A Look at Arches in the Modern Home

The couple kept original touches, including the arch.

Thanks to a contemporary interior that she’s been updating for a decade, modern architect Abigail Turin has learned to love her traditional 1925 San Francisco home. Rather than indulge her impulse and strip away the home’s traditional flourishes, Turin embraced the dark in her striking living room—the deep paint is Le Corbusier’s 4320J from Les Couleurs Suisse. An iconic Arco lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos, Charles sofas by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia, an Extra Big Shadow floor lamp by Marcel Wanders for Cappellini, and a painting over the marble fireplace by Martin Barré shed a little light.

Warm and casual furniture is favored in the courtyard. Colorful seating, wood stools, and smart built-in shelving complete the space. The expandable table by Henkin Shavit is flanked by seven hanging pendant lights, symbolizing the branches of the Menorah. To the right of the table, the original stone arch leads to the home’s wine cellar.

The couple retained the strongest architectural aspects of the house, such as the existing arch in the hall, and did away with others, such as a previous kitchen renovation.

The original arch and wall framing was retained between the dining room and the kitchen, while the kitchen has been expanded to encompass the former dining room. A three-by-nine foot quartz-topped island anchors the space and is the heart of the home; windows set below custom cabinets on the north wall provide light and ventilation. Photo by Whit Preston.

When husband and wife duo Ludovica Serafini and Roberto Palomba were planning their vacation home, they fell in love with an old mill dating back to the 17th century in Sogliano Cavour, a small village in the province of Lecce. Keeping the ancient stone floors, walls, and arches intact, they made their own mark on the space by showcasing their own designs like the one-off version of their Lama chaise longue, originally designed for Zanotta, which graces the living room. There are also feature pieces made specifically for the abode including all the fixtures, doors, and iron lamps commissioned from local makers.

Debbi Gibbs’s son Blake had one primary design requirement: bunk beds. Specifically, he wanted "two sets of single bunks, one on each side, with a bridge over the top." Gibbs says the Venetian-style arched bridge connecting the two beds exceeded her expectations: "I was expecting a flat platform, but our builder decided to take Blake’s request (to connect them) and made him his very own Bridge of Sighs."