Dark & Stormy Brownstone

Tim Lenz

• Designers

The client wanted something moody, sexy, Parisian, and modern all while being kid friendly, inviting, and cozy — anything but white. We played with a lot of contrasts and textures to create this vibe. The lush textures help make it feel more inviting while the contrast and metallic splashes add the drama and sexiness. We played a lot with ‘new’ modern pieces intertwined with ‘old’. Starting with the canvas (walls, ceilings, and floors) we added a lot of detailed or intricate moulding and medallions, really setting the stage. To turn up the drama we went with bold yet desaturated colors for each room with a play on color-on-color. To help make a focal point or two we added contrast in either the tone of color or played with textural contrasts. Metallic pops help break up the monotone spaces while adding a nice zing or pop. Shapes were used quite a bit as well to help keep each space cohesive and overall the entire home cohesive. For example, the living room sofa ties well with the ceiling light and the round convex polished chrome sconces tie in with the coffee table and accent chair. The hard edges of the ceiling light and sofa contrast nicely with all the round/circular accents.

We were brought into the project after work had already begun. The client didn’t like the direction the aesthetic was going so contacted us to reshape the vision. It was in the framing stage when we started conceptualizing. We worked through the concepts quickly but it took some time to get our drawings together (especially the drawings with the moulding details) and over to the contractor. It was a race to stay at pace with a project that was in full swing. There were several changes to the floor plan we made and we added a lot more detail that was not in place prior to us working on it.

Contrasting textures play a lot in this home to keep the monotone rooms from feeling too monotone. we sourced plush wool rugs, velvets, mohairs, satin wools, stained woods with grain, marbles (so many different marbles - eight to be precise), polished chrome, unlacquered brass, crystals, 3D printed plastics (dining chandeliers), and mouldings. These all play well together and some all within the same room.