big white moon
sustainable green design and environmentally conscious home
los angeles, ca | brentwood, ca | beverly hills, ca
case study
What do you do with a house full of dark oak, taupe silk-upholstered walls and marble that the client doesn’t want to part with? AND create a completely different environment with a light color palate? The answer? Consult with the Pope of course!
This young, very discriminating couple purchased a condo formerly owned by a Lebanese diplomat. They travel the world frequently and have a penchant for old world European influence. In order to convey their taste, inspiration from very unlikely sources played a big part.
All the kitchen cabinets, including the subzero refrigerator’s facing, were dark oak. An oversized tiffany lighting fixture dominated the room. The client decided to keep the custom counter tiles, limiting the color palate. We refaced all the cabinets with a lacquer finish. After much debate about the color, it ended up being right in front of us. The inspiration: my pants! The original iron fixture was used to house sand-blasted glass with very simple designs.
The living room posed a significant challenge. The clients wanted to replace the existing carpet with a light hardwood floor and one that did not show a lot of grain and color variation. Maple would work perfectly, but too casual for the space. The crown moulding, fireplace cabinets and mantel were all in dark oak. The upholstered silk walls and custom white base boards had to stay.
All existing oak was refinished with a glazing process to create an old-world feel. A new wall unit with matching crown moulding was designed. The fireplace cabinets were also refinished. The fireplace mantel itself received a thicker crown with complimenting marble. Custom furniture was designed to fit in the wall unit. A custom designed red ultra-suede sleeper fits in the wall unit. The colors were inspired by the red drape dropped on the yellow tinted Vatican walls, when Pope Benedict XVI was installed in Rome!
This was a traditional design project. How could this project have been green?
The last two years have exploded with amazing green, non-toxic, sustainable products that are available to the public, affordable and accessible... sustainable green design brentwood, ca.
services:
- full service interior design
- green consultation
- interior design consultation
- color coordination
- design to sell
media
- Pasadena Magazine – Green Issue April 2008
- Guest Speaker, Interior Architecture Class, Woodbury University, 2008
- Critique Panelist – 1st Year Interior Architecture Class, Woodbury University, 2008
- HGTV – Designer’s Challenge – Brown Residence – 2003
- HGTV – Designer’s Challenge– UCLA Tri-Delta House – 2004
- Essence Magazine – 1996
