Photos by Scot Zimmerman.
Anne-Marie Barton knows how to make an entrance. For proof, one only needs to step through the front doors of her recent modern interior design project, a remarkably remodeled Park City home.
Once a space completely open to the home’s great room, the new, spatially defined entry captivates with a dazzling art screen. Glimpses of the home’s updated interior and chic, new décor flow shine through the screen. “We wanted to introduce the unexpected from the get-go,” says Barton, principal of AMB Design.
The Home
Located in Park City’s Glenwild community, the home boasts an enviable location affording spectacular mountain views that loom large through broad walls of windows. Barton and her client knew they wanted to complement rather than compete with the vistas. They transformed the interior’s mountain style from predictable to sophisticated, warm and unmistakably modern. “The shell gave us great opportunities,” says Barton, who teamed with architect Michael Upwall as well as contractor Steve Dubell, who masterfully executed the transformation throughout.
The Client
Vertical sconce by Satori; rug by Tania Johnson.
From the start, the client brought homebuilding know-how, a craving for the extraordinary and a certain avant-garde attitude. Case in point: Rosie—a floral-headed wood sculpture—looks into the entry from an end-of-the-hall inset where a coat closet originally existed. The hall, once dark and dreary, is now window-lined and light-filled. Its openness accentuates the sculpture’s head-turning presence. “The homeowner allowed us to dream big and go out of bounds,” Barton says. “It was so liberating and fun for everyone involved.”
Making an Entrance
The transformed entry opens to a large, glass-walled great room that flows beneath a soaring curved ceiling and is comprised of the main living, dining and kitchen areas. Barton updated the existing stone fireplace with a dark steel facing and surround. The same steel detail trims a spectacular dropped wood ceiling devised by architect Michael Upwall. “The suspended ceiling helps to warm and ground the space,” says Barton, who furnished the sitting area below with a Holly Hunt sectional, Jean De Merry ottoman and a vintage Laverne cocktail table, all set on Warp & Weft rugs. “We layered the rugs to instill a little visual tension,” Barton says.
Kitchen & Dining
In the adjoining dining area, Barton suspended a light fixture comprised of hand-blown glass tubes above a custom walnut-and-brass table. Above the nearby kitchen island, reflective origami-shaped pendants showcase a decidedly dissimilar style. “The lights don’t compete but are both surprises,” she explains. Similarly, the remodeled kitchen, while “quiet and sublime,” is riddled with unexpected and intriguing features.
The island, for example, boasts a wood “block” that extends beyond the light-toned, honed stone at one end and a waterfall stone detail on the other. A pocket-doored breakfast bar, dressed with over-scaled nickel handles, opens to easily accessed appliances, and a stained-wood shelf notched into upper cabinets displays a small vignette of clustered dishes. While some features are eye-catching and others discreet, all are impressive design elements. Perhaps most notable is what is not visible at all. “We hid the hood in the cabinets above the range,” says Barton, who rejected an obvious hood to enable the island’s unique design to prevail.
Daring Details: The Rest of the Home
Barton didn’t save all her surprises for the public areas of the home. Far from it. Large-scale floral wallpaper animates a guest bedroom.Vibrant blue encaustic cement tile enlivens the laundry room. Flourishes of luxurious, sophisticated treatments elevate the style and comfort of the master suite. There, mountain views surround a freestanding tub and tear-like lights hanging above.
A floor-to-ceiling marble fireplace warms the serene bedroom, while oversized plum blossom patterns span the wall of an ultra-chic office area. Most memorably, the art screen showcased in the entry makes a second appearance, making one fall in love with the unique feature all over again.
It all adds up to an engaging, modern interior design that is refined and understated, but full of memorable moments. “It was a mountain home begging for a sophisticated transformation ,” Barton recalls. Thanks to her deft use of detail and passion for compelling design, that’s exactly what it received.
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Sources:
Interior Design: Anne-Marie Barton, AMB Design, SLC
Contractor: Steve Dubell , Steve Dubell Construction Group Inc., SLC
Architect: Michael Upwall Design, SLC
Cabinetry: Premier Woodwork & Design, Kaysville
Countertops: European Marble & Granite, SLC,
Flooring Refinishing: KT Hardwood, West Jordan
Furnishings: available through AMB Design, SLC
