Rear garden
Soft Witness is based between New York and Florence, and you can feel the balance of global taste at work in founder Whitney Krieger’s designs. The Cono chair, debuting in this presentation, is upholstered in super soft camel-colored alpaca mohair and is luxuriously comfortable. Every piece in this display felt slightly unexpected, graceful, and well-constructed.
Swell lights by Pablo hang above Hot Mesh stools from Blu Dot. The millwork is by J. Spix Fine Cabinets.
On the first storey, a seat is extruded into a platform that allows for ad-hoc, multipurpose use.
“Cocktail hour is sacred,” says Roberta. So, in a storage wall (shared by the living area on one side and the kitchen on the other) Bjorngaard tucked in an elegant bar (with a French Pyrolave lava stone counter and backsplash) that has everything she needs for drink service.
On a clear day, you can catch a whiff of sea salt from atop the cliffside.
Horne’s mother chose to decorate the interior with lighter woods and dark walls. The dramatic contrast pairs well with the breathtaking views.
Sharon and Mike Matas work at large wood table in the studio while their daughter plays.
The reading nook
Sam Shah and Anne Suttles asked architect Kevin Alter to renovate their 1920s bungalow in Austin, Texas, and add an addition, which contains a living area downstairs and an office upstairs. They tucked an office nook under the stairs; the Eames chair is a hand-me-down from Shah’s father.
On one side of the house, a white central staircase leads to a split-level landing the Robertsons call "the reading room." "We needed a place to hang out and for the kids to read," explains owner Vivi Nguyen-Robertson. Awaiting the birth of the couple's son, she relaxes in a built-in reading nook in the library.
Bed nook
"In some ways the strongest attributes of the house are probably the outside spaces,” says Court. The original cedar deck was replaced with Kebony decking that wraps around a century-old cherry tree. A pair of Andy rockers from Mamagreen face an ottoman by Kenneth Cobonpue. The accordion doors are a NanaWall SL-60 system that allows the main room of the guesthouse to open completely to the deck.
“We’re hoping this renovation provides some solutions for how to take our existing homes and make them sustainable into the future, because we’ll never build completely new homes for everyone in time to handle the climate crisis,” says resident Todd Vogel.
A deck at Lizz Wasserman and Isaac Resnikoff’s home, in the Highland Park section of Los Angeles, features a table and planters by Isaac’s design studio, Project Room. The chairs are by Mexa Design for CB2.
Purple statement loft living toilet alcove.
The staircase follows the bedroom’s new primary material, French white oak.
This spacious kitchen was designed for simplicity and functionality. Black and white kitchens that incorporate elements of gray tend to have a softer look. Seen here, gray accents, like the pendant lights and backsplash color, abound. Says the architect, "The design of the interior achieves a softer touch by using bespoke detailing and a rich palette of materials such as stone and timber."
Inspired by the sea and sand, Richard and Jackie Willcocks chose blue and orange joinery colors for their 1,140-square-foot prefab. The modular home is by New South Wales company ArchiBlox.
The master bath is a luxurious retreat wrapped in dark tiles and completed with a floating vanity and soaking tub. The wood slats make an appearance, somewhat resembling the flowing curtains and surrounding trees in the background.
A look inside the black ensuite bathroom on the ground floor.
The bathrooms are a break from the minimalist aesthetic of the living spaces, injecting color and interesting finishes that include the use of a dichroic glass shower divider.
The two bathrooms are sited on either end of the rectangular plan. Each have been fitted with discrete skylights for additional illumination.
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