Collection by Zach Edelson
Sculptural Freestanding Fireplaces
The fireplace isn't just a heat source: it's an opporunity to anchor a room with rich materials, sculptural forms, or even bright colors.
Paola Navone transforms a 200-year-old factory in Umbria into a home. Known for blending modern design with traditional crafting techniques and goods, she has developed an expansive array of products as well as designed interiors for shops, hotels, and restaurants; however, homes are rarely a typology she takes on. When she saw the space—one room spanning 5,300 square feet with a 30-foot ceiling where she’d have to incorporate all functions of a home—she immediately agreed.
Artist and corrective-exercise specialist, Ruth Hiller, moved to Winter Park, Colorado from New York knowing that her home would be glass and steel with wraparound windows. She hopped on the phone with architect Michael Johnson, he drew the sketch, and it took a mere five minutes to decide on the design. The common areas are suspended and cantilevered over the backyard ravine, offering views of a winding mountain creek while also doubling the square footage. A Bathyscafocus by Focus Creations fireplace warms up the modern abode.
The team’s design philosophy was “not to have too many ideas,” and instead focus on a few key aesthetic moves that would be carried through the entire space. The lower living level features a full-wall storage system and statement hearth on a concrete platform. Sectional seating offers sweeping city views of Karakoy, including an old Armenian church and Galata Tower.