Huston-based architectural firm Stern and Bucek designed this home for a multi-generational family – the sprawling interior meets the social requirements and privacy needs of each resident, and contains a number of mixed-use spaces to make the most of its distinctive layout.
The kitchen’s distinctive placement emphasizes its role as a social hub of its very own, inviting site visitors to mingle close to the countertop island. The feeling of openness and freedom at home thanks to its strong interaction around the courtyard. Here you can see one of the most distinctive features of the interior: a huge amount of storage in the aquarium behind the sofa.Interaction between fire and water features play an important role in the layout. One factor to mention about the dining room not yet described is the see of the pool past the stairway. This prime spot assists unify the two principal social locations of the downstairs volume.
How to Transform Your Home Using the Secrets of Good Lighting
Your lighting is as important as the structure of your house. If it’s not good, the interior just won’t work however much money you spend on your interior design. The golden rule of good lighting design is to use the right type of light fitting in the right position.
The differences between natural and artificial light
The clarity of natural daylight at its best is hard to replicate, although this does depend on where you live. For example, the quality and intensity of light at the North Pole (on a good day) and in the Southern Ocean is quite stunning. In more temperate climates, such as the UK, the weather affects how much true brilliant natural light we perceive. Thus we often view natural light as dull, grey and flat.
Artificial light comes in all hues and intensities. The fast progression of technological development in lighting at present makes it easier to try to replicate natural light. However artificial light has different properties and has a different role to play in our built environment.
The more idea a lighting designer has about finishes, furniture layout, joinery details, and an understanding of how the house will flow, are essentials to getting the lighting as good as it can be. A well lit room is used. A badly lit room is abandoned very early on!
How important is it to get the correct balance between task lighting and mood lighting?
Essential! Task lighting is specific and focussed and usually from one type of fitting. Mood lighting is potentially a soft, diffuse balance of several difference sources of light within the same space.
How important is the level of control that we have over the lighting in our homes?
Being able to control lighting is essential to any domestic scheme. Dimming a lighting circuit adds instant flexibility and mood lighting to the simplest of schemes.
Back indoors, it’s impossible to ignore the sculptural quality of the central staircase. It’s a focal point of the main floor and embodies the attention to detail that such an eye-catching feature deserves.
Wood cladding helps the space feel more natural and lively despite its heavy brick and concrete emphasis.
