New This Week: 3 Dramatic Features to Wake Up Your Bedroom
These striking sleep spaces cast a new light on wood, tile and built-ins
Sure, painting your bedroom walls can elevate your space. But if you’re really looking to punch things up, try thinking outside of the paint can. Here, three designers show how rustic wood, hand-painted tile and built-in storage took these bedrooms to the next level.
2. Hand-Painted Floor Tile
Designer: Luca Andrisani of Luca Andrisani Architect (also the homeowner)
Location: Oceanside Plaza building, Miami
Size: 209 square feet (19.4 square meters)
Year completed: 2014
Unique feature: Hand-painted ceramic tile designed by famed Italian architect Giò Ponti. The geometric tile covers the floor of the entire apartment, unifying the spaces and connecting the design to the ocean.
Homeowners’ request: Make the 1,040-square-foot apartment seem larger. Flexible spaces also were a priority, as was merging the relaxing vibe of Miami with the sensibility of a New York art loft.
Plan of attack: Ponti’s Hotel Parco dei Principi on Italy’s Amalfi Coast inspired the floor, furnishings and overall mood. Two large telescoping pocket doors replaced two walls and, when open, allow the bedroom to flow into the living room and office. The strong blue-and-white color scheme connects visually to the sky and ocean, making the home feel larger. Modern Italian furnishings play a major role in enhancing the space. Big mirrors, reflective chrome and brass, and crystal light fixtures bounce light around the apartment.
Who uses it: This is the vacation home for New York architect Luca Adrisani.
The nitty-gritty: Tile: hand-painted ceramic tile designed by Giò Ponti, from La Riggiola; light fixture: Venetian chandelier in green Murano glass; lamps: Arteluce (1960); bench: vintage, Milo Baughman; lithographs over bed: Massimo Vitali; art: Vik Muniz; bedding: Restoration Hardware; chair: Italian (1960s); bed: custom, MidcenturyLA
Team: PrecisionArt (general contractor); Emilio Collavino (photographer)
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Designer: Luca Andrisani of Luca Andrisani Architect (also the homeowner)
Location: Oceanside Plaza building, Miami
Size: 209 square feet (19.4 square meters)
Year completed: 2014
Unique feature: Hand-painted ceramic tile designed by famed Italian architect Giò Ponti. The geometric tile covers the floor of the entire apartment, unifying the spaces and connecting the design to the ocean.
Homeowners’ request: Make the 1,040-square-foot apartment seem larger. Flexible spaces also were a priority, as was merging the relaxing vibe of Miami with the sensibility of a New York art loft.
Plan of attack: Ponti’s Hotel Parco dei Principi on Italy’s Amalfi Coast inspired the floor, furnishings and overall mood. Two large telescoping pocket doors replaced two walls and, when open, allow the bedroom to flow into the living room and office. The strong blue-and-white color scheme connects visually to the sky and ocean, making the home feel larger. Modern Italian furnishings play a major role in enhancing the space. Big mirrors, reflective chrome and brass, and crystal light fixtures bounce light around the apartment.
Who uses it: This is the vacation home for New York architect Luca Adrisani.
The nitty-gritty: Tile: hand-painted ceramic tile designed by Giò Ponti, from La Riggiola; light fixture: Venetian chandelier in green Murano glass; lamps: Arteluce (1960); bench: vintage, Milo Baughman; lithographs over bed: Massimo Vitali; art: Vik Muniz; bedding: Restoration Hardware; chair: Italian (1960s); bed: custom, MidcenturyLA
Team: PrecisionArt (general contractor); Emilio Collavino (photographer)
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3. Built-In Storage and Feature Wall
Designer: Paul Mellblom of MSR Design
Location: Minneapolis
Size: 270 square feet (25 square meters); 18 by 15 feet
Unique features: An integrated storage cabinet that also displays art and a wall treatment made from dozens of staggered planks of wood. Some have recessed lights.
Homeowners’ request: Create an attractive space with better storage.
Why the design works: The wall treatment and cabinets are made from white oak and have the same finish, but because they’re cut differently — the wall is rift-cut and the cabinets are flat-cut — they have different textures. The planks behind the bed have a slightly raised grain for a rougher feel. The cabinets are more finely finished.
Designer: Paul Mellblom of MSR Design
Location: Minneapolis
Size: 270 square feet (25 square meters); 18 by 15 feet
Unique features: An integrated storage cabinet that also displays art and a wall treatment made from dozens of staggered planks of wood. Some have recessed lights.
Homeowners’ request: Create an attractive space with better storage.
Why the design works: The wall treatment and cabinets are made from white oak and have the same finish, but because they’re cut differently — the wall is rift-cut and the cabinets are flat-cut — they have different textures. The planks behind the bed have a slightly raised grain for a rougher feel. The cabinets are more finely finished.
Who uses it: A couple who have lived in the condo for many years. One is recently retired, and the other is soon to retire.
Designer secret: “It’s not really a secret but more of an attitude: We did not accept ‘good enough,’” architect Paul Mellblom says.
“Uh-oh” moment: “We had significant trouble getting the wood color to be uniformly gray, and the correct gray color and saturation so you could still read the grain through the stain,” Mellblom says. “For a while, we thought that it might not work. We solved this by working with an excellent millwork group of artisans, who took the time to do multiple trial samples using a number of different types of stains and finishes.”
Takeaway: “The right contractor will make the difference between good and great,” Mellblom says.
The nitty-gritty: Wood: rift- and flat-cut white oak with a custom stain; reading sconces: Snaik, Carpyen; fan: Haiku, Big Ass Fans; recessed lights in planks: mini LED downlights, Juno
Team: Welch Forsman (contractor and millworker); MSR Design (architect and interior designer); Alyssa Lee (photographer)
Designer secret: “It’s not really a secret but more of an attitude: We did not accept ‘good enough,’” architect Paul Mellblom says.
“Uh-oh” moment: “We had significant trouble getting the wood color to be uniformly gray, and the correct gray color and saturation so you could still read the grain through the stain,” Mellblom says. “For a while, we thought that it might not work. We solved this by working with an excellent millwork group of artisans, who took the time to do multiple trial samples using a number of different types of stains and finishes.”
Takeaway: “The right contractor will make the difference between good and great,” Mellblom says.
The nitty-gritty: Wood: rift- and flat-cut white oak with a custom stain; reading sconces: Snaik, Carpyen; fan: Haiku, Big Ass Fans; recessed lights in planks: mini LED downlights, Juno
Team: Welch Forsman (contractor and millworker); MSR Design (architect and interior designer); Alyssa Lee (photographer)
Designers: Steve Lawlor and Roberto Ramirez of Lawlor Architects
Location: Washington, D.C.
Size: About 350 square feet (32.5 square meters); 20 by 16 feet, plus a 12-by-3-foot bay window
Year completed: 2014
Unique feature: Salvaged barn boards that are blind-nailed to blocking placed behind the drywall in the wall and ceiling. The wood warms the otherwise contemporary room — “sort of a rustic-modern detail that reflects the owner perfectly,” says architect Steve Lawlor.
Homeowners’ request: Balance rustic elements with sophisticated modernism. “The tension between the old and new always creates exciting spaces and details that seem to endure over time,” Lawlor says. “Think of Castelvecchio in Verona, by Carlo Scarpa, as a perfect example.”
Why the design works: A street-facing bay window and additional terrace-facing windows provide abundant natural light. “It animates the space,” Lawlor says. Pendant lights made by the homeowner and recessed lighting in and around the wood treatment help “set up the scene very theatrically,” he says, while the paint color complements the warm gray tones of the wood to make it pop against the wall. “It’s a place that everyone wants to be when they enter the room, especially the dog.”
Designer secret: “Always mix modern and vintage details, glossy and matte surfaces, warm and cool colors, and natural and man-made materials,” Lawlor says. “Without some tension, you’ll never achieve chemistry.”
Takeaway: “Developing a relationship of trust, shared goals and having a good sense of humor make working on projects of almost any complexity easier,” Lawlor says.
The nitty-gritty: Windows: Pella; floor: 4-inch quarter-sawn white oak; pendant lights: custom; chairs: Jessica Charles; shutters: Next Day Blinds
Team: McGovern Design Studio (interior design consultant); Fairline Builders (custom cabinets); Norton Light Laboratory (light fixtures); Pand Construction (general contractor); Stacy Zarin Goldberg (photographer)
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