To update their Park City getaway, a California family enlists a talented design team with cityhomeCOLLECTIVE remodel expertise under their belts to transform a swanky bachelor’s pad into a relaxed and restorative retreat.
It had all the makings of a swank bachelor pad: black granite, loads of chrome, a glass-railed staircase and, you guessed it, a floor-to-ceiling wine fridge dominating the kitchen. “It definitely had a certain je ne sais quoi, but it was dangerously reminiscent of Vegas a few decades ago,” says Helena M. Morozoff, interior designer with cityhomeCOLLECTIVE.
It was not at all what the new, California-based owners wanted, so they hired a cityhomeCOLLECTIVE remodel experts team to transform the slick Park City dwelling into the laid-back family retreat they envisioned. The design team, headed by Morozoff (lead designer) and including Susannah Holmberg (senior designer) and Brea Valenzuela (junior designer), collaborated closely with the homeowners to bring about big change. “They wanted a place where they could relax, reconnect and recharge,” says Morozoff, who shares how they created exactly that.
MATERIALS
“We were less concerned about the aesthetic and more about how our clients would feel in their home, so the materiality of things drove the design,” Morozoff explains. “We chose and combined materials that speak to each other and create the warm, tactile feeling we needed to create this sanctuary.” The team replaced all chrome with aged brass or stripped it and then powder-coated it in a warm brass-look finish.
They introduced a light, honed quartzite to top the new kitchen waterfall island, referencing the colors of the mountains outside. This new stone also offsets the more saturated tones of the kitchen’s existing wood cabinets and black granite that were to remain. Because the owners decided to also keep the original oak floors, the designers re-stained the orange-tinted surfaces with a more muted, lighter color. “We chose a blonder tone that has a more organic Scandinavian look without being too literal or trendy,” Morozoff says.
Stone also defines the spa-like master bathroom, where expansive honed Calacatta marble slabs sheathe the walls with natural elegance and soft, muted tones. The designers anchored the bathroom with a uniquely patterned floor dressed in Waterworks handmade tiles. “The tiles’ imperfection juxtaposed with the room’s slick marble surface creates a sense of informally and casualness that is warm and inviting ,” Morozoff explains.
PALETTE
“We developed a very neutral palette,” says Morozoff, who chose Farrow and Ball’s Wevet 273 to color the interior walls and ceilings. This is no anemic white. “It’s a little gray, a little beige and has a warm undertone,” she says. The calming color blankets the décor like a cashmere wrap, and to avoid a “schizophrenic disjointed feeling,” the designer flowed this hue throughout, “The bones needed to be cohesive,” she explains. The team left the rest of the design’s intrigue to the furnishings, rugs and accents. “We chose a lot of natural fibers, wools, cottons, linens, velvets and sheepskins all in varied shades of cream,” Morozoff explains. “The contrasting mix of textures and patterns in various tones of the same color creates a wonderful experience.”
FEATURES
“All you saw was an oversized , menacing black box, devoid of all visually pleasing aesthetic properties” says Morozoff, describing the original fireplace. The designers reduced the feature’s size and recovered it in metal. They removed a window behind the chimney, creating a solid wall as a backdrop for the reimagined chimney. Originally clad in perforated metal resembling a motorcycle’s exhaust vent, the renewed custom-made chimney boasts a simplified cylindrical form with an aged-brass finish. Across the room, Morozoff replaced the suspended staircase’s “hostile-looking” glass-paneled railing.
The designers opted for something more delicate yet structurally sound. “We didn’t want the new railing to stand out too much because there is so much of it,” she says. Today, thin metal wire stretches between a clean-lined base and banister of cold rolled steel. “We paid special attention to make sure people using the stairs were able to experience the design’s delicate beauty with every touch.”
FURNISHINGS
“We wanted to create an eclectic feel and leave space so that the décor could evolve over time,” Morozoff explains. In the light-filled great room where the family members spend most of their time together, carefully selected furnishings foster comfort, flexibility and hanging out in style. A wool rug defines the living area’s open sitting area furnished with an oversized Italian sofa, leather sling chair, easy-to-move tribal side tables and a mod swivel lounge chair that mix it up with two chiseled stone-topped cocktail tables that resemble the mountain rock outside.
“We believe every space should have something unexpected, a curiosity piece that is a conversation starter or is simply an element of surprise,” Morozoff says. So it is in the nearby dining area as well, where pendants formed of solid wood feature cracks inset with aged brass. They hang above a walnut-topped table supported by two custom concrete-and-metal bases. Mohair dresses the metal-framed host chairs while leather upholsters the side chairs as well as the kitchen’s Beetle counter chairs.
Stitch-embroidered and woven wallcoverings add texture to accent walls in bedrooms simply and stylishly furnished. Outdoors, streamlined furniture, custom privacy screens, layered rugs and cushions make the decks as luxe and livable as the spaces indoors. Set in handmade pottery, low maintenance plants deliver lively shots of green throughout. This is not your typical modern mountain home. “We wanted something more unexpected and eclectic yet timeless,” Morozoff explains. In the end, that’s precisely what the designers and their clients created in the heart of Park City.
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