the outdoors, she selected earth tones as well as natural stone and wood and layered them on a base palette of black and white, creating a retreatlike experience. The hallways are lined with wood planks to add warmth, and the finish is echoed in the kitchen cabinetry and island. Cabinetry by eggersmann and countertops in Aura Dekton by Cosentino are accented by an angular, modern chandelier by Roll & Hill. Expansive windows give the home an indoor-outdoor feel, allowing for ample views of the pool and surrounding property, and in the interior spaces, transom windows allow the continuous flow of light from one room to another.

Magon likes the interplay of texture and color against black and white. “The blend of black and white elements creates a clean and classic feeling. The pairing of these contrasting colors is bold and sophisticated and has a timeless appeal.” She shares her technique for creating these spaces. “Mixing black and white elements within a space creates eye-catching focal points and moments of drama. For example, if the walls are a nice bright white in a bedroom, you can choose a bold black bed frame, black-framed art, or dark wood flooring. The darkness draws you in and commands attention.”

Though the predominant scheme in the public spaces is black and white, Magon created some colorful moments – in blue, purple and pink – in the bedrooms for the couple’s three daughters. The primary bedroom features a bed designed by Magon in a calming shade of pale seafoam. She shares, “Sometimes there is a need for a classic and timeless color palette of black and white, and other times you really want a space to be full of color. We prefer to use a range of both because we strive to create one-of-a-kind spaces that are tailored to our client’s unique needs, wants and wildest dreams.”

SOURCES: Art in entry, Azul Jikiliit and Amarillo Curcuma by Sandra Monterroso, 2021; kitchen chandelier, Roll & Hill; cabinetry, eggersmann; countertops, Aura Dekton by Cosentino; dining table, armchair, dining chairs, sideboard by Nina Magon for Universal Furniture; rug, Arsin Rug Gallery; lighting, Vibia.

DESIGNER: FORMA

LOCATION: Denver, CO

PHOTO

CREDIT: © Devon Banks Photography

In the middle of the pandemic, New Yorkers Trip and Jacqui Tate purchased a house in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood, sight unseen. Built in 2022, the 6,000-square-foot, Mediterranean-style house lacked interior character and was dominated by overwhelmingly yellow tones. They called in the team at FORMA – Miroslava Brooks and Daniel Markiewicz – to give their new home some much-needed TLC. In contrast to the existing exterior, they all agreed upon a simple, clean aesthetic for the interior, which now includes a series of arched openings on the first floor, connecting and opening up the floor plan. “From the beginning, we explored interior palettes of black and white to work well with the exterior. The couple wanted to bring their New York sensibilities to the design, so we created a brighter, simpler, more open interior that incorporated some of the character of the Mediterranean-style exterior – such as arched roof elements – without being ornamental. One of the most important things for the clients was to create an airy space devoid of visual clutter that thoughtfully connects with the adjacent rooms.”

The existing kitchen was inefficient and outdated, so Brooks and Markiewicz reoriented the space to allow for continuous circulation throughout the main level. A geometric blue tile backsplash is a nod to the Mediterranean style of the home. New arched openings and well-placed builtin storage units link the reconfigured kitchen to the informal living space at the front of the house. The FORMA team also refurbished the staircase, making it a central feature of the home. To create a modern architectural look, they wrapped the staircase in a solid guardrail, painted it white and added a tailored black stripe.

Markiewicz explains, “The biggest challenge with a black-and-white palette is to make sure that the whites are all coordinated across various material surfaces – walls, ceilings, trims, cabinetry and countertops – and under both natural and artificial lighting conditions.” And while they make color decisions on a project-by-project basis, they love the timelessness of black and white. “It doesn’t get more fundamental than black and white,” Brooks opines. “It can challenge our preconceived conventions of space. An interior black-and-white color scheme allows other items to come into focus. In the Denver house, it is the grain of the bamboo flooring, the geometric patterns of the dining room and living room chairs and the changes in natural light bouncing off surfaces throughout the day.”

SOURCES: Hardware and dining room pendant, Schoolhouse; interior paint, Sherwin-Williams; surfaces, Silestone; floor and wall tile, AllModern; kitchen and dining room tables, dining room chairs, Masaya & Co.; kitchen chairs, McGee & Co.; stools, Rove Concepts; upholstery, Maiden Home; kitchen pendant, Feiss.

DESIGNER: Alicia Murphy, Alicia Murphy Design

ARCHITECT: Kevin Lichten, Lichten Architects

LOCATION: West Village, NY

PHOTO CREDIT: Brittany Ambridge

For a family of six, returning home meant a move from their uptown duplex to the West Village, where they lived when they were first married. To achieve exactly what they were looking for, they hired Kevin Lichten of Lichten Architects to update the narrow-yet-tall home. Alicia Murphy came on board to complete the interiors of their new space. The five-story historic townhouse needed an infusion of light and an overall update. Lichten explains, “They always longed to return to downtown. A townhouse and rear garden carriage house in the West Village were perfect to allow them to return to their old neighborhood and accommodate their lifestyle of family and very casual entertainment."

Murphy shares that the family loves to entertain. “They wanted the home to be welcoming and casual but still have a level of formality to it. Given its location and history, our design is a mix of classic New York with a modern, unpretentious twist.” Murphy worked with a muted color palette blended with graphic black-andwhite accents. Smart built-ins make the most of the limited space, and a Waterworks kitchen is an elegantly appointed workhorse. In the back, an outdoor kitchen, garden and seating area lead to a “Dad’s den.” The house provides a needed respite from the hustle of New York City life.

The existing house presented a challenge in that it had a small footprint, even though it had five floors. Lichten came up with a solution. “The architectural challenge was to unite what otherwise would be a stack of disjointed floors. We created a visually strong sculptural staircase, which required convincing the clients to devote a large portion of each floor to the spiral stair. The result was worth the sacrifice; at each level you can clearly see the floors below and above, knitting the entire house together.” To create a dramatic focal point, a massive chandelier by Cameron Design House – reminiscent of ascending Champagne bubbles – fills the space.

For Murphy, the color palette was a natural. “In this home, as in many of our projects, I use black and white as neutrals, and I soften the edges with warm textures and sculptural pieces. Black and white are very calming to me and act as a base. They are colors found in nature, making it easy to weave in color and texture to ramp up the drama.”

SOURCES: Landscape designer, Robin Key, RKLA; stylist, Martin Bourne; contractor, Highline Construction; front façade lights, Bevolo; light in stairwell, Cameron Design House; laylight, custom by Lichten Architects and produced by Gil Studios; kitchen cabinets, Waterworks; kitchen light fixture, Roll & Hill; carriage house lighting, Apparatus; carpet, Stark; chair, Atelier Purcell; sofa, custom AMD; outdoor sofa and chair, Dedon; string lights, Bover; dining table, Royal Botania; dining chairs, Gloster; planters, Atelier Vierkant; primary bath, Marble, ABC Stone.

Ethan Herrington

ONE OF A PAIR

Radar Chairs by A.R.P.

(Atelier de Recherche Plastique: Joseph André Motte; Pierre Guariche; Michel Mortier)

Rare and distinct rotating armchairs. France, c.1954. Airborne edition. Material: Cotton, Metal GALERIE MEUBLES ET LUMIÈRES meublesetlumieres.com

Pacific Design Center Suite B527 quintushome.com

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Liz is one of the world’s leading linen stylists. Her passion for luxury linens is borne from a wide breadth of knowledge and continued pursuit of excellence. Liz’s reputation for bringing the absolute finest in bed, bath and table to homes, yachts and aircrafts is world-renowned. She unites a workroom of artisans and architectural experts to build a distinctive design experience for clients and collaborators alike.

Modernist OASIS

TEXT NICOLE HADDAD PHOTOGRAPHY SABRINA ROTHE

Lisa Meier updates a unique, midcentury masterpiece in Southern California

California Modernism has lost none of its charm—as it shouldn’t. Architecture that is tailored to the landscape, embraces open-plan layouts, and exhibits a seamless transition from inside to out, are just a few of the characteristics that make this type of living so attractive. Those exact elements are what drew former film director Lisa Meier—now bicontinental designer and founder of Oneshot Design—to work on the circa 1963 house designed by architect Raymond Cobb.

“The house is so unique in part because of its size,” says Meier of the 6,072-square-foot home located in Los Gatos, California.

“But its star-shaped layout centered around the kitchen is also quite unusual—it’s a bit hard to categorize but it most closely resembles a midcentury modern ranch house.” Situated on a hilltop with 360-degree views, Meier made sure to preserve the split-level home’s heritage while updating it for contemporaneous living. Initially, she thought the open angles throughout—which she describes as honeycomb-like—would be hard to plan around furniture-wise. Instead, she realized it provided a sense of spatial continuity.

To create the light and airy feeling that she felt the house called for, Meier painted the walls in a light and welcoming warm gray

The living room’s wrap-around balcony allows for scenic views of the swimming pool and the hills beyond. Flexform’s Soft Dream sofa, shown in white leather and juxtaposed with the walnut Eames stools and Hans Wegner Shell chairs by Carl Hansen, adds fresh charm.

As a former film director, Lisa Meier (top left), focuses on creating a cohesive design story—where craftsmanship is celebrated, and the inhabitants’ personalities are reflected in the house. Right and below: Meier preserved as much of the house as possible—all the patio planks were sanded down and a fresh finish was applied to give them new life. The pool’s concrete was replaced with a black pebble surface that gives the water an alluring appeal. While the outskirts essentially remain the same, the designer cut down trees that impeded the gorgeous vistas of the surrounding landscape—replacing them with prairie, salvia, and lavender plants that don’t require a lot of water.

“It’s like listening to a symphony—where the main line of a melody breaks down into different compositions, then returns to the main melodic theme. If you can do this in design, it’s a great achievement.”

–Lisa Meier

The structure’s high intersecting gable roof adds drama—the height is atypical of the modernist Eichler houses the prolific eponymous developer built in the area—and offers the perfect shaded spot to take in what Meier describes as a Toscana-like landscape.

The basement originally featured an unsealed concrete floor. To cover up the stains and create a cool entertainment space, Meier added replaceable floor tiles from Flor. Vintage Parallel Bar collection lounge chairs and a sofa with an attached teak side table by Florence Knoll form an eye-catching tableau.

A marble side table from Bernhardt Design and Flexform’s Fly marble coffee table play off each other.

Concrete steps lead up to the house—which opens up into a fresh and airy abode that honors the original design. Acapulco chairs by Innit Design offer a place to take in the sunrise.

Top: Vintage Kantan armchairs by Brown Jordan dress up the back patio. Below: In the kitchen, the designer redid the kitchen cabinetry and eliminated a hanging piece that blocked the views—replacing it with two Louis Poulsen Cirque pendant lights. Dekton by Cosentino countertops offer chic functionality.

“Its star-shaped layout centered around the kitchen is quite unusual—it’s a bit hard to categorize but it most closely resembles a midcentury modern ranch house.”

–Lisa Meier

tone—a big improvement over the avocado green that previously adorned the walls. The old wood floors, originally laid out in varying colors, were ripped out along with carpet dotted throughout the home—both replaced with large oak planks in a white-washed oil finish that opens everything up. In the living room, Meier added classic midcentury pieces such as Hans Wegner shell chairs and a Noguchi coffee table, balancing them out with more contemporary designs such as a sleek Flexform sofa adorned with African mudcloth pillows, a Foscarini Twiggy lamp, and a leaf-like patterned rug that ties into the outdoors and the ceiling beams’ darker tones. Meanwhile, in the family room, to play into the lack of symmetry,

Meier kept it simple, adding an irregular-shaped cowhide rug along with an Eames lounge chair and two of the designer’s smaller plywood chairs. A Secto Design pendant light and a Flos floor lamp provide ambient illumination.

In the kitchen, which leads to the various public and private rooms, Meier replaced the cabinets with light oak cabinetry and ripped out one hanging cabinet that blocked views of the Los Gatos Mountains—replacing it with two Scandinavian pendant lights. A thin floating countertop made of Dekton by Cosentino offers a perfect perch from which to take in the panorama. The main bedroom, meanwhile, exhibits a stunning, original sunken bathtub

The concrete blocks that surround the family room’s fireplace were painted in a light, semi-gloss eggshell tone to emphasize the hearth’s beautiful vintage features and contrast with the wood ceiling beams. Oat-colored linen drapes add warmth.

made of terrazzo poured on-site. Another fun find occurred in the office: As the designer sanded down the original bookshelves— also painted in an avocado green—she realized they were made of redwood. She decorated the restored shelves with vintage records, ceramic pieces by a local artist, books and the like, and added a vintage Danish desk overlooking the lush vistas provided by the floor-to-ceiling windows. In the lower level/basement, which opens up to the pool deck, the designer added carpet tiles from Flor to establish a perimeter and cover the old concrete floor, and then enlivened the room with designs by Florence Knoll—including a blue bouclé sofa—and a marble table from Flexform.

“It’s a total dream home,” says Meier. “The architect stayed persistent in his design concept, especially in regard to the honeycomb angles. They’re everywhere but it’s subtle. It’s like listening to a symphony—where the main line of a melody breaks down into different compositions, then returns to the main melodic theme. If you can do this in design, it’s a great achievement.”

Clockwise from top right: The home’s inviting entry features a vintage pendant light, concrete floors, and newly painted walls and ceiling in a light gray hue from Sherwin-Williams. One of the home’s coolest features is the original sunken bathtub made of terrazzo poured on-site—a skill Meier says is hard to find these days. A Gubi pendant light, redwood shelves, and a teak, vintage desk offer a relaxing place to work.

“It’s a total dream home. The architect stayed persistent in his design concept.”

–Lisa Meier

COUP D’OEIL

DAMME, BELGIUM

A dream comes true when Liesbeth Swennen and her husband Patrick Mermans decided to build their new home in Damme, Belgium, recovering material from old farms and developing new, inspiring ideas with a deep attention for every detail, from the roof to the taps.

Sources: Kitchen by Eiken Project. Stools and table by Serendipity Store. Beams from secondhand markets. Floor by Nobel Flooring. Lights by Brick in the Wall.

Claude Smekens

IN CELEBRATION OF ANOTHER EXTRAORDINARY YEAR IN ITALIAN DESIGN, THESE ARE SOME OF THE MOST EXCITING INTRODUCTIONS THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE. RESONATING WITH JOYFUL COLOR, DISTINCTIVE SHAPES AND WILD IMAGINATION, EVERY ONE OF THEM IS UNMISTAKABLY AND WONDERFULLY _ ITALIAN CURATED BY SAMANTHA EMMERLING

Matrice bookcase by Dimorestudio for FENDI Casa fendicasa.com

TUFFO

Porcelain

Za:Za

Ring stool by Giovannetti imaestri.com

Vallonné suspension lamp by Luca Nichetto for Barovier&Toso barovier.com

Esosoft

Almendra Organic pendant light by Patricia Urquiola for Flos flos.com

sofa by Antonio Citterio for Cassina cassina.com

plates by Dolce & Gabbana dolcegabbana.com

Glamour chandelier by La Murrina lamurrina.com

sofa by Zaven for Zanotta zanotta.it

sheet set by Verderoccia verderoccia.com

THE HALLMARKS OF ITALIAN DESIGN ARE CLASSICISM, INNOVATION AND EMOTION. THERE IS A LONG TRADITION IN ITALY OF BLENDING OLD AND NEW MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES WITH A PASSION FOR THE HOME. THE RESULTING PRODUCTS ARE NOVEL IN THEIR APPLICATION OF MATERIALS, CLASSIC IN THEIR PROPORTION AND FORM AND ALWAYS INFUSED WITH JOY."

ANDREW UIHLEIN, PRESIDENT, CASA BRANCA

MIYA table by Elena Salmistraro for Cappellini artemest.com

Dharma table by Studiopepe for Baxter baxter.it

Zoide seat by Fernando and Humberto Campana for Paola Lenti paolalenti.it

Grifo cabinet by Elena Salmistraro for altreforme imaestri.com

Vanessa wallpaper by Elena Borghi for C&C Milano cec-milano.us

Dessert plates by Casa Branca casabranca.com

WHEN DESIGNERS GROW UP IN THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE RENAISSANCE AND HAVE CARAVAGGIO, MICHELANGELO AND THE COLOSSEUM AT THEIR FINGERTIPS AND AS THEIR ANCESTRY, THEY ARE SUBCONSCIOUSLY PUSHED TO THINK FORWARD (THE BEST IN CLASSICISM HAS ALREADY BEEN ACHIEVED). THEIR DESIGN INSTINCT IS TO INNOVATE AND CREATE MODERN – IN A WAY THAT DISTINCTLY CONTRASTS THEIR ANCIENT ARCHITECTURAL AND ARTISTIC SURROUNDINGS."

MICHAEL COX, PRINCIPAL, FOLEY&COX

CLUB cabinet by Armani/Casa armani.com

ITALY IS ONE OF THE GREAT COUNTRIES FOR PRODUCTION: THERE IS NO COUNTRY IN THE WORLD THAT HAS SUCH AN IMPRESSIVE AMOUNT OF DISTINGUISHED BRANDS WITHIN THE DESIGN SECTOR. DESIGN PROFESSIONALS COME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO LEARN AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO OUR ECOSYSTEM, WHICH FOSTERS A BEAUTIFUL AND CONSTANTLY EVOLVING HUB OF CREATIVITY THAT IS UNPARALLELED."

PATRIZIA MOROSO, ART DIRECTOR, MOROSO

Borealis screen by Roberto Lazzeroni for Giorgetti giorgettimeda.com

Pebble Rubble sofa by Front for Moroso moroso.it

Brera sofa by Jean-Marie Massaud for Poliform poliform.it

Fall/Winter 2022 collection bed linens by Frette frette.com

Planck tables by Piero Lissoni for B&B Italia bebitalia.com

Adam sofa by Marcel Wanders studio for Natuzzi natuzzi.com

Almeria baskets by Pinetti meillart.com

CTline by Victor Vasilev for Boffi boffi.com

Studio KO Collection by Studio KO for Bisazza Marmo bisazza.com

BACK STORY

Christophe Delcourt silk velvet mohair armchairs and a solid bronze Eric Schmitt coffee table in the grand room, in front of a Pat Steir painting

Want interiors that sing?

TEXT JORGE S. ARANGO PHOTOGRAPHY DOUBLESPACE INTERIOR DESIGN DIEGO BURDI OF BURDIFILEK

hen was the last time you remember noticing that the scene stealer in an interior was actually its backdrop? This house in Toronto, designed for an empty-nester couple by Diego Burdi – the partner of Paul Filek in the interiors firm Burdifilek – is a study in how a subtle architectural envelope can thoroughly ground a design. It also proves that commandeering the limelight needn’t involve ornate cornices or dentil moldings, elaborately veined marble dados, classical pilasters or any other such ornamentation.

“The clients had lived through various design moods,” explains Burdi. “It was about creating a newer language for them. They were ready for their ‘forever’ house, so they were willing to go on a different sort of journey with us.”

This involved editing many of their possessions down, retaining individual, showstopper antiques that could punctuate rooms and create focal points. “In the beginning we wanted to use a lot more of their existing furniture,” Burdi admits. “This brings in the personality of the clients and makes the interiors unique. But as we went along, the design took on a life of its own.”

More and more, they realized, the real splendor would be in the details, and the furnishings and antiques would be deployed like sculptures in their own right. The architecture was initially quite straightforward – orthogonal and minimal. “We knew we had to create this beautiful envelope that depended on a lot on materiality,” explains Burdi, who layered in a limited palette of exquisite materials that create a sublime sense of harmony throughout the spaces.

The primary bath is a luxurious showcase for Bianco Neve marble, of which the entire vanity and mirror back are sculpted. Liaigre chairs and Alberto Pinto rock crystal lamps atop Holly Hunt tables gather before a custom bronze fireplace. The enfilade shows the bar/lounge and, behind it, the grand room. The homeowners’ French gilded mirror and modern sculpture are juxtaposed with a custom bronze sideboard in the dining room Burdi worked with Matthew McCormick on the cast glass-and-bronze fixture in the stairwell, which is carved from French limestone.

CLIENTS HAD LIVED THROUGH VARIOUS DESIGN MOODS,” EXPLAINS BURDI. “IT WAS ABOUT CREATING A NEWER LANGUAGE FOR THEM. THEY WERE READY FOR THEIR ‘FOREVER’ HOUSE, SO THEY WERE WILLING TO GO ON A DIFFERENT SORT OF JOURNEY WITH US.”

“THE

The homeowners’ cherub statuette on a Delcourt table sits next to a Rita Ackermann painting suspended over the Delcourt sofa in the grand room. The small work is by Yves Klein. The clients’ own gilt mirror in the entry adds a historical note that contrasts with a Jean Arp sculpture in the hall. Below the ornate mirror is a bench by Bruno Moinard. Baltic pine walls in the family room were wire-brushed and ebonized and serve as backdrop for the owners’ own Aubusson tapestry. Paola Lenti sofas sit in front of a custom bronze fireplace. Burdifilek designed the entry’s sculptural French limestone fireplace, as well as the bronze pieces in the gas firebox. White oak cabinetry and quartzite surfaces in the kitchen

Oyster shell-toned silk imparted texture and sensuality to walls in the main spaces. Doorways framed in dark-stained Mozambique wood, a relative of rosewood, provided a rich, dark, yet softly veined contrast to the neutral walls. Pale European white oak floors gave rooms another note of mellow warmth. Wide baseboards of French limestone and a strip of dark bronze ringing the walls a foot or so below the ceiling defined the perimeters of these graciously proportioned spaces.

Within several rooms, Burdi designed fireplaces of oiled bronze or limestone that sculpturally vary the right angles of the architecture. In the living room, for instance, a bronze fireplace begins parallel with the firebox at the bottom but gently flanges outward toward the ceiling. And in the entry hall, a fireplace is made of carved limestone that undulates ever so slightly outward at either end before veering 90 degrees toward the wall after rounding delicately curved corners. (Burdi also designed a bronze sculpture to sit on the lava rocks inside the gas firebox, adding still more character with their columnar forms, which are tapered and faceted.)

For furniture, describes Burdi, “We looked globally.” He created a mix of seating from Liaigre Studio, Bruno Moinard and Christophe Delcourt, sculptural tables by Parisian designer Eric Schmitt, and lighting by Matthew McCormick, Schmitt and Alberto Pinto. The owners’ fine antiques – a French gilded mirror, a bisque porcelain statuette of cherubs, an Aubusson tapestry – add notes of historical elegance in various spaces.

Both client and designer worked with Toronto-based art consultant Jane Corkin of Corkin Gallery to acquire art that spoke to the environments in which they’d be displayed. “At the start they said, ‘We’re not art collectors,’ ” recalls Corkin of the clients. “But then they realized that they’d built such a magnificent house that they wanted art that would be substantial to match the magnitude of what the home had become.”

The resulting collection includes works by Pat Steir, Victor Vasarely, Jean Arp, Jules Olitski, Yves Klein, Rita Ackermann and others. It spans from the 1950s to the 21st century and, notes Corkin, “It holds together fantastically well. We didn’t always have a particular wall in mind, but then we’d move the paintings around and they would tell us where they wanted to go.”

In fact, the entire composition – envelope, furniture and art –“holds together remarkably well.” The backdrop certainly doesn’t upstage any of it, but the closer we look, the more extraordinary it feels because we realize that it is what makes everything else appear so ethereal, if not positively empyrean. The home’s new language, believes Burdi, “is quiet, elegant and quite confident,” yet not in any boastful way.

When lights are on in the dining room and the glass doors are drawn, the space transforms into what looks like a glowing lantern visible from the solarium

A Donald Judd sculpture is suspended above the sofa in the solarium. The Baltic pine planters are custom designs by Burdifilek.

GEE WILLIGER'S

TEXT NANCY RUHLING PHOTOGRAPHY LAURA HULL INTERIOR DESIGN ANDREW FLESHER ARCHITECT PAUL BRANT WILLIGER

A WEST HOLLYWOOD RESIDENCE GETS A NEW STARRING ROLE WITH ARCHITECT PAUL BRANT WILLIGER AT THE HELM

A silkscreen of Marilyn Monroe and custom black-and-white carpet by Andrew Flesher define the new wrought-iron central staircase.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA

THIS SPANISH MEDITERRANEAN HOUSE, WHOSE WHITE-TINTED STUCCO IS ACCENTED WITH A ROBUST TERRACOTTA TILE ROOF, DATES TO 1926, WHEN THE CONVERSATION IN HOLLYWOOD WAS ALL ABOUT THE TALKIES.

The Juliet balcony in the primary suite overlooks Sunset Boulevard. The drapes, linen with fringe in a chevron pattern, match the wood flooring and soften the black-and-white stripes of the exterior awning.

The primary suite’s bath has a soaking tub, a walk-in shower and a double vanity in white lacquer with a black marble top. The wallpaper is a modern take on toile, and the photo of Brigitte Bardot was purchased by the Schmidts in Paris.

RRestore and reset. That’s the best way to describe the face-lift Karl and Ellen Schmidt gave to a West Hollywood house that’s as glamorous as a movie star.

The Spanish Mediterranean house, whose white-tinted stucco is accented with a robust terracotta tile roof, dates to 1926, when everyone in Hollywood was talking about the talkies.

“We wanted to retain the classic architecture of the exterior,” Ellen explains, “but we wanted to open up the inside to create more contemporary spaces.”

Working with LA architect Paul Brant Williger and interior designer Andrew Flesher, who has offices in New York City and Minneapolis, they engaged in a delicate balancing act that resulted in an exquisite pairing of past and present.

The aged residence, which Ellen notes “was in rough shape but had good bones,” underwent modifications so slight that they would, undoubtedly, go virtually unnoticed even by the original architect.

The crawl space was excavated and transformed into a gym, guest suite and wine cellar; the balcony was expanded to run the length of the back façade to create an outdoor living room that’s accessible via a new grand staircase; and three rooms in the interior were consolidated to create an open-plan kitchen, family room and dining area.

The alterations, Ellen describes, “make the house feel connected to the outside. It’s very light and airy – every room has a nice view of the landscape, whether it’s a fountain or an olive tree.”

One of her favorite additions is the bar, complete with two dishwashers, a wine storage space, a sink, an ice maker and two refrigerator drawers, that is accessible from the back terrace.

In the music room, which is illuminated by a trio of arched windows, the vintage Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Daybed, originally designed in 1930, forms a counterpoint to the Soriana Sofa by Afra and Tobia Scarpa. The larger-than-life silkscreen series Cojones features Jimi Hendrix and JFK by multidisciplinary visual artist Knowledge Bennett.

“We love to entertain and have small dinner parties, and this has become a gathering spot for guests,” she adds.

The residence’s color palette – strikingly neutral – allows the showcasing of individual objects, particularly the couple’s collection of contemporary artworks, some of which depict celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy and Jimi Hendrix.

Flesher notes his furniture selections “take direction from the architecture, which feels like old Hollywood glamour to me; I can see an old movie star moving through it.”

One of his more unorthodox innovations was the addition of a fireplace to the dining room that’s set high enough to be seen by and even warm guests during meals.

The residence gets its joyful freshness from the marrying of vintage and contemporary objects. Thus, the new wrought-iron staircase, a curvaceous set

piece, serves as a contemporary yet classic introduction to the house; the pair of uber-comfy Groovy Chairs, circa 1973, that are cozying up to the barlook like soft shawls thrown over a sofa; the new shapely, black leather dining chairs, which double as sculpture, add interest to the menu at parties; and the Decoinspired ceiling fixture in the primary bedroom suite, from Jean De Merry, imbues the space with a rosy-gold glow that complements the night’s stars.

The home, Williger declares, “is like an urban villa. Although there are houses on each side and across from it, it feels private because we supplemented the existing landscape. It’s a block from the excitement and frenetic energy of Sunset Boulevard, but it’s a tranquil oasis.”

The Schmidts couldn’t be more in love with their new-old house. “My two special spots are the terrace – with its black-and-white-striped awning, it’s like an outdoor living room – and the living room, which we call the music room because it’s where we all gather to listen to the stereo.”

Modernist

PIATEDA, ITALY

RISE AND SHINE

Located in a pastural valley overlooking the Rhaetian Alps, the sparsely populated village of Piateda in northern Italy’s Venina Valley called to architect Alfredo Vanotti, who transformed an old barn there into a personal refuge for his family of four.

“It belonged to my great-grandfather, who toiled to build it and worked on it all his life, and it was the symbol of the livelihood of the entire large family,” Vanotti describes, noting he spent time there as a child. “Certainly, unconsciously, it has remained in my heart and mind.”

Constructed of rough stone walls with heavy wooden ceiling beams and floor joists, the timeless structure was ripe for reinterpretation. “The goal was to give it a second life without forgetting the previous one,” Vanotti adds, explaining he was inspired by the natural surroundings. “It is fundamental to respect the genius loci, without compromise.”

While retaining their original position, the charred wood doors and windows have been mounted inside, adding a sense of depth to the newlyinsulated façade, while adjustable fir wood slats allow the rooms to be shaded from the powerful afternoon sun.

In a nod to the smoke-blackened walls in age-old homes, the plaster walls are rendered in warm tones that foster a cozy backdrop for a refined mix of furnishings and objets d’art.

A minimalist chair with a red leather seat and back by Franco Albini, for example, adds a modern touch to the entryway. And underneath the window, a bold blue velvet tufted sofa by Gaetano Pesce creates a comfortable spot to take in the majestic mountain views.

Floating in the center of the room, a three-sided painted-iron fireplace that includes wood storage separates the living area from a compact kitchen with linear cabinetry and iron shelving. Vanotti and his 9-year-old daughter, Eva, break bread at a painted-iron table alongside the cabinetry – one of the many pieces Vanotti designed for the space.

Made of black charred wood that complements the stone walls and newly poured, heated-concrete flooring, large sliding doors on pulleys separate the living area from the bedroom, where a tapestry by Serena Confalonieri adds an artistic punch of color to the dark walls.

A glass box encloses the en suite bathroom “to dilate the somewhat reduced space,” Vanotti explains, pointing to the transparent partition wall between the sink cabinet and shower.

When work calls, Vanotti simply walks down a stone stairway on the side of the house to his design studio, where tall French doors frame picturesque views of the mountains. Illuminated by the iconic Arco floor lamp by Castiglioni – one of the architect’s favorite designers – it’s an inspiring spot for Vanotti to conjure up new designs, personally drawing many of his renderings with painstaking care.

Vanotti is pleased with the renovation and enjoys a sense of serenity when looking out at the soaring mountain peaks. Perhaps most importantly, his partner, Silvia, and their children adore it.

“I love the juxtaposition of rustic and modern, just absolutely convinced that they can and should coexist,” he says. “Thoughtful contrasts create unique environments.”

TEXT TATE GUNNERSON PHOTOGRAPHY MONICA SPEZIA PRODUCTION FRANCESCA SIRONI ARCHITECT ALFREDO VANOTTI

A TUFTED MICHETTA SOFA BY GAETANO PESCE FOR MARITALIA CREATES A SPOT TO ENJOY THE PAINTED-IRON FIREPLACE IN THE OPEN LIVING AREA. THE CARPET IS BY ALTAI. THE MICKEY MOUSE CERAMIC SCULPTURE, CREATED BY ELENA SALMISTRARO FOR BOSA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DISNEY, INTRODUCES A TOUCH OF WHIMSY.

A FLOOR LAMP BY CASTIGLIONI FOR FLOS ILLUMINATES A RECLAIMED DESK IN VANOTTI’S LOWER-LEVEL STUDIO OVERLOOKING THE MOUNTAINS.

RED

TEXT TATE GUNNERSON PHOTOGRAPHY MICHEL FIGUET INTERIORS ISABELLE de BORCHGRAVE

A black-and-white area rug from Istanbul anchors a stylish seating area in the living room.

One of the many pieces acquired over the years, the homeowner adores the 1950s-era wood, brass and screen-printed lacquered wood desk from Piero Fornasetti in the living room.

Intimately familiar with transmuting raw materials into works of art, acclaimed artist and sculptor Isabelle de Borchgrave quickly recognized the possibilities in an old garage in Brussels’ Flagey neighborhood, an upscale shopping area that’s popular with tourists, families and students.

Enamored with the work of Antwerp-based interior designers Claire Bataille and Paul Ibens, de Borchgrave and her husband, Werner, recruited them to transform the garage into a three-level house, gallery and artist’s studio.

The minimalist makeover is inspired in part by Japanese culture and Renzo Piano’s design of the Fondation Beyeler and has spacious rooms with expansive floor-to-ceiling windows that frame verdant views. “It gives the impression of living in the garden,” de Borchgrave describes, noting how light floods the interior. “It’s never gloomy.”

White walls and a mix of concrete and oak floorings create a fitting backdrop for the couple’s extensive collection of artwork, rugs and furnishings, many of which are upholstered in vibrant colors. “I’m obsessed with fabrics and patterns,” de Borchgrave admits.

The artist’s signature color is red – a source of energy and warmth. In the living room, a crystalline-like paper chandelier that she designed floats over a vibrant red sofa and complementary leather,

Oak stairs link the kitchen to the living room and garden in this Modernist home, gallery and studio in Brussels.

Hand-painted by de Borchgrave in a bold red hue, a graphic branch accents the area rug, bronze console, vase and pleated painting – all by the artist –in the gallery of her inspiring home.

Bronze coffee tables by de Borchgrave in the light-filled living room.

thatched chairs from Hungary atop a black-and-white area rug. A pair of antique, 18th-century columns from a pharmacy in Salzburg and a 1950s-era desk made of wood, brass and screen-printed, lacquered wood add to the eclectic ensemble. “I’m surrounded by souvenirs from my many trips around the world,” she notes. “I love to have snippets of past memories lying around the house.”

Steps away, a long table with a live edge wooden top from Indonesia makes a delightful space to host dinners, her guests surrounded by a heady mix of artwork that includes her pleated paintings, handpainted paper vases and life-size paper reproductions of dresses worn by Frida Kahlo – part of a series of 40 for an exhibition in Brussels. “My studio is like a hive of creativity and colors,” de Borchgrave notes; it’s where she feels most at peace.

In addition to a place to call home and create artwork, the gallery, studio and kitchen can be rented – a truly magical setting to host special occasions. De Borchgrave is overjoyed with the result. “It was a lifelong dream to have a space big enough to combine my home, garden and studio, as well as a gallery space,” she states. “It’s a haven of joy, tranquility, creativity and inspiration.”

1

An aluminum chair, a pleated painting and a hand-painted floor cushion, all by the artist, create one of the many beautiful vignettes in de Borchgrave’s bright and airy studio.

2

Wishbone chairs surround a long table with a live edge wooden top sourced from Indonesia in the studio.

3

One of a series of 40, a reproduction of a dress (right) worn by Frida Kahlo will be displayed during an exhibit on the surrealist artist this fall in Brussels.

4

A whimsical paper chandelier by de Borchgrave illuminates the artwork in her spacious studio.

5

One of de Borchgrave’s talented assistants brings the artist’s creative vision to life.

6

A painter’s table that once belonged to de Borchgrave’s father-in-law holds artwork and a tray of pigments the artist collected from across the globe.

A view from the main living space to the pool house, which includes a den and a guest suite.

The new kid on the block

Building a home is always an expressive act. And while essentially a gesture of the ego, of will, it need not be narcissistic. A welldesigned home should manifest its owner’s personality, but the best also address the street they stand on, whether that’s a quiet suburban cul de sac or a busy stretch in a densely populated urban neighborhood.

Of course, not every homeowner is interested in dialogue. But when Cody Derrick decided to create a special place for himself in Salt Lake City, he wasn’t about to shut the door and call it a day.

The founder of cityhomeCOLLECTIVE, a real estate and interior design company, Derrick was looking for a true sanctuary when he approached Sparano + Mooney Architecture to design his house on a narrow lot close to downtown. He wanted to realize a home that was very much his own, one that gave him all he needed and nothing more. “I never wanted a large house, but I did imagine it to be spacious,” he remarks.

“This is a tight site with significant restrictions, so we

maximized the building envelope within what was allowed,” shares Mooney, “providing moments of expansion and compression you experience as you move through the spaces."

With extensive glazing at its façade, the house offers a friendly face to passersby.

The house is clad in cedar with a black stain.

Taking their client’s lead, principals John Sparano and Anne Mooney fashioned a one-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot residence that features an open-plan living space, a small pool surrounded by a patio and a separate guest suite. “This is a tight site with significant restrictions, so we maximized the building envelope within what was allowed,” shares Mooney, “providing moments of expansion and compression you experience as you move through the spaces. For example, the oversized porch and entry provide a grand entrance for a relatively small home, and the double-height great room is a wonderful contrast to the more intimately scaled bedroom.”

While a strong sense of enclosure defines this long, linear box of a house, there’s nothing bunkerlike about it. At the street, the structure

presents a massive, double-height wall of windows, allowing a glimpse within. And along its length, deep indentations relieve the monolithic massing of the home. “The home is actually very contextual within its neighborhood surroundings,” observes Sparano. “The scale of the residence matches that of the adjacent homes.”

For Derrick, “home” has always represented a “commitment to create solace, beauty and creative sovereignty.” In this house, he opted to dress the interiors in a dark color scheme. To balance that, describes Sparano, “We developed the architecture to illuminate the spaces carefully through precisely located windows and connections to the outdoors at the front of the home, the center courtyard and the back garden spaces.”

The homeowner made a determined effort to find pendant lights that could handle the scale of the double-height living and dining space.

The living and dining areas are enveloped in Carriage Green by Farrow & Ball. A single piece of cold rolled steel covers the kitchen. The vertical element – covered in Graphite marble – conceals a utility closet.

Appreciative of every place he has lived ( “Thank God for old Victorians, mid-mods, and every flat in between” ), Derrick was determined to build a house that carried echoes of those that he’s known in the past, while fully representing the way he meets the world now. “What a trip to really think about the mood of our past houses, to decide how we want to feel now and to choose what to bring with us from past vibes. This place feels like just that – an integrated expression of my past houses with my current self.”

“Cody is definitely an extraordinary client,” notes Mooney. “His program was surprising in that he was less concerned about resale value than a typical client, even though he is a savvy real estate professional. Sophisticated design and livable experience were prioritized instead, and that was refreshing for us.”

The bath is built of Graphite marble and the wood on the bed frame is cherry, in a custom design by Derrick.

One aspect of Derrick’s program that evinces his individuality was his decision to blur the boundaries between his bedroom and bathroom. A deep tub lies parallel to his bed and a double vanity sits directly behind the headboard, with two mirrors suspended above. His individuality is evident, too, in the pieces he’s used to furnish the home. There are Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs, a sizable sectional from Molteni&C and all sorts of random bits – antlers, mismatched candlesticks and lots of plants in a variety of pots. Two very large, old-school crystal chandeliers hang high in the double-height living space. “we salvaged them from an estate in Milan,” relates Derrick. “Sounds fancy. They actually are. I love mixing natural, earthy materials with old glam. Same with art – modern mixed with classic. Houses are such a good opportunity to balance ourselves out. A little grounding, a little dreaming, a little play, a lot of mood.”

The concrete vanity – designed by Derrick – backs up to the headboard of his bed.

Nestled between the two primary volumes of the house, the small pool area is a true oasis.

For Derrick, “home” has always represented a “commitment to create solace, beauty and creative sovereignty.”

WARSAW, POLAND

THIS X THAT

THERE’S NO THEME TO THE SCHEME OF THIS WARSAW HOME

With the right resources, it’s not hard to achieve a specific look, whether that’s Midcentury Modern or Grandmillenial. Not achieving a look, now that’s something else. Even shunning style is a style. But once in a while, one encounters a home that truly looks as if it fell into place. A home whose wonderful randomness seems utterly authentic, not carefully choreographed.

Piotr Płoski’s residence and studio in Warsaw is one such environment. A lab, of sorts, for ideas that feed into smallna, his design-build firm – with a portfolio that includes restaurants, boutiques and offices – these highly

personal interiors are an eye-intriguing study in disparity. While modern and contemporary modes dominate, the contrasts between the pieces Płoski has gathered stand not so much as a statement but as evidence of a freewheeling willingness to ponder shape and material and function. “Because I run a studio focusing on design-build projects, I provide custom solutions to myself first,” explains Płoski, “such as a bathtub manufactured in a red color on a custom-welded frame, or a built-in wardrobe covered with wavy steel more commonly used for roofing.”

TEXT THOMAS CONNORS PHOTOGRAPHY CELESTYNA KROL AND ALICJA T. INTERIORS AND STYLING PIOTR PŁOSKI / smallna design and build studio

TOMEK SIKORA’S PHOTO OF A STREET MURAL.

LIVING ROOM: PIEDE (EXTREMELY RARE EARLY SHINY EDITION) SCULPTURAL OBJECT DESIGNED BY GAETANO PESCE AND MANUFACTURED BY C&B ITALIA,1971. CHRISTIAN DELL SCISSOR LAMP. 70’S BAS-RELIEF SCULPTURE.

Trained in economics but always keen on architecture and design, Płoski periodically displays furniture he has collected and lectures. “I try to educate the Polish market and inspire potential clients and other architects. I really love discussions about important figures – Charlotte Perriand, Arne Jacobsen, Jean Prouvé, Gaetano Pesce, Ron Arad.”

Perhaps the most striking example of Płoski’s readiness to think outside the box in the home he shares with his wife, Stefania, newborn daughter, Petra, and a cat named Cotu is the walk-through shower that connects the kitchen and living room. “It is a very functional and space-saving solution, offering direct communication between the two spaces and serving as a kind of window,” he remarks. “Of course, we have curtains to protect against water, but when not in use, they are folded away and almost invisible.”

If there is an unfinished aspect to these spaces – even a dorm-room disarray here and there – it is all a manifestation of Płoski’s curiosity and his ability to appreciate details and parts as well as the big picture. A beauty parlor hair dryer repurposed as a lamp, one of those leather rhinos Abercrombie & Fitch sold when the store was still known as a sportsman’s outfitter and classic pieces from Herman Miller and Knoll (MillerKnoll) are all at home here. One might say nothing adds up. But run those numbers again.

BATHROOM: A BEAUTY PARLOR HAIR DRYER REPURPOSED AS A LAMP SHEDS LIGHT ON THE CUSTOM TUB IN BRIGHT RED. OFF TO THE SIDE IS AN ALF SVENSSON GALAXY ARMCHAIR FROM THE '70S. A FISH DESIGN VASE BY GAETANO PESCE SERVES AS A TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER. A SWISS ADVERTISING DISPLAY UNIT ON THE SHELF ADDS MORE QUIRKINESS. BEDROOM: A 1950S POLISH CHAIR. AN OLD AIRPORT RUNWAY LAMP. A JASPER MORRISON CORK BOWL BY VITRA. OPPOSITE BATHROOM: VINTAGE METAL TRIPOD LAMP DESIGNED BY JOSEF HŮRKA FOR NAPAKO IN SPACE AGE STYLE NEXT TO A ONE-OF-A-KIND CHAIR DESIGNED BY BAZA PROJECT.

@smallna_vintage_gallery

“I TRY TO EDUCATE THE POLISH MARKET AND INSPIRE POTENTIAL CLIENTS AND OTHER ARCHITECTS. I REALLY LOVE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT IMPORTANT FIGURES – CHARLOTTE PERRIAND, ARNE JACOBSEN, JEAN PROUVÉ, GAETANO PESCE, RON ARAD.” – PIOTR PŁOSKI

VALENCIA, SPAIN

“There is no place in Europe quite like Valencia,” states renowned French artist Mathieu Mercier, pointing to the Spanish burg’s beautiful yearround weather, proximity to the beach and lush riverfront greenbelt that cuts through the city. Noting that the region produces most of Europe’s fruit and vegetables, he compares it with California.

Artist and collector Mathieu Mercier shapes the trajectory of a long-abandoned 18th-century building with the help of Niney et Marca Architectes

b old red accen T s T ha T include a T ongue chair by p ierre p aulin and a T ubo chair by J oe c olo M bo add a sense o F pizzazz T o T he P rimary B edr OO m T he illu M ina T ed M irror is by e TT ore s o TT sass J r F ro M p olT ronova

While Mercier maintains a studio in Paris, he was seeking a more relaxing way of life for himself, his wife, Moraima Gaetmank, and their daughter, ultimately purchasing an abandoned building not far from the St. Mary’s Cathedral in Valencia’s villagelike urban center. “[The building] was full of dead rats and pigeons,” he recalls. “It was a long process to restore it.”

Indeed, with Niney et Marca Architectes, Mercier embarked on what became a four-year project to transform the dilapidated structure into a suitable family home. To describe it as challenging would be an understatement. For example, the house collapsed at the beginning of the renovation – one of many issues he faced over the coming years. Had he known what he knows now, he would have never taken on such an ambitious endeavor. “It takes everything, but we survived it.”

The Modernist result cuts quite a contrast with the age-old environs. While its historic late-18th-century façade has been maintained, the entire rear of the four-level dwelling is white concrete punctuated by black steel and large expanses of windows that bathe the spacious open interior in natural daylight.

Befitting the temperate climate, the floor-to-ceiling doors in the kitchen slide open to a courtyard, creating an indoor-outdoor style of living. Access to greenery and open interiors that include a swimming pool and a sports room made the place ideal for sheltering during the pandemic. “The house is really comfortable,” he adds. “I have a quite good sense of space, because I analyze and think in three dimensions.”

The reimagined interior is also a fabulous setting for the artwork and furnishings that Mercier has collected over the past two decades. Many of the pieces were funded by his proceeds from the Marcel Duchamp Prize, which he won in 2003. Worried about how using the windfall might impact his own work, “I decided to blow the money,” he confesses, chuckling.

Mercier draws no distinction between works on canvas, sculpture and the eclectic mix of furnishings, many of them circa 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, which he has collected and restored. “Art can be a chair, a painting or any object really,” he observes, embracing the philosophy that every aspect of society should be created by artists.

More minimalist friends have asked Mercier how he can live comfortably in a home filled with so many pieces, but Mercier asserts that it’s delightful. “I have a theory that if any object means something, it doesn’t take space, it gives space. Being surrounded by artwork is a pleasure every day.”

In fact, Mercier experiences a palpable sense of relief when he returns from his studio in Paris or his gallery showings in other European cities. Since Valencia’s city center is nearly carless, he says his neighborhood is quieter than the countryside – an ideal spot to relax and regroup.

He credits the internet and convenient air travel for making it possible for him to reside outside larger art meccas in Europe – something for which he’s forever grateful. “It’s super healthy for me,” he explains. “I would have never imagined that I could live in a situation like this.”

on the street where he lives

Roman architect Massimo Adario makes himself at home in a 16th-century palazzo along the left bank of the River Tiber

provenienza

Ollo Collection laminate table and chairs (originals from the 1980s). Designed by Alessandro Mendini for Studio Alchimia. From Jacksons Design, Stockholm. 1080 floor lamp in polished aluminum, chromed steel and iron with cast-iron base by Gino Sarfatti (1959) from Giustini / Stagetti. Steel wall lamps designed by Massimo Adario, produced by Luce5. Twenty photographs by Joachim Schmid Meisterwerke der Fotokunst, The Fricke and Schmid Collection, 1989, from Galleria P420 in Bologna adorn the wall. Vase by Duccio Maria Gambi, in onyx and spray paint. Elbow, 2000, gelatin silver print by John Coplans from Galleria P420. The wooden bench is by Raimondo Garau in Milan.

TEXT THOMAS CONNORS PHOTOGRAPHY LAURA FANTACUZZI AND MAXIME GALATI-FOURCADE INTERIORS MASSIMO ADARIO

A glimpse of the monumental staircase of Palazzo Sacchetti.

ROME, ITALY

City streets inevitably draw us in for different reasons. In the Eternal City, the historic Via Giulia, named for Pope Julius II and first laid out in the 16th century, is where architect Massimo Adario makes his home among a tapestry of centuries-old churches and palazzi. His apartment is situated in the Palazzo Sacchetti, a late-Renaissance edifice where a chamber on the piano nobile features frescoes depicting Bathsheba and David by Florentine mannerist Francesco Salviati (1510-63).

Adario’s fourth-floor digs weren’t so impressive when he opted to take up residence. Badly renovated in the late ’70s with little respect for the apartment’s decorative details, such as the wooden coffered ceiling dating from the 1700s, this less-than-beautiful abode on a grand street needed a lot of attention. “Bad materials had been used, and it had been divided by partitions that interrupted the decoration of the ceiling,” relates Adario. “When I saw the apartment for the first time, I immediately thought that we had to restore the unity of these spaces and work on the ceiling, which is certainly the most beautiful detail in the house.”

With the blue painted ceiling as the animating agent of his design, Adario lined the walls with fabric panels in a similar light shade and covered the floor in a hand-woven silk rug in the same spectrum. Taking a cue from Gae Aulenti’s 1970 approach to Emilio Pucci’s apartment in his palazzo in Florence, in which Aulenti incorporated yards of stainless steel in built-ins and a large, space-dividing volume, Adario inserted two similar components in his own home. One, clad in stainless steel, is a walk-in closet; the other – a collaboration with artist Andrea Sala of the Schiavo Zoppelli Gallery in Milan – is essentially a large vitrine.

“The materials I have chosen have a lot to do with the place, but they are also a contemporary response to context,” notes Adario. “The fabric panels of the walls and the carpet on the floor reflect the blue of the ceiling, creating a soft box on which the wooden beams rest. And the steel reflects the light and colors of the apartment in an abstract way.”

Adario’s intervention, informed by a thorough understanding of scale, proportion, light and material, reads as both very contemporary and very respectful. Neutral in its way – but hardly unstructured – it brings out the original parameters of these interiors while generating a whole new sense of space. Adario’s furnishings, pieces by Michel

Ducaroy, Gianfranco Frattini and Jimmie Durham (as well as his own designs), are disposed throughout the apartment with an appealing precision, not quite minimalist, but very intentional. Time does not stand still in this home, but the past is not forgotten.

provenienza

Eros console by Angelo Mangiarotti, made to measure with Rosso Levanto marble by Agape. Josef Hoffmann stool from Jacksons Design, Stockholm. The steel volume conceals the kitchen. The bookcase / showcase designed by Adario rests on the artwork Il Collezionista by artist Andrea Sala from the Schiavo Zoppelli Gallery in Milan. Bronze mask by Corrado Cagli. Nero Zebrino marble floor.

provenienza

In the spacious living area, a Togo armchair by Michel Ducaroy for Ligne Roset from Flair Firenze. Vintage coffee table Tria by Gianfranco Frattini from Morentz (Netherlands). 1080 floor lamp in polished aluminum, chromed steel and iron, with a cast-iron base by Gino Sarfatti from Giustini / Stagetti. On the wall, a print on canvas painted with oil colors, All Day All Year Opposite, a smaller acrylic on paper and plexiglas, Daily Geometry, both by David Malijković, Gallery T293. The divider wardrobe in brushed steel was custom designed by Adario.On the right, set against the steel volume, is the work of Miriam Cahn of Galerie Wolff, while on the left, that of Filippo de Pisis. The sofa was designed by Adario. Ceramics are by Salvatore Arancio from the Schiavo Zoppelli Gallery in Milan.

TEXT JORGE S. ARANGO PHOTOGRAPHY MANOLO LANGIS INTERIOR DESIGN CARTER BRADLEY

ELIAS PRACTICING DRUMS UNDER A SPECTACULAR EDDIE MARTINEZ CANVAS, WHICH HANGS OVER ANOTHER KATSELAS-DESIGNED FIREPLACE IN ONE OF THE HOME’S ORIGINAL STRUCTURES.

“It’s

odd to have an unfinished painting greet you when you come in the door,” admits Mel Elias, the entrepreneur and film score composer who owns this 6,000-square-foot Modernist residence in West Hollywood. “But it kind of represents the story of the house.”

Said painting is by the late Milton Katselas, a prominent theater producer and acting coach whose clients included George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer. At the end of the 1990s, Katselas bought two late-1930s or early-1940s bungalows on this land and promptly demolished one, replacing it with a steel-frame structure swathed in board-formed concrete, and then exposed the skeleton of the other. After his death in 2008, the property fell into neglect, much of it, like the painting, still unfinished, arrested midconstruction as concrete floors and drywall with no enclosure.

Elias – former CEO of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf chain and now cofounder with Sung Oh of Bruvi, a purveyor of single-serve coffee machines – asked designer Carter Bradley for help in reconceiving and completing what Katselas had started. “Milton had bought dozens of potted trees and vines that had rooted and covered everything, so you couldn’t even see it from the street,” recalls Bradley. “He also wanted rusted steel, but he wasn’t very patient and doused everything with muriatic acid, which caused a lot of problems. There were leaks everywhere.”

Elias describes the plan as “collaborating with Katselas’ original vision, preserving as much as we could and adding this Japanese aesthetic.” The success of the project is that it’s nearly impossible to distinguish new from original segments of the home. Bradley united the structures, reconfigured spaces and used materials – glass, steel and board-formed concrete – that were in harmony with Katselas’ intentions. “We celebrated the rawness of things,” adds Elias. “Pipes can stick out of walls, and beams are still exposed.”

One such hybrid space is the living room, which is located in an old glass-domed atrium with an arched fireplace designed by Katselas’ using rusted metal to simulate grasses on one side and diagonal wood inserts on the other. The space was completely rebuilt but preserves original details and opens to the dining room, which is completely new. Another is Elias’ office, which doubles as accommodations (it has a sleeping loft). It had been a courtyard and retains its footprint, walls and concrete floor. But now it connects to the newly built kitchen, a boxy structure designed by Bradley and featuring a roofline that echoes Katselas’ steel-frame redo of one of the bungalows.

BUTLER AND ELIAS IN THE NEW KITCHEN, WITH CUSTOM CHERRY VENEER CABINETRY BUILT BY MARMOL RADZINER’S WORKSHOP. THE COUNTERTOPS ARE WIRE-BRUSHED AND FLAMED ABSOLUTE BLACK GRANITE. A PRODIGIOUS ROLLING LADDER ADDS TO THE AESTHETIC.

Bradley and Elias, along with Elias’ partner, Sarah Butler, an actress and landscape designer, also added various elements to the house that riffed on those designed by Katselas. At the foot of the fireplace, for instance, was a single red tile, a motif that appeared nowhere else in the residence. “It would have been easy enough to clean up and get rid of, ” explains Elias. Instead, Bradley repeated the detail throughout various rooms.

Katselas also had a huge book collection (which Elias purchased), arrayed on built-in shelving. Bradley repeated that idea in the dining room and a family room off a state-of-the-art recording studio. The dining room’s shelves slide aside to reveal a hidden walk-in closet for the primary suite.

The décor mixes classic vintage pieces – Bellini Cab chairs in the kitchen and dining room, an Eames lounge chair in the family room and industrial, bendable-arm wall lamps Elias found in Paris – with modern furnishings, such as a Cassina sectional in the family room. Katselas, an amateur artist, is responsible for the unfinished entry painting, but also for a stunning metal panel, likely cobbled together from rusted building materials, which hangs on a wall behind a pair of Kai Kristiansen #42 rosewood dining chairs. Throughout, Elias added contemporary artworks, most spectacularly an enormous, abstract Eddie Martinez canvas in a room off the living room.

In the end, the house also turned out to be incredibly versatile. “One day, that room will be a dining room,” states Elias of the aforementioned space, “and the next, a performance space. There are so many flexibilities. We’ve had 300 people here for events and sit-down dinners for 50. Rather than needing to move every few years, it allows me to rearrange spaces. The house has to keep up with us.”

THE DINING ROOM, WITH KATSELAS’ CIRCULAR FIREPLACE IN THE BACKGROUND AND CUSTOM SHELVING BUILT BY MARMOL RADZINER’S WORKSHOP. BELLINI CAB CHAIRS SURROUND THE LIVE-EDGE DINING TABLE. ROONEY, THE COUPLE’S SIBERIAN HUSKY, IS NEAR THE NEW ENTRY (BY THE COWHIDE RUG).

SARAH BUTLER, HOMEOWNER MEL ELIAS’ PARTNER AND A BUDDING LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, ADDED A PERGOLA BY THE POOL WHERE A GARAGE ONCE STOOD AND CREATED A RAISED SAUNA OFF THE POOL USING RIVER ROCKS.

ONE OF KATSELAS’ UNCOMPLETED SPACES, THE FAMILY ROOM BECAME A COZY LIBRARY WITH FLOOR-TO-CEILING SHELVES, AN EAMES LOUNGE CHAIR AND OTTOMAN, A CASSINA SECTIONAL AND A LEATHER CLUB CHAIR FOUND AT THE PARIS FLEA MARKETS.

THE RECORDING STUDIO FEATURES MODULAR ANALOG SYNTHESIZERS AND A RUG BY ITALY’S IRREPRESSIBLE PRANKSTER ARTIST MAURIZIO CATTELAN.

ELIAS’ OFFICE OCCUPIES AN OLD COURTYARD ADJACENT TO THE KITCHEN (THROUGH THE WINDOW AT RIGHT), AND INCLUDES A STAIRCASE THAT ROLLS TO STAND FLUSH WITH THE WALL AND MORE KAI KRISTIANSEN CHAIRS.

COLLECTING BEAUTY

OTTO DE JAGER ON THE STAIRCASE OF HIS DUPLEX, SEMIDETACHED VICTORIAN COTTAGE. TO HIS RIGHT DOWN THE HALL IS THE KITCHEN, AND VISIBLE AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS IS THE ARTIFACT-LADEN DRESSER IN THE SMALLER OF THE TWO GUEST ROOMS.

TEXT DOMINIQUE HERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY WARREN HEATH PRODUCTION SVEN ALBERDING

CLOCKWISE LEFT: THE “GALLERY OF INSTANT ANCESTORS” ON THE STAIRCASE LANDING, ILLUMINATED BY THE SKYLIGHT OVERHEAD. IN THE SMALLER GUEST ROOM, ENCYCLOPEDIAS STACKED ON THE DRESSER ARE FROM DE JAGER’S LATE FATHER’S MEDICAL PRACTICE. THEY WERE PURCHASED FROM THE RESIDENT DOCTOR IN THE TOWN WHERE HIS FATHER AND GRANDFATHER LIVED AND ARE SIGNED BY HIS FATHER. THE HINDU GOD STATUE HAS EXPOSED NAILS IN ITS BACK. “I LOVE THE FACT THAT HE’S QUITE BATTERED. IT MAKES HIM REAL.” PRIMARY BEDROOM WITH WILLIAM YEOWARD CRYSTAL COLLECTION. “YOU DON’T NEED A PAINTING UP AGAINST THAT WALL; THAT HEADBOARD TELLS AN ENTIRE STORY,” STATES DE JAGER OF THE LARGER GUEST ROOM. “EVEN THE BEDDING IS QUITE MONASTIC IN ITS INTERPRETATION.” THE ORNATE BED FROM INDIA IS MADE OF ROSEWOOD. IT WAS A FOUR-POSTER THAT DE JAGER CUT DOWN.

“I HATE KITCHENS THAT READ AS KITCHENS. TO ME KITCHENS, I THINK, TRADITIONALLY, BECOME DUMPING GROUNDS OF ANYTHING MESSY.” INSTEAD, DE JAGER WANTS IT TO BE AN INTERLINKED SPACE WITH THE REST OF THE HOUSE. “IRONICALLY, IN MY HOME WHEN GUESTS WALK IN, THEY COME DIRECTLY THROUGH TO THE KITCHEN. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE TWO LOUNGES, THIS IS WHERE WE END UP VISITING, SO IT NEEDS TO BE A MULTIFUNCTIONAL SPACE. PEOPLE KNOW THEY’RE IN THE KITCHEN; IT LOOKS LIKE A BIT OF A GALLERY, LIKE A LOUNGE, LIKE A THOUSAND OTHER SPACES.” THE PURPLE WINE GOBLETS ARE A THROWBACK TO THE ’40S OR ’50S.

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

“Every house should have a cabinet of curiosities,” states Otto De Jager, handling an old leather wallet embossed with his initials that belonged to his father and grandfather. Stocked with family photographs, scented candles and old ribbon, the cabinet – which resides in a Victorian duplex De Jager spends one week a month in – is a trophy case of memorabilia, but also a place to display everything that he wants to keep safe, out of the way and dust-free.

“The whole idea was just to not live in hotels constantly,” he remembers, describing the partinvestment, part-lifestyle property purchase, he made 13 years ago – after midnight, while drunk on an evening out with friends. “I didn’t even have a look at how many bedrooms the house had.”

De Jager then embarked on what he describes as a “helluva renovation.” The 103-year-old cottage was stripped, walls were knocked down and windows were installed for better views. “It had over a hundred years of paint on it….The bathrooms were a mess. It was a dump, but a good dump.”

The “dump” is now white, light and bright, with soaring ceilings and back-to-back original fireplaces (with their Victorian tiles). The kitchen is clad in stainless steel juxtaposed with old, bull-nosed columns, marble countertops and reading lights on the wall. “A lot of what we did is to bring a Victorian into a modern era. It’s about throwing things together and bringing it into the new, but the integrity had to remain.”

“There are no modern appliances; there are no microwaves, dishwashers, TVs – and there’s a very good reason for that,” he explains. “I wanted the upgrades to reflect a certain era. We can listen to music, we can read. Let’s get to bed early, cook together, bake together, have tea together. It’s a place of nostalgia and calming down and spending time with people.”

There are Catholic statues, Christian crosses, the Star of David on a lot of his silverware and a Hindu granite marble slab in the entranceway. And the theme extends to the white dove in the oversize photograph on the living room wall and the biblical olive trees in the courtyard next to the kitchen.

“The fact that a lot here is collected is who I am. I love collecting beauty – nothing in particular. It’s not about being planned. It’s about having an eye and realizing that something will work.”

THE STRATEGIC QUIET IS AIDED BY THE RELIGIOUS PARAPHERNALIA ALL OVER, WHICH DE JAGER SAYS WAS COMPLETELY UNINTENTIONAL, ATTRIBUTING IT TO A PHASE HE “ MUST HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH.”

ORIGINAL VICTORIAN TILES IN THE FIREPLACE; VINTAGE TENPIN BOWLING PINS ON THE MANTELPIECE. ON THE LEFT, DOWN THE CORRIDOR, IS THE KITCHEN. OPPOSITE: THE BLACK-AND-WHITE, OVERSIZE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE BY JOHANNESBURG HUSBAND-AND-WIFE PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM DOOK AND LEANNA. THE FLOWER SHOT IS A CLOSE-UP OF A MAGNOLIA. “IT’S ONE OF MY FAVORITE FLOWERS. I LIKE MICRO PHOTOGRAPHY,” EXPLAINS DE JAGER. THE FABRIC ON THE ARMCHAIRS IS ORIENTAL IN DESIGN. “THERE’S SOMETHING NEW ABOUT IT, BUT IT READS VERY TRADITIONALLY.” THE CHAIRS ARE FROM BUENOS AIRES, PURCHASED AT AN ANTIQUES SHOP IN CAPE TOWN. “NONE OF THE FEET HAVE BEEN RESTORED, WHICH GIVES A FEELING OF AUTHENTICITY.” THE BOOKS ARE FROM SECOND-HAND/VINTAGE SHOPS: “IT’S A NONSENSICAL PIECE OF OBJET. IT GIVES A CERTAIN SENSE THAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE READING HERE WITHOUT HAVING TO SAY IT.”

Ground Control

The two-story great room fireplace juts out from the structural wall, requiring internal steel brackets to keep it from sagging. The shelving for the kindling is actually thin, steel-plate boxes that stack atop each other and are attached to the walls internally. The other side of the C-shape house is visible through the two-story windows.

This contemporary Modern house

connects all the bases

ATLANTA, GA

By day, an inviting, sleek glass entryway eases the transition of a modern house built in the traditional Tuxedo Park neighborhood of Atlanta. At night, the glass lights up with a welcoming two-story sculptural light that can be seen from the street – a key element the owners wanted when building their dream family home.

TEXT THERESA KEEGAN PHOTOGRAPHY GALINA PHOTOGRAPHY INTERIOR DESIGN MICHAEL HABACHY / HABACHY DESIGNS ARCHITECT ROBERT TRETSCH / HARRISON DESIGN

“I began with an idea that this would be a glass lantern in an overall solid,” describes architect Robert Tretsch, “and I just started carving away from it, which gave me the entrance.”

Straddling the two-story glass entranceway is a recessed wall that connects the glass features and acts as the anchor for the home. “I like the idea of having this strong, deep color in the recess of the front entry terrace,” admits Tretsch, who is based in Harrison Designs’ Atlanta office. “With it bracketed by the glass and white stucco, it brings you a little deeper into the home.”

By using different woods and millwork, the 12-foot ceilings in the kitchen are brought to a more homelike feel. While this entertainment kitchen is central to the open area, a full working kitchen with two dishwashers is adjacent, closed off by the folding doors.

By establishing a neutral color palette with darker accents, Habachy created a cohesion that brings together the diverse living areas.

And that is where the living begins for this active, intergenerational family that includes three boys and a large Bernedoodle. “The house unfolds and surprises as you come through it,” notes Tretsch. “Everything sort of peels back.”

Using only three main materials – stucco, stone and some exposed steel on the back – he established a contemporary feel. The home itself arcs into a C shape, with each area designed for a specific purpose yet flexible enough to adapt to residents’ needs.

“It’s rare that I design a room so bespoke that it can’t have a different function,” he explains. “There’s no reason any room can’t be called on or used for whatever

A casual dining area on the main floor, overlooking the backyard, allows the family to enjoy meals together. The singlestory room also boasts tall ceilings and glass walls, but the bright Atlanta sunshine is diffused through sheer curtains.

“The house unfolds and surprises as you come through it,” notes Tretsch. “Everything sort of peels back.”

The downstairs family room includes a bar made of walnut. The bar die features tiles from the Michael Habachy graphic tile collection from TileBar. The fun retro globe fixtures are TR Bulb suspension lights from Danish design company MENU.

is needed.” So when a study became a bedroom, it didn’t affect the home’s design, but rather reflected the family’s lifestyle. “People should live the way they want to,” adds Tretsch.

A soaring two-story fireplace is a central focus of the house, both socially and structurally. The lower level with its limited windows had problematic requirements, but Tretsch created a media room and bar area, even leaving room for a golf simulator. “It’s a grown-up playground,” he admits, laughing. The stairs down are split level, allowing light in from the main floor.

Once the initial home design was completed – a process that included eliminating the architect’s desire for elevations and the owners’ initial thought of a pitched roof – designer Michael Habachy was brought on board.

By establishing a neutral color palette with darker accents, Habachy created a cohesion that brings together the diverse living areas.

“We were big on keeping the spaces on the upper levels light and airy with the occasional dark accents,” he explains. “And on the lower terrace level (where the bar and theater are), we did the opposite by selecting dark, rich finishes for the walls and lighter furnishings as accents.”

While the open floor plan allows for ample natural light, the 12-foot ceilings on the main floor had the potential to make the living area feel more commercial than homelike. Design elements, including millwork, soften the rooms. In the kitchen, natural and ebonized rift oak are used, with the lighter wood finished about nine feet off the floor and the darker higher up.

The home also reflects the family’s emphasis on entertaining. A second, fully functional kitchen is adjacent to the main-floor kitchen and can be easily concealed behind four massive folding doors.

Finding solutions to fit people’s lifestyles is always the challenge for an architect. “You always gauge your clients,” states Tretsch. “They have a comfort zone, and a good architect can push them out of it in certain areas, while keeping other elements that they like.”

“They seemed to grow with the plan,” he recalls of the homeowners. There was a groundswell of appreciation.

The dining room fireplace is clad with a leathered, antique-brown limestone sourced through Walker Zanger.

The feature wall in the primary bedroom was created using a collection of architectural bamboo millwork panels from the Fractal series by Smith & Fong Plyboo.

SUB-ZERO

Sub-Zero Group, Inc. manufactures best-in-class appliance brands Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove. A third-generation family-owned business, the company is continually recognized for the highest achievements in appliance innovation and customer satisfaction. Sub-Zero Group East is the local distributor for Sub-Zero Group, Inc. and offers three convenient area showrooms. Their showrooms are the place to start, experience, and bring the kitchen you envision to life. Visit a showroom to get hands on with our reimagined Classic Series Refrigeration—schedule a consultation today. 800.691.6122 | subzero-wolf.com SubZeroWolfCoveShowroomNY | subzerowolfandcoveshowroomny

REDESIGNED CLASSIC SERIES REFRIGERATION

A Sub-Zero full-size food preservation system is more than a refrigerator. It is a monument to fresh, delicious food. With a vast selection of customizable full-size designs, widths, and styles, Sub-Zero units are designed to serve the needs of any space and enhance any décor. Discover a mesmerizing collection of updated features that make owning a Sub-Zero Classic Series more rewarding than ever. Now on display at select Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove area showrooms.

NEW SPLIT CLIMATE™ INTELLIGENT COOLING SYSTEM

Split Climate™ intelligent cooling system revolutionizes Sub-Zero’s already-superior preservation capabilities, keeping food even fresher for longer thanks to a variable-speed compressor and two fans that consistently optimize the refrigerator temperature within one degree of set point.

CLASSIC

SERIES

REFRIGERATION’S

ICONIC GRILLE Classic Series Refrigeration’s iconic grille has served as an irrefutable badge of Sub-Zero’s quality for more than six decades. While this distinct symbol of its predecessor’s pioneering performance remains, the completely redesigned Classic Series—with its fresh suite of innovative features— reaches new levels of refinement both inside and out.

NIGHT MODE

Night Mode optimizes the interior lighting based on the detected ambient light, reducing the brightness by 90% in dim environments.

NEW TOUCH CONTROL PANEL

Easily customize settings—from lighting to humidity—with the tap of a finger via the touch control panel, now conveniently located just above the crisper drawers.

NEW CLEARSIGHT™ LED LIGHTING

Even when brimming with food, the ClearSight™ LED lighting scheme fully illuminates the interior and reduces shadows, adding light where it’s needed most—overhead, under each shelf, and in each crisper drawer.

UPGRADED AIR PURIFICATION

Now easily accessible thanks to a sliding door, the NASA-inspired air purification system scrubs the air of ethylene and odor every 20 minutes. The cartridge is designed to last up to one year!

NEW TO CLASSIC NANO-COATED GLASS

Beloved in the Designer Series, nano-coated glass shelves—and their hydrophobic, spill-containing properties—can now be found in Classic Series. Sleek stainless accents also trim the interior, matching the sophistication of the exterior.

SCHWARTZ DESIGN SHOWROOM

BERNHARDT

Schwartz Design Showroom is an interiors collective curated for the trade. They are known for collaborating with some of the most coveted vendors in the design industry to offer a dynamic selection of fine furniture, lighting, textiles, decorative accessories, and rugs. Under the stewardship of third-generation CEO and owner Alexis Varbero, the brand has three showroom locations, including two in New Jersey and one in Connecticut, and is constantly adding to its roster of cutting-edge manufacturers. schwartzdesignshowroom.com | @schwartzdesignshowroom

ARONSON

The new Bernhardt Renny chair, Kateri cocktail tables, and Plush Ariel sofa have so much texture and richness. These pieces create an elevated aesthetic for any space.

The patented Claize finish from custom furniture maker Aronson Woodworks adds a sophisticated tone to each hand-crafted piece.

SCHWARTZ DESIGN SHOWROOM

SOCIETY OF WONDERLAND

Society of Wonderland creates bold art for spaces by fusing traditional techniques with digital design including fabrics, wallcoverings, and prints. This wallcovering is called Business and comes with originality and impact.

FOUR HANDS FURNITURE

The new pieces from Four Hands Furniture define style and comfort. The Copo Dining Table in natural oak comes with heavy reeding and cross-style base to bring a shapely, high-texture look to a simple rounded oak table top. Also shown here, Eldon Pendant, Kyra Outdoor End Table, and the Rocky Outlook II by Dan Hobday.

OSBORNE AND LITTLE

The Lumiere Wide-Width Sheers are inspired by soft delicate light, scattered through a canopy of leafy foliage. This collection full of neutral tones also has the benefit of being fully washable.

JIUN HO

Inspired by the mammoth cacti of the Atacama Desert in South America, the Atacama Table from Jiun Ho is as versatile as it is visually appealing.

A&D BUILDING

The Architects and Designers Building is the premier source for luxury design, where you can shop hundreds of top tier brands to create the perfect environment for your next project. The designers in the building’s showrooms can show you the best selections from all over the world.

Located at 150 East 58th Street, the 12 floors and 40 showrooms feature luxury kitchens, baths, appliances, cabinetry, tile, flooring, carpeting, shading technology, lighting, bespoke furnishings, and more. The A&D Building offers leading architects, designers, and discerning homeowners the finest collection of premium brands to suit any style—from modern to transitional to traditional—under one roof. Explore the latest innovations for kitchens and baths and find everything you need to create the most beautifully designed and functional spaces. adbuilding.com

POGGENPOHL

In Poggenpohl’s majestic +SEGMENTO kitchen, the monolithic Brazilian quartzite island features masterfully chamfered curvature. The Showcase series display cabinet stands tall to the side. poggenpohl.com

MIELE

BAUTEAM

BT45’s new freestanding storage wall, The Moon, is as much furniture as it is artwork. The ebony façade reveals a striking and complex mosaic and innovatively incorporates a built-in wine cooler. bauteamnewyork.com

Miele’s new Generation 7000 line of built-in appliances boasts all the latest features from in-oven cameras to smart technologies that allow for the most precise cooking. miele.com

BILOTTA

SMEG

New from their iconic retro-style series of refrigerators, Smeg’s FAB10 freestanding, counter height model is perfect for any small space—from home offices to home bars. smeg.com

The

SIEMATIC

expressive design of SieMatic’s new MONDIAL speaks a minimalist, modern and geometric language of form without traditional ornamentation. siematic.com

EDWARD FIELDS CARPET MAKERS

From Tai Ping’s new Blur collection of hand-knotted rugs, the striking Bokeh II is inspired by the work of early 20th century photographers including Man Ray and László Moholy-Nagy. edwardfields.com

In this kitchen designed by Paula Greer, CKD and Senior Designer at Bilotta Kitchen & Home, wooden cabinets painted in Farrow & Ball’s Light Blue bring a sense of serenity to a busy space. Photographed by Stefan Radtke. bilotta.com

ABC STONE

Since 1992, ABC Stone has aimed to meet the needs of the design industry in an ever-changing global market. By diversifying our material portfolio and service offerings, and providing our clients with a superior customer experience, ABC is redefining how the A + D industry conducts business. 646.707.3065 | abcworldwidestone.com | @abcstone

SOFT ROCK CHAIR

The unexpected cohesion of materials connecting with one another is the heartbeat of this material-mixing Norwegian Rose marble chair. With an emphasis on fabrication, each design within the Classic Rock Collection by Cara Woodhouse is made of the finest marble and stone that leave behind an effortless air of livable luxury.

OUTDOOR ESCAPE

The ‘Pond View House’ is a gorgeous exterior scape designed by LaGuardia Design Group and Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects. The outdoor paving features ABC’s Renaissance Grey Sandblasted.

CHEF’S KISS

When it comes to kitchen designs, we love when form meets functionality. Joy Bauer selected Lapitec Bianco Vittoria in a Satin finish for her newly renovated kitchen. Lapitec is a full-bodied sintered stone made of 100% minerals, that is both anti-microbial and hydrophilic — perfect for indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops.

GETTING STEAMY Design firm vonDALWIG paired gorgeous wood elements with ABC’s Ceppo di Gré™ limestone.

PHOTOGRAPHY

BY ALAN TANSEY

PERTH DINING TABLE

A true sculptural, room-anchoring piece for any dining space, Arhaus’ Perth Dining Table combines meticulous craftsmanship and clever design. With soft, rounded edges and a touch of asymmetry, this stunning table has a distinctive presence.

HALDEN SOFA

any living space.

COREY BURL SIDEBOARD

Eye-catching burl wood, prized for its unique beauty, is handfinished to illuminate every swirling wood grain detail with warm honey or rich brown tones. The Corey Burl Sideboard from Arhaus combines textured warmth with modern style to create a dynamic statement wherever your décor leads.

Arhaus was family-founded in 1986 on a simple idea: Furniture and décor should be sustainably sourced, lovingly made, and built to last. Today, Arhaus partners with artisans around the world who share its vision, creating beautiful, heirloom-quality pieces that can be loved for generations. With 80 showroom and design center locations, a team of interior designers providing complimentary services, and a robust online shopping experience, Arhaus is known as a source for innovative design and endless inspiration. 866.427.4287 | Arhaus.com | @Arhaus

Beckon Chair is casually elegant with gentle curves and modern flair. Each piece is expertly padded with plush, flexibly supportive cushions for that “sink-into” comfort. Minimal, tapered legs complete the look, evoking a sophisticated feel.

Handcrafted by artisans in North Carolina, Arhaus’ Halden Sofa combines clean lines, deep, lofty cushions, and exceptional support. Featuring soft, textural performance fabric and subtle neutral tones, the Halden Collection will add warmth and luxury to

BECKON CHAIR

Arhaus’

CURREY & COMPANY

WOODBINE CHANDELIER

The brandnew Woodbine Chandelier showcases a modern take on a wooden light fixture. Ideal over a kitchen island or a dining table, the chestnut wood tone is complemented in beautiful fashion by U-shaped brass bands.

LAPSLEY ORB CHANDELIER

The Lapsley Orb Chandelier makes a grand statement in a kitchen or dining environment. Made of environmentally responsible Kraft paper twice on an iron frame, the Vanilla finish keeps the look soft and liveable.

Currey & Company is a second-generation family-owned business based in Georgia. We proudly produce an extensive line of in-house-designed fine home furnishings, including lighting, furniture, accessories and outdoor.

We consider ourselves to be a “best friend” to interior designers as we consistently maintain an industry-leading in-stock rate, quick shipping on our entire line, and a range of products that can start or finish any home project.

The use of natural materials, attention to details, time-honored craftsmanship and product designs influenced by authenticity, design history and timely trends are all part of the creative process at Currey & Company.

678.533.1500 | curreyandcompany.com | info@curreyco.com | @curreyco

CHANDELIER SHADES

A new line of chandelier shades debuted in the fall. Including six Indian block-printed patterns, three grasscloth and five in marbled paper, these new shades will quickly transform a light fixture’s vibe, seasonally or even permanently.

MULTI-DROP PENDANT COLLECTION

Eight new shade options join the Multi-Drop Pendant Collection, which allows for customizable lighting in a range of canopy shapes and sizes. The Pathos Rectangular 7-Light Pendant is shown here with the new Kendall Credenza, Applique Table Lamps and the Dog of the Moon Bronze sculpture.

SHERRILL

SHERRILL brands blend American craftsmanship with modern manufacturing to create furniture that is full of invention. Founded in 1945, the company combines time-honored manufacturing techniques with state-of-the-art innovation to create collections of uncompromising quality. The brand’s customization capabilities are endless, giving the most discerning the chance to create one-of-a-kind pieces.  The company is comprised of six highly respected brands – Hickory White, Sherrill Upholstery, CTH Sherrill Occasional, Whittemore-Sherrill Leather, MotionCraft and Precedent. It also produces three high-profile designer collections – Lillian August for Hickory White, Mr. & Mrs. Howard for Sherrill and Lemieux Et Cie by Christiane Lemieux for Precedent. 828.322.2640 | sherrillfurniture.com | @SherrillFurnitureBrands | @sherrillfurniturebrands

SHERRILL FURNITURE

The 1634 Lounge Chair is a stunning small, but stylish chair that can work in any space. The narrow arms embody a modern transitional element, while the dressmaker skirt brings a traditional elegance to the piece.

WHITTEMORE SHERRILL Inspired by the cool shape and coloring of a Martin guitar, the simple organic shapes of the Sling Chair from Whittemore Sherrill make it a complete vibe. The legs and arms of the chair are handcrafted using a smooth walnut, sealed with a beautiful natural finish.

MR. AND MRS. HOWARD

Inspired by nature’s calming curves, the Radil Sofa has a graceful crescent-shaped front, which gives the piece a lovely, sophisticated look. The sofa features two loose seat cushions, a tight back, and exposed wood legs.

LILLIAN AUGUST

The Jagger Sofa is full of clean lines, traditional sophistication, and cool style. This sofa features an alluring tufted back and seat. The plinth base gives this piece a strong architectural detail and adds a more modern look.

ANTIQUE BLUE STONE SINK

Appealing and plush, the HLD104 antique sink displays a weathered patina, organically developed over hundreds of years.

LOTUS

Fusing Eastern and Western sensibilities, the Lotus Internal Shower System offers an intimate and graceful presence. Its Antique Bronze finish delicately marries this milky Michaela Bianca marble to provide a traditional and lavish atmosphere.

Founded in Los Angeles, Compas is a premier source for the high-end design community since 1979. Committed since its inception to offer eco-responsible, sustainable, and exceptional design driven by skilled craftsmanship. Compas services designers, architects, and homeowners helping them bring their vision to life. Offering state-of-the-art customizable plumbing fixtures, rare sinks, stones, and unique architectural appointments. From traditional, transitional, to modern, creating elevated interior and exterior spaces that are tailored to one’s needs. 843-845 North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90069 310.854.3023 | compasstone.com | @compasstone

QUADROLOBE

The romantic and Neo-industrial shape of the Quadrolobe Floor Mounted Tub System, created for freestanding tubs, promotes relaxation and an elevated bathing experience. Shown here in a Belgium Bronze finish.

CRUCIFORM

Handcrafted in France, the Cruciform External shower system, shown here in a genuine Sterling Silver finish, is seemingly traditional in style, while exceeding modern day performances. Its iconic design creates highly decorative jewel-like shower fixtures.

UNMATCHABLE

When you find the perfect color, nothing else will do Perfection comes from our paint and our proprietary Gennex® colorants, together, creating results that are breathtaking. Rely on Benjamin Moore® for premium quality and Gennex Color Technology, which makes our long-lasting colors, all 3,500 of them, one-of-a-kind. Unmatchable.

©2022 Benjamin Moore & Co. AURA, Benjamin Moore, Gennex, and the triangle “M” symbol are registered trademarks licensed to Benjamin Moore & Co. Color accuracy is ensured only when tinted in quality Benjamin Moore® paints. Color representations may differ slightly from actual paint. 10/22

WALL: Shadow 2117-30, AURA® Matte