This summer I toured some of the turn-of-the-last-century mansions in Newport. Maybe you’ve heard of The Breakers? Then there was Rosecliff, Marble House and many others. They were built by people like the Vanderbilts – America’s first engines of the Industrial Age, to escape the summer heat of their east coast city homes and to showcase their wealth.

Say what you will about how their wealth was accumulated – from the labor of thousands of others, or by their own intelligence and hard work – or a combination of both. (Or, as I was reminded by tour guides – by the fact that there were no income taxes at that time.) But the chance to see the rare levels of craftsmanship exhibited in these homes and to learn about the people and social forces that shaped our culture today is unmatched.

Believe me, as an interior designer I’ve had a chance to see and work with many beautiful homes, but The Breakers still caused my chin to drop in awe. OK … in ancient European palaces, yes. But here in America? Whoa!

Marble House

I remember walking on a winter morning while it was still dark. After about 15 minutes I heard a bird sing and realized that that was the first one I’d heard. It felt like I’d been given the gift of hearing the first bird in the whole world. Pretty soon I heard another chirp, and another. Then a different bird followed.

Soon I noticed a hint of light. Then, gradually, with more light I started seeing colors. Next, a window in a house lit up. Then I heard a dog’s bark down the street. And then (inevitably, in my neighborhood) the first plane passing overhead. Eventually every thing increased with it’s own unique rhythm until the day fully blossomed. I have never forgotten that experience.

Later it struck me that my design process happens in a very similar manner. First, darkness. Then an idea comes. Then an element of the idea repeats itself – first over here – then again over there. As I work on it longer, the idea reveals itself in further detail – a line here, and then a shape over there. These ideas are influenced by the existing environment. They build on what is useful, and overcome things that cause challenges. Elements repeat themselves until the sum of the parts is revealed as a whole.

I know that you have had moments when you realize that changing your home will change your life for the better. Life at home will be easier and more enjoyable, which in turn will give you more energy to pursue all of the good things in life that fulfill you. That’s a Daybreak moment.

Try setting your alarm clock earlier once, and leave the snooze button off. Get dressed and go outside. I dare you not to have a revelation!

The couple has one busy teenager living at home, with a second one occasionally visiting from college. They like to have casual evening meals in the kitchen but were short on space. This table was designed to snug up against the cabinets to easily fit 2 or 3 during the day. When the fourth is home from school, the table easily slides away from the cabinets and a fourth chair is pulled over. See above, on right.

This family has a very sleek contemporary home, and they are serious collectors of paintings, B&W photography and primitive artifacts. We designed the vitrine with a nod to Piet Mondrian. The vitrine was designed such that the table appears to be part of it, due to repeated heights and materials. Its stainless steel back shows the earthy character of the artifacts to their best advantage. Repeating the use of the steel on the custom table and using black chairs to echo the black and white photos unifies the ensemble.

This project was published in Distinctive Kitchen Solutions, Volume 41, pp. 28-29. Sunray Custom Cabinets built the cabinets. See www.sunraycustomcabinets.com

Witold Rybczynski explores how the modern house evolved in his delightful book ‘Home: A Short History of an Idea’. He noodles the squat/sit question from several points of view and still comes up with a question mark.

Were chairs developed in response to cold floors? The warm-weather Mesopotamians, Egyptians and Greeks were the first to use them. Do dollars equal possessions? Ethiopia and Bangladesh use few furnishings but Ottoman Turkey, Moghul India and imperial Persia all could have afforded to use chairs but chose not to. Does biology explain it? Cultures that choose to squat include both the relatively taller people of Africa and the generally shorter people of Asia.

What is clear is that using chairs is a choice, not a necessity, and that chairs can be designed to represent all sorts of things, just like any other object. Comfort, importance, social status, fashion, to name a few.

Check it out! www.hclib.org or at www.ramsey.lib.mn.us

We needed a neutral tone to be a major player in the rug’s colors to help the existing neutral furniture look like part of a planned scheme. We also wanted to acknowledge the maroon wing chair (the only colored piece in the room) and the blue/green in an adjacent dining room rug.

Original sample vs. custom

Exploratory sketches

Rug in adjacent dining room

Original sink drawing

Final sink drawing

A custom, hammered copper sink, map-like Forrest Web marble, cherry cabinets and oil-rubbed bronze fixtures complete the picture.