Photos by Nicole Hill Gerulat
In Orem, a traditionally styled house becomes an unexpected homt to contemporary flair and exhilarating details.
Ideal Orem Home
When a couple decided to build their ideal family home in the city’s gated Berkshire enclave, they craved a sanctuary. They wanted a space that comfortably caters to an active clan of eight. To achieve that, the Orem home required personalized spaces, contemporary style and surprising treatments from room to room. In the end, that’s exactly what they got thanks to a team of pros that included Alice Lane Home Collection, Think Architecture and Magleby Construction.
“From the very start, this was a home designed to be celebrated and enjoyed,” says Jessica Bennett, design principal at Alice Lane Home Collection. From the outside, the 22,000-square-foot house resembles a traditional Hamptons estate. Inside, fearlessly contemporary spaces abound. The intrigue begins at the entry. A broad, white oak-and-glass door—dressed with bold linear hardware—is flanked by large panes of glass. The door’s design is unexpected, but it is nothing compared to the surprise waiting inside.
Making an Entrance
Stepping into the light-filled foyer, one is dazzled by glamorous, high-octane décor. A graphically patterned marble floor anchors all designs. “Our client wanted a black-and-white checkered floor because he loved the one his stylish, fake-eyelash-wearing aunt had in her entry,” Bennett explains. Her team put a twist on the traditional checked motif by designing an “irreverent” pattern cut from large-scale marble tiles. “Naturally, we had to inject the space with steroids and do it our way,” she says with a laugh. The show-stopping floor not only infuses the entry with bravado, but also establishes a “tuxedo moment.” Bennet said this moment was one the design team drew a sense of formality from, to incorporate sophisticated-yet-striking design for the rest the house.
The nearby powder room is a case in point: black and copper Cole & Sons wallpaper creates a dramatic backdrop for a shimmering tiered waterfall glass chandelier. The room also boasts framed black crystals and exquisite Kallista for Kohler fixtures. “The black space is the perfect answer coming off the black-and-white entry,” Bennett explains.
Style and Swagger
The design team filled other rooms with similar statements of style and swagger. In the dining room, Aerin Lauder Mill pendants hang from a silver-leafed vaulted ceiling. A Magleby-built zebrawood table sits beneath, surrounded by 14 Milo Baughman chairs. “It was important to the owner that we include these modern chairs,” Bennett says. “He grew up in a home filled with furniture by the designer, who was also a family friend.”
A high-contrast palette shot with shades of blue originates in the entry. The colors continue into the dining room and repeats in the large, light-toned living room. There, a circular turret houses a grand piano staged like a jet-black sculpture. The turret’s cylindrical shape informs the gentle curves and rounded forms found throughout the room. Among them are the ceiling trim detail and furnishings, including shimmering Julian Chichester kidney-shaped coffee tables and a barrel-backed chaise. “They take the edge off the design and soften the space,” Bennett says.
A more casual vibe infuses the family room and adjoining open-plan kitchen. Shades of warm gray enrich the kitchen’s two-toned cabinetry. Caesarstone and classic marble clad two distinctively different islands.
A waterfall design defines the food prep island while a walnut base anchors another created for serving and casual dining. “It would be so boring to let the islands be identical twins,” Bennett says, “so we tricked them up to give them separate identities.”
A dressed-up pantry boasts a patterned concrete floor by Ann Sacks. Across the kitchen, a sliding barn door opens to a large homework room that elevates the dynamic kitchen’s functionality, style and fave-status in the busy family home.
Personalized Spaces
When the parents crave a little solitude, a master suite located on its own level satisfies the need for privacy. It also caters to the husband’s love of purple. “Because this area is removed from the rest of the home, we could treat it a little differently,” says Bennett. He refers to the black walls and vivid violet chairs in the suite’s office as well as the tranquil lavender canopy bed and lounge chairs in the bedroom. “It’s a luxury to have a grown-up zone when you’re raising six kids.”
Thoughtful, one-of-a-kind design takes precedence throughout. The house is large, to be sure, but the designers worked masterfully to make each room unique. “Big homes can be boring, so it’s important to drill down and consider the function of each space while creating special moments,” Bennett says. “That way, everything doesn’t have the same look.” That’s an approach that shaped the extraordinary interior—one that thrills its owners everyday as they live large in the high-style Orem home. “They wanted it to be extraordinary, and we wanted that too,” Bennett adds. “Helping to create this home was an opportunity of a lifetime.”
Architect: Think Architecture
Interior Design: Alice Lane Home Interior Design
Contractor: Magleby Construction
Furnishings: Alice Lane Home Collection
