Displaying posts labeled "Minimalist"

This home speaks to me on sooooo many levels. Having a history and rustic vibe yet simple, modern architecture on the inside. That dichotomy as well as white vs black makes this home have so much energy and evokes emotion. I am completely smitten. Designed by Hallworth.

Nestled on ten acres in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, is the quintessential Adobe of Montecito, named by an early owner, Ennisbrook, an Irish word meaning land by a river. Dating back in parts to the mid-1800s, it is an early architectural darling of the town it inhabits. The Adobe was left gutted with dust floors, essentially derelict as a result of an abandoned renovation when my clients acquired the property. The property had a heavy, mature, gravitas in juxtaposition to the young newlywed owners. The seriousness of the building required subtle strong detailing. However, the primary design inspiration came from Notre Dame du Ronschamp.  Corbusier’s masterpiece has an air of brutal honesty. The space is monastic and meditative, heavy-lidded and softly lit.   Architecturally we had similar conditions. Ennisbrook has limited fenestration and dark timber, hewn trussed ceiling original to the building.  Ronschamp’s walls are stark white, yet ethereal.  We similarly employed white reflective plaster and floors cast in integral white concrete, which speckled and crazed like a bird’s eggshell. Our light is restricted, but serene.  The kitchen blackened as a hearth itself is the heart of the home. Three years later the client moved into a home that was entirely realized, furnished with brutal simplicity, comfortable and negligently sexy, redolent of the past but infinitely modern, a perfect hillside retreat.

“Great architecture and interior design is always site-responsive and client-specific. It reflects and amplifies the character and attributes of its place, and of its owners. It is progressive and ambitious yet timeless.”

The old apartment was pokey and ignored the view. The new apartment is streamlined, light-filled and drinks in the sea that goes on forever. Add clever storage and hidden doors and it’s just about perfect contemporary living. Clovelly Apartment by Sydney-based James Garvan Architecture.

Dear Design Gods hear my prayer. I want a studio space at the end of my garden just like this one by London-based Turner Architects. A library, under a tree, at the end of the garden. Sigh. I have the tree in the garden. I just need these talented architects to complete my dream.

Photography by Adam Scott

Angus Reid Projects – pared back, refined, meticulous, tranquil, light, strong. Design as art.