It's been a whirlwind. There's been a little blood, a good amount of sweat, more than a few tears and lots and lots of laughs, but we are proud to present you with...
The Reader's Retreat!
I will talk you through this as if you were coming on the Showcase tour. (And if you're in the Pasadena area, I highly recommend you take the tour! It is open through May 19th.)
We added the built-ins to make the best use of the space under the eaves, which cut quite low and tend to be impractical space to access. By adding the built ins, we not only gave the homeowners ample storage (honestly, check out how much storage that is!), but the light paint also brightens the room. The built ins also eliminate the need for a bulky dresser or armoire, so even though they remove some of the floor's square footage, the room appears much larger and is more efficient. Yes, those are drawers under the window seat, too! And that beautiful painting, painted by Southern California native Janet Bothne, hides a TV on a swing arm, easily pulled out to be viewed from the bed, then tucked away when you don't want to see it anymore. (It is the Reader's Retreat; we don't want anyone to know you've been cheating!) The arch in the sculpture niche reflects the arch on both the headboard and the valance over the window. And speaking of sculpture, this bronze by Monica Wyatt (also a Southern Californian) is called "Learning to Fly". It's pretty perfect for our mother-daughter design team!
Because the room is east facing, it receives a lot of light in the early morning. But as the day goes on, the room can get quite dark. Because of this, we wanted to play up the light in the room as much as possible. Most of the fabrics and finishes in the room were selected for their reflective quality. The panels flanking the bed are actually an abalone shell wallpaper we backed with gator board and framed as art! They are extremely light-weight, add texture to the room and reflect the light differently during different times of the day. The grass cloth wallpaper is backed on a silver paper, so it also adds shimmer to the room. The vinyl window seat cushion is practical as well as reflective. One of the biggest hits in the room is the organic vine stencil on the ceiling. Artist Michael Sullivan added a bit of silver metallic paint to our cabinet color to create the iridescent champagne finish on the ceiling. It looks different depending on the time of day and on the light source. It was gorgeous this week with the cloudy skies outside.
The custom bed was created using the ikat (apparently pronounced ee-kot) fabric we showed you in our inspiration board. We pulled the citron, plum and silver tones from it to use throughout the room. In the corner, you can see the art deco chaise that was also one of the original inspirations for the room. Actually this is the first thing you see as you enter the room. (I'll post a closer picture of it in another post.) We designed a C table specifically for the chaise. It will swivel so that the reader (or napper, as the case may be) can easily get into and out of the chaise. Above the chaise are two more paintings (a diptych), which, unlike its corresponding mate on the other side of the window, does not open to reveal a hidden TV or the cocktail bar we wish, at this point, we'd thought to include. They are just a beautiful "Lavender Haze" also painted by Janet Bothne. The Feiss chandelier, though new, seems to fit with the era of the chaise.
We will also add a closer picture of the beautiful antique jacobian tortoise shell dressing table. It took some fancy footwork to get it in, but it fits like a glove in the space! The cross-leg chair also shares the ikat fabric. Looking to the right of the dressing table is the closet (filled with plum, citron and silver clothes belonging to members of our team!) and to the left is the bathroom...
We wanted to create the most efficient use of space in this small bathroom. We removed a tub, linen closet and a 24" deep vanity that visually consumed the small room. We replaced the tub and linen closet with a wall-to-wall walk-in shower so that you see both back corners of the bathroom when you walk in. The lack of a shower door also eliminates visual barriers. (And, yes, it does work. We did demonstrate to the homeowners that water would not splash all over the bathroom!) Michael Sullivan worked his magic on our custom designed, now-only-18"-deep vanity as well, creating a multiple-layer striae finish. The Kohler "Spun Glass" undermount sink adds more sparkle and surprise. The mirrored panels reflect the light and add a sense of space and all elements of the vanity (even the panels above the vanity mirror and in front of the sink) open up for storage. The Walker Zanger tiles are a beautiful warm grey that add light and interest to this small space without overpowering it.
Please come visit us at the Pasadena Showcase House now through May 19th. We'd love to have you see the room in person. You, too, will wish to be curled up on the chaise, relaxing in the Reader's Retreat!
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