Magazines: Florida Design (Volume 10 Number 4)

The Art of the Unexpected

TEXT Daphne Nikolopoulos
PHOTOGRAPHY Kim Sargent

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Contemporary art and design reveals the modern tendencies of this traditional Palm Beach estate

INTERIOR DESIGN: Louis Shuster with project manager Clayton Weidner

From the outside, this Mediterranean-Revival, Mizner-style estate brings to mind decades of Palm Beach tradition and history. However, its dramatic arched colonnades and windows, Romanesque columns and barrel-tile roof harbor a decidedly contemporary interior.

Wicker seating throughout the loggia complements contemporary chaises around the patio and pool area.

"It was a challenging project," designer Louis Shuster says. "This is a home with typical Palm Beach architecture. But the couple that brought it has a fabulous art collection and a real appreciation for clean, straightforward design. We had to work around the home's existing character to create something of a modern art gallery feeling."

Avid collectors of photo-realism and realism for 19 years, the owners recently added art glass to their significant collection, which includes pieces by photo-realists Richard Estes, Charles Bell and Ralph Goings and glass artists Dale Chihuly, Dante Maroni, Toots Zynsky and Jay Musler. "We like art that is straight-forward and easy to understand," the wife says. "With photo-realism, you can tell whether or not it's good. I like preciseness, so that appeals to me. The studio glass is fun, its happy. It makes you smile."

Showcasing their expansive collection proved to be another challenge - one Shuster met by selecting fabrics and furnishings that convey a certain minimalism, defined by texture and subtle pattern, rather than color. Columns and millwork are finished to blend with off-white walls, while neutral-toned carpet and marble floors create a visual flow from room to room. "Where there was brilliant color in the art, I played down the fabrics and colors, and vice-versa," he says.

A subtle mix of textures and patterns casts the living room in streamlined warmth. Floor lamps from Carriage House boast geometric walnut bases and brushed-steel shades pierced with square inserts. The club chairs are from Baker Furniture.

Shuster's understated approach comes to life in the living room, where contemporary furniture and accessories mesh with classic elements such as the Spanish-style marble fireplace.

"It's difficult to imagine a photo-realist painting of a diner above this fireplace, " says Shuster, referring to Goings' 1984 painting. "But it works."

Flanking the fireplace are consoles that Shuster designed specifically to display important art glass by Marioni and Chihuly. Ottomans, tucked underneath the consoles, pull out for additional seating in the main conversation grouping.

To further highlight each piece of art, Shuster replaced the home's original fluorescent lighting with incandescent lights and installed directional lighting to illuminate specific works. In some instances, such as in the gallery off the living room, Shuster employed innovative track lighting that winds in and around the space to capture the hues of each art glass vessel.

"The area under the stairway was meant to be a walkway around the living room," the wife says. "Louis not only created a gallery, but he actually made the walk-way part of the room."

Shuster lined the wall with natural maple slats, to which he attached cherry shelves of varying sizes. "We measured each piece of glass and figured out the placement," he says. "But the shelves are movable, so as the collection expands they can move pieces around."

The dining room contains some of the finest examples of the owner's paintings, which stand out among the furnishings. A Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired table is surrounded by chairs covered in a creamy, tone-on-tone fabric. Above, an oversized dome chandelier with luminescent globe complements the palette. Brad Coping's whimsical candlesticks brighten the dark wood table.

Another playful piece of art, Bell's painting of the inside of a pinball machine, takes center stage in the sitting room near the living area. Originally designed as a guestroom, the space was reconfigured to suit the owner's need for practicality.

"They're very keen on good, functional space planning," Shuster says. "This is a functional room. It serves as a sitting room and a library, since it is adjacent to their office. It can even be a guestroom, as we have built a Murphy bed into the wall. Everything here has a purpose. It's not design for design's sake."

While the owners enjoy reading and relaxing in the sitting room, the family room is the venue for group gatherings. Japanese artist Okamoto's montage determined the room's geometric theme. "The squares of the painting dictated a square motif," says Shuster, explaining the selection of the square-print fabric on the chair seats and the square grid on the chair backs.

Although the owners made the majority of the decisions regarding the placement of their art, Shuster insisted that Ben Schonzeit's 'Dionne' hangs in the master bedroom. "I felt the serenity of this piece belonged in the bedroom," he says. "And they agreed." To further suffuse the space with a calming air, Shuster enveloped the room in a taupe and cocoa palette accented with silver and warm woods. A tufted, upholstered headboard is in keeping with home's modern elegance.

"We had to work and a real appreciation for clean, straightforward design. We had to work around the home's existing character to create something of a modern art gallery feeling."

LOUIS SHUSTER

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