Collection by Jani Cowan
HOME IDEAS
The open-plan, double-height kitchen/living/dining area makes the most of the house's 1,700 square feet. The cabinetry is finished in polyurethane, the hardware is by Lockwood and Madinoz, the countertops are Caesarstone, the oven and cooktop are by Ilve, and the integrated refrigerator is by Fisher & Paykel. The pendant lamps are Richard Neutra by Kartell, the cushions are Marimekko, the dining chairs are by Herman Miller, and the "coffee table" is a trio of Alvar Aalto's Stool 60 by Artek.
The open-concept main living area, which connects to the dining room and kitchen, is the residents’ favorite part of the home. Soaring ceilings, black aluminum-clad windows, and Carrara marble floors make this central gathering place feel vast. Warm, natural textures are brought in through the Eames molded plywood chairs, brown Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chairs, and natural wooden slab table on steel legs.
The home’s living room flows seamlessly into the outdoors. Mineral materials that were locally sourced and crafted were favored throughout the home. Polished concrete floors, natural basaltic walls, and white interior walls made of cement and lime plaster carry through the home. Aluminum-framed sliding doors separate the living room from the central patio. Traditional Mexican furnishings complete the space.
“As you can see, I’ve never been a minimalist,” says Nunnerley. She compares designing to being a jazz musician, working with the basics and then improvising. “We talk about riffs in jazz, and how those riffs appear in design, how you go up and down the scale, and make interesting juxtapositions.”
Pieces that might appear miscellaneous elsewhere create harmony here. The area around the fireplace includes a huge Senufo guardian bird sculpture from the Ivory Coast, a pair of 1930s Italian Osvaldo Borsani armchairs, and a curved, low table in eggshell-and-lacquer from the 1970s.
The Kelleys furnished the cottage with help from Suzanne’s daughter Betsy Burbank of Betsy Burbank Interiors. Classic modernist icons, such as a Saarinen Womb chair for Knoll, a Herman Miller Eames lounge chair, and an Eileen Grey E1027 side table look at home alongside present-day pieces such as an Encore sofa (which handily folds down into a sleeping surface) from Room & Board and a Doka rug designed and produced by Stephanie Odegard. The Wohlert pendant lights from Louis Poulsen were designed by Vilhelm Wohlert in 1959, but grouped as such, they appear distinctly contemporary.
In the flat’s living room, midcentury modern art and furniture harmonize with the rich floor tiles, opulent molded ceilings. and original pine wood doors. Prints by Gordon Matta-Clark line the wall near a 1950s Danish dining table that’s paired with Eames chairs. A painting by Kuuti Lavonen hangs above a pink chair and ottoman by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.
Owner Stacey Hill was instantly drawn to this shipping container’s existing blue color and chose to leave it unchanged. Architect Jim Poteet added floor-to-ceiling sliding doors to allow light in, as well as a cantilevered overhang to shade a window on the left side, which houses a small garden storage area.
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