Pattern Mix

“It’s a contemporary home with strong Moorish influences,” project architect Matthew Stratton, of Bender & Associates Architects, says of a Key West, Florida, house he designed for model, actress and writer Veronica Webb and her husband, George Robb. “It’s like looking into a kaleidoscope,” Webb observes of the rooms. “You have enough pattern and color to keep you entertained: Veronica feels that it all weaves together all of her husband George’s shipwreck culture with her fashion and crafts culture. The dome ceiling was produced in Morocco. Shade trim, Samuel & Sons. (March 2009)

John and Jana Scarpa, the owners of a Palm Beach, Florida, house, hired interior designer Scott Snyder, who had decorated the house for another client years earlier. Above: The lanai. Wallcovering and carpets, Stark. Floral fabric on chairs, ottoman and pillows, Lee Jofa. (November 2007)

A 19th-century Italian Neoclassical parcel-gilt bed dominates the guest room, which serves as “a retreat from the brightness of the rest of the apartment,” says designer Michael Smith of a Manhattan pied-à-terre in The Carlyle. “It intensifies the colors of the other rooms and has an old-European feeling.” Wallcovering from Brunschwig & Fils. (April 2002)

Designer Alexa Hampton transformed this library of a New York apartment with a “nice muddy Edwardian green”, accented with reds. (February 2000).


Mixing patterns, as you can see, works if you stay in the same color tones, adding a pop accent color is the fun!!!

Asian Embrace

A Manhattan couple turned to Paul Vincent Wiseman’s firm, The Wiseman Group, to design their secondary residence in San Francisco. Wiseman and senior designer Judy McBride kept the living room clutter-free to accommodate visiting grandchildren. The wife found the Chinese figures, from the Han Dynasty, in a New York shop. McGuire rattan lounge chair.

“It’s warm and serene,” McBride says of the living room, which features an oil by Robert Ogata. Sofa fabric, Cowtan & Tout. Corner pillow fabric, Clarence House. Green pillow silk, Donghia. Hokanson carpet. McGuire low table.

The designers continued the “simple, slightly Asian aesthetic” with translucent screens that separate the kitchen from the dining area. The collage is by Dennis Parante. Holly Hunt chairs, with Edelman leather. Poggenpohl cabinets.

Wood-paneled doors connect the den and the master bedroom. Edelman leather on lounge chair and ottoman. Kano school screen in den, Naga Antiques. Henry Calvin sofa fabric. Glant floral on pillows.

Diverse art offsets the consistent theme of the rooms. A work by Jessica Martin hangs above the bed. Atop the dresser are 12th-century Cambodian bronze mirrors, a Manuel Neri maquette and a photograph by Jess Johnston. Larsen fabric on bed frame.

Classical Epihifany

A couple bought the deconsecrated church and an adjacent apartment in La Convertoie, a fortress in Italy’s Chianti region that dates to the 11th century, and asked Siena architect Marco Vidotto and Vero Beach, Florida, designer Susan Schuyler Smith to fuse them into a single residence.

The nave—now the living room—was restored to reflect its original design. The 16th-century oil depicts Christ’s presentation at the temple.

Restoration of the church was done under the direction of the institution charged with preserving Italy’s cultural heritage. Smith’s goal was to “create a warm and cozy space with the use of lighting, furnishings and color,” while honoring the structure’s rich history. Vidotto brought the fresco above the altar’s replastered arch back to life.

Converted to a study, the sacristy had been added in the 1800s; Smith chose a wainscot chair and trestle table from that period. Kravet sofa fabric.

The dining room, with its original beams, previously served as a loggia connecting the apartment to the church. Lounge chair fabric, Kravet.

Smith installed the center island and cabinetry in the kitchen. The mid-19th-century fireplace “was kept as the focal point,” says the designer.

In the terrace garden, Chianti-based landscape architect Nancy Leszczynski planted Italian sage, rosemary, a pomegranate tree and assorted other flora.

Glass Houses

Talk about a room with a view!!!!!!!!!!

A home with an open atrium is such a focal statement, talk about serenity!!!


Don and Jeanine Cooksey worked with architectural designer Wallace Cunningham to conceive a house for their La Jolla, California, land—a lot that was thought to be unbuildable. The structure, which has four bedrooms and six baths and is done in white concrete, stainless steel and glass, straddles a dramatic coastal canyon. Above: The master suite’s lounge overlooks the courtyard near the center of the building. Cunningham situated it in an enclosed bridge, giving the outdoor room an open sightline to the horizon. Embedded in the courtyard-terrace floor is a line of glazed blocks that light an underground parking area.
I've always been a frustrated architect at heart and designed two homes which consisted of mostly glass but nothing like this architectural dream. I hope you enjoyed the glass house tour. This was found on the architectural digest website. Nothing less than breathtaking with a view from every room. Adopted from the Frank Lloyd Wright style of design, where every room must have a focal point and an extraordinary view, I do believe they achieved that goal in these spectacular designs.

Talk about architecture....view this slide show from Egypt!!!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30210655/displaymode/1247/