Practical Modern!

The house, designed in 1969 by owner architect, was a modern lakeside architectural gem, built on a shoestring budget. The new owners loved the clean lines of the house and embraced the beauty of their surroundings. An architectural duality was defined to bridge the gap between practical modern geometry and beautiful organic design.

Visual geometries were expressed through the play of positive & negative shapes. The “sliver” window in the breakfast room counter balances the chunky fireplace mantel wrapped with blackened steel. This geometric tension is harmoniously balanced with ease and beauty. Each cabinet detail was masterly planned, creating architectural bands or partitions. The kitchen bands, articulated with “tree bark” walnut base cabinets contrasted beautifully with the “tree leaf” green Formica upper cabinets.

Most importantly, the practical, maintenance free quality was the driving force. The quartz countertop, “water-glass” backsplash, custom etched glass panels, and light sculpture reflect the lake setting. The intention of no window treatments, supports the tree-lined views, allowing the owners to become one with nature.

A unified design of artistic furnishings replaced a once mismatched collection of the owners’ past lives. The open gallery feeling of the living room is romanced with organic bark-like fabrics, beautiful paintings, hand-screened prints and balanced by spare, clean furniture lines. We never lost site of the architectural duality of closing the gap between practical modern geometry and beautiful organic design. For that is what the owners really “fell in love with.”