In Park City, an unabashedly function-forward kitchen melds industrial and modern design elements with inspiring results.
By Brad Mee, Photos by Scot Zimmerman
In Park City, an unabashedly function-forward kitchen melds industrial and modern design elements with inspiring results. Located in Deer Crest, the modern mountain home was designed by Kevin Horn of Horn and Partners Architecture and built by Craig Mogul of Germania Construction.
A sliding glass door and built-in walnut buffet separates and, at the same time, connects the kitchen to the adjacent dining room.
Drawing inspiration from the visual arts and architectural design, the etched patterned glass is from the Robert A.M. Stern Collection for Bentheim. Linen wallpaper, a 300-year-old rug, solid limestone fireplace surround and reproduction Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann chandelier adorn the adjacent dining room.
Marble, stainless steel, wire-brushed oak, glass and walnut shape the room’s edited palette of authentic materials.
Micro-ribbed glass cabinet doors, framed in anodized aluminum, provide semi-transparent views of the upper cabinet’s contents.
A 60-inch Blue Star range and stainless steel hood anchors the back wall and creates a bold focal point that helps to establish the kitchen’s industrial style.
Brave Refrigeration. Not only does Beal refrain from hiding the Sub-Zero refrigerator behind panel doors, but he actually draws attention to the exhibitionist-like appliance using glass doors. Upper cabinets crown the fridge to help create a single, large scaled focal point for the wall.
Decked-out island. Mies Brno counter stools pull up to the 3-inch thick slab of Calcutta marble topping the Parson-style island. Refrigerator drawers equip one end while a waterfall plane of wire-brushed oak dresses the other. Stainless steel forms the remainder of the feature. A prep sink adds functionality, and simple Holly Hunt pendant lights flow from above.
Integrated work station. A small built in workstation provides the homeowners with an out-of-the-way spot to drop their keys and perch over a laptop.
Doors upholstered in linen with nailhead trim adorn a built-in lower cabinet separating the kitchen and dining areas.
Beal chose to place the range rather than sink on the window wall. A soffit gives the ceiling definition, houses lighting and beautifully links to the clean-lined upper cabinets.
Refrigerator drawers inhabit one end of the stainless steel-clad island. A thick piece of Calcutta marble tops the piece.
The homeowner loves apron-front sinks, so Beal had one formed from a single sheet of commercial grade stainless steel. A KWC faucet adds to the feature’s professional style.
Beal equipped the kitchen island with a Franke prep sink and a KWC faucet.
Designer Cody Beal, Dunker Beal Interiors, SLC
Modern Machine
Light & Bright
In Lindon, designer Stephanie Holdaway reveals 10 ways to create a holiday decor that’s as fresh as it is festive.
By Brad Mee, Photos by Rebekah Westover
During the holidays, many rely on red, green and a kitchfest of mismatched ornaments to deck their halls, but the owners of this beautiful Lindon home aren’t among them. They turned to designers Stephanie Holdaway, Joey Johnson and Rachel Folkman of Gatehouse no. 1 to help fashion a fresh décor and festive look for their family home.
“The wife likes pretty things: lighter tones, rich textures and a little bling,” says Holdaway, who helped shape the interior’s ‘traditional-with-a-twist’ style using furnishings and accessories that are as comfortable as they are chic. These same qualities inspired the holiday décor, and Holdaway shares 10 tricks her design team used to create it.
Gilt accents and shots of silver already added luxe to the décor—a mirrored chest, brushed nickel fixtures, metallic threaded fabrics and pewter trays—so naturally the designers built upon these sparkling statements to infuse holiday cheer. Ornaments included shimmering mercury glass pieces. “We love mercury glass because it has elements of both gold and silver,” Holdaway explains.
Keep it Simple
Decorations needn’t be complicated or costly to make a big impact. By simply placing shimmering ornaments in a tray that was sitting on a table, the designers created one of the room’s most eye-catching holiday decorations. “Use everyday accessories,” Holdaway advises. “Look around at the pieces you already have and then add simple hints of holiday décor.”
Dial Down the Decorations
When a space is as chic and serene as this living room, why bully it with heavy decorations and predictable holiday hues? Look to the space for direction, Holdaway suggests. A mirrored chest, subdued color palette and shots of glam inspired the sophisticated, unfussy holiday decorations.
Get it Together
Create vignettes and collections to prevent holiday decorations from looking cluttered and chaotic. In the family room, a simple basket contains a mix of festive objects, transforming them into a single focal point. Trays, shallow bowls and even placemats serve as simple stages for clustered decorations.
Bedeck Chair Backs
“We like to add elements of surprise and include fresh ways to show holiday spirit,” says Holdaway, whose team often adds holiday decorations to the backs of chairs. The designers attach ribbons, festive phrases, sparkling ornaments and even small wreaths with gift tags performing as place cards and party favors.
Create the Color Palette
The interior’s calming colors inspired the holiday décor. “The balance of warm and cool tones makes the rooms very approachable,” Holdaway explains. The design team stayed within the interior’s existing color palette to deck out the spaces and referred to it often when selecting ornaments, ribbons and accents.
Build on Art
Use paintings to create a backdrop for grouped accessories, transforming them from a small collection into a focal point defined by color and enlarged scale. A mirror can perform similarly and can double the visual impact of objects placed in front of it.
Festoon the Foyer
“A decorated entry announces the holidays the minute you walk inside and sets the tone for the entire home,” Holdaway says. Her team strategically staged the stairway with ribbon and garland and, in the corner, trimmed a tree with layered ornaments, ribbon and sprays of sparkling twigs and foliage. The look is captivating but uncluttered. “We add larger clusters of ornaments and then place random glass pieces that allow the eye to rest.”
Make Snow Globes
Transform everyday apothecary jars and glass bowls into oversized snow globes by partially filling them with mica snow and topping it with small object and ornaments that may include figurines, shiny baubles and pine cones.
Frame It
Painted silver, an old ornate frame transforms a small holiday wreath into a large focal point above the family room mantel. “It’s a great trick that adds scale and style when decorating a big wall,” Holdaway explains.
Plan Your Themes
Before beginning, the designers defined the theme of each space and decorated accordingly. Mercury glass trees in the sophisticated modern living room, Santas in the casual, warm family room and folk art figurines in the whimsically decorated dining area. “It’s easy to become distracted when decorating, and a plan helps you maintain your focus,” Holdaway says.
Add Greenery
Staged in the living room year-round, this collection of everyday decorative pieces—vases, a brass urchin and a stone-based starburst—is instantly transformed into a holiday display when adorned with a simple garland. “Greenery is one of the simplest ways to add holiday cheer,” Holdaway says.
Go Faux
Use artificial greenery to extend the holiday season, whether on the mantel or banister. “Many clients begin Christmas decorating as early as November,” says Holdaway who favors faux pine and greens for fixed displays and then adds short-lived plants and flowers like amaryllis and paper whites for special events throughout the season.
Make picks-and-sprays
Create “picks and sprays”—bouquets of painted long-stemmed organic materials like cedar and fern—to fill bare spots in a Christmas tree and add layers of luxe. Use them to form a sparkling, sky-reaching topper for the tree, as well.
Repeat Yourself
Use the same ribbon throughout, repeating it on decorated banisters, mantels and chair backs.
Surefire Style
Design pros across Utah spark big style with ten fireplaces ranging from fresh traditional to cutting-edge modern.
By Brad Mee, Photos by Scot Zimmerman
We focus our furniture on it, hang art and flat screens above it and gather friends and family around it. The fireplace is the centerpiece of most every room it inhabits, and commands attention and ardor like no other feature in the home. No wonder we get so stoked about perfecting its design, style and scale. Fortunately, Utah pros provide plenty of inspiration and ideas for finessing the fireplace by combining head-turning forms, surprising surfaces and dynamic details on their creations. The following 10 get us fired up.
To enhance the contemporary style of this Park City home, architect Scott Jaffa created a striking offset horizontal firebox surrounded by light gray marble slabs. Darker gray limestone frames the dynamic focal point with bold lines and depth.
A cantilevered exhaust hood suspends above a linear fireplace that extends indoors from the patio of Steve and Kathy Stanton’s Park City home. A steel hearth caps the feature’s barnwood base.
In a stately Draper home, the classic beauty of a traditional fireplace surround extends upward from the mantel courtesy of a large mirror framed with a custom steel grid designed by Lane Myers Construction and fabricated by 3x Specialties.
In a Park City home, strong horizontal lines define a family room fireplace designed by LMK Interior Design. Thick lengths of clean-lined quartzite tame the pattern-rich rock façade while bronze metal firewood niches perform like modern sculptures at each end of the large-scale feature.
Architect Scott Jaffa’s bold design balances the strong verticality of the fireplace in a Park City home’s breakfast room. “I used horizontal steel C channels to make the room feel more horizontal and to add a sense of whimsy,” he says. The mountain-modern firebox rests on a more traditional stone slab hearth.
A wall of built-in cabinetry anchors the living room of a Montage Deer Valley residence and hosts a firebox framed with a traditional stone surround. Design by Beth Ann Shepherd, the feature boasts large inset mirrors that bookend the fireplace and flat screen niche with reflections of light and color.
In a Deer Valley home’s study, designer Cody Beal installed a beefy chamfered Indiana limestone surround that suits the large size of the sophisticated room and softens the transition from the deep firebox to the cerused oak paneling and bookcases. “The scale of any fireplace should relate to the volume and space plan of the room in which it resides,” Beal says.
To prevent this fireplace from upstaging the striking modern shelves beside it, Markay Johnson Construction colored the textured chimney and the room’s walls the same shade of white. A low hearth and horizontal firebox support the room’s organic, modern vibe.
Designer Michele Dunker gave a modest firebox a big presence by surrounding it in herringbone patterned tile and a stately mantel that she integrated into a wall dressed in classic woodwork and large crown moldings
For a St. George home, architect Arthur Dyson designed an 18-foot ledge stone fireplace that extends through a wall of glass from a spacious living room onto an outdoor patio. A fire ribbon accentuates the interior’s low, horizontal firebox.
Click here for must-have fireplace tools.
Mushroom Mania
Our craving for these flavorful fungi has made hunting, gathering and dining on mushrooms a modern-day pastime.
By Mary Brown Malouf, Photos by Adam Finkle
Neither plant nor animal, mushrooms have been part of mankind’s pantry for thousands of years. Some cultures use them as medicines. In the West, we value them for flavor. Whether you forage them from the woods or the grocery store, mushrooms add a wild earthy quality to all kinds of dishes, raw and cooked.
The Mushroom Man
Mushroom expert Dan Potts
Expert Dan Potts IDs eight edible ‘shrooms novice foragers should seek out.
- Puffballs: There are no known poisonous puffballs, says Potts, though some don’t taste great.
- Shaggy mane and other inky caps: The caps melt into inky black goo as they age, but they’re good in soups.
- Meadow mushrooms: These look like commercial button mushrooms.
- Coral mushrooms: They taste a little like cauliflower; use sparingly because of the strong flavor.
- Oyster mushrooms: Grow on stumps of Fremont Cottonwoods
- Boletus: Found mostly at higher elevations
- Chanterelle: Rarer, but one of the most delicious local finds
- Morels: The distinctive cone-shaped and pitted cap marks one of the best of all mushrooms.
Potts’ final word of mushroom wisdom: Cook them in butter.
Dining on Duxelles
A staple ingredient from classic French cuisine, the mixture called duxelles has a thousand uses in the kitchen: Stuff ravioli with duxelles, use it in pasta sauce, stuff it into beef Wellington or fold it into a pocket tart. The key is to reduce the liquid from the mushrooms so you have a concentrated mushroom flavor. The recipe was supposedly created by legendary 17th-century French chef La Varenne, so there has been plenty of time for the invention of countless variations.
Basic recipe:
Melt 2 to 3 Tbsp. butter, add 1 minced garlic clove and 2 minced shallots. Saute for a minute, until softened. Add 1-pound mushrooms, chopped small, and cook until mushrooms have softened and released their liquid. Then raise heat to medium-high and cook until the liquid evaporates. Season with salt and pepper. You can freeze it if you’re not going to use it right away.
Autumn Bruschetta
Usually, bruschetta calls to mind the flavors of summer-grill smoke, ripe tomatoes and fresh basil. But bruschetta is a great cold weather nosh or appetizer, too. The secret is mushrooms.
Ingredients
- 1 baguette, sliced diagonally
- 3 to 4 Tbsp. olive oil
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1 pound mixed mushrooms, sliced or chopped into similar-sized pieces
- 3 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
- 1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
Instructions
Toast the bread slices. Gently sauté the garlic in the olive oil until it’s soft, then add the mushrooms and turn up the heat. Cook 3 or 4 minutes, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Stir in the parsley and thyme and spoon the mushrooms over the toast. You can spread the toast with soft goat cheese or ricotta before spooning on the mushrooms.
You can add a couple of teaspoons of balsamic vinegar to the mushrooms while they cook. You can crumble blue cheese over the mushrooms. We could go on and on with variations, but you get the idea.
Mushrooms on the Menu
Chef Nathan Powers makes flour from dried porcini, then uses the flour mixed with ricotta to make gnocchi that are tossed with pork belly conflt and pea sprouts in pea and fennel broth. As an appetizer, he grills sourdough bread, then tops it with frisee, a fried egg, mushrooms and a red wine marrow sauce.
202 S. Main St., SLC, 801-363-5454
Chef Phelix Gardner’s Tosta de Setas layers mushrooms and pickled shallots with smoked ricotta on toast.
1291 S. 1100 East, SLC, 801-487-0699
Chef Dave Jones’ “Alpine Nachos” start with house made chips, which are piled with speck, forest mushrooms and fontina cheese. An entree features pine-smoked duck with porcini pappardelle.
6451 E. Millcreek Canyon Rd., SLC, 801-272-8255
The French, of course, are famous for fabulous mushroom dishes and The Paris serves many: Tartine aux Champignons de Bois (garlic, thyme and wild mushroom fricassee with black truffle on a croutons) and classic grilled steak with roasted fingerling potatoes and wild mushrooms to name two.
1500 S. 1500 East, SLC, 801-486-5585
Runways and Rooms: Best Western
From Navajo patterns to fringed suede and every shearling hide between, today’s runways and rooms strut a mountain style that’s equal parts rustic and refined.
By Jessica Adams
From Navajo patterns to fringed suede and every shearling hide between, today’s runways and rooms strut a mountain style that’s equal parts rustic and refined.
BURBERRY FALL/WINTER 2014 COLLECTION
Color Block pillow cover, $44, West Elm, SLC
Men’s David Yurman leather bracelets, $550 and $695, O.C. Tanner, SLC
Bowls, $255 and $675, O.C. Tanner, SLC
Old Teak Console, $2,595, Jayson Home, jaysonhome.com
Berman Rosetti Cubist sofa, to the trade through John Brooks Inc., bermanrosetti.co
Mario blue throw, $70, Crate & Barrel, Murray
Mounted antlers, $62, Alice Lane Home Collection, SLC
Trevor Leather Chair, $2,199, Crate & Barrel, Murray
Embroidered owl pillow, $83, Ward & Child—The Garden Store, SLC
Embroidered arrow pillow, $95, Ward & Child—The Garden Store, SLC
Antler magnifying glass, $124, Tabula Rasa, SLC
IKAT pillow, $313, Alice Lane Home Collection, SLC
Striped throw, $169, Alice Lane Home Collection, SLC
French Quarters
In Utah Valley, designer Don Brady infuses a new home with stunning antiques, timeless treatments and Old World flair.
By Jessica Adams, Photos by Scot Zimmerman
A chateau-style home may not seem au courant at a time when the fever for all things modern runs high, but a home of any style inspired by its owners’ passions and an appetite for authenticity has an appeal that prevails. Such is the case of a new Utah Valley residence created by a husband and wife with a love for travel and European design. They turned to designer Don Brady whose eye for and knowledge of antiques helped them mold their home into what could easily be mistaken for a centuries-old relic transplanted from the south of France.
The home’s exterior is the first indication of its Old World authenticity. “In France, all the homes have different roof textures because they’ve been added to over the centuries,” Brady explains. An assortment of antique terra cotta tiles featuring seven different textures cover different sections of the roof, giving the structure the appearance of being hundreds of years old.
Inside, a grand entrance presents an impressive gallery of the homeowner’s own artwork, as well as a stunning view directly into the back courtyard where a large antique fountain imported from France sets a calming mood for the lush, outdoor space.
The entry flows seamlessly into an open, symmetrically designed living area, which hosts two custom carved and antiqued 17-foot stone fireplaces. They flank each end of the room and are majestically scaled to hold their own against the room’s high 32-foot ceilings. An elegant sofa and chairs balance the grandeur of the fireplaces, while adding warmth, texture and subtle color against the limestone flooring and plastered walls.
The kitchen is an entertainer’s dream and was designed by the homeowners to satisfy their penchant for hosting large crowds. Two separate islands maximize counter space making food prep and serving a breeze, and one even includes a marble section designed specifically for chocolate making.
A custom limestone pizza oven adds an element of fun while the superbly equipped butlers pantry connects the kitchen and dining room. Five sets of French doors open wide from the formal dining room onto an outdoor courtyard designed to be large enough to host weddings and create the perfect indoor/outdoor space for year-round entertaining.
The kitchen’s adjoining dining area acts as a rustically styled buffer between the kitchen and the family room and features custom wood planked ceilings and timeless plastered walls. The family room was designed entirely around the 600-year-old French fireplace, which stands as one of the room’s most memorable focal points. The other is a striking modern light fixture.
“The homeowner and I wanted a fresher, more contemporary feel in this room, so I designed the chandelier and had it manufactured specifically for this space,” Brady says. The 8-foot round modern piece is a stark juxtaposition against a hand-painted 18th century armoire that also furnishes the family room.
An intricately carved set of 19th century German doors adorn the entrance into the master bedroom and also act as a visual portrayal of the homeowners’ skills. One door features an artist’s palette and brushes to reflect the wife’s artistic talents, and construction tools on the opposite door reflect the husband’s trade as a contractor.
“The craftsmanship and the original color of the wood doors is so beautiful, we didn’t even feel they needed to be stained,” Brady explains. In the end, the home reflects its owners’ passions as well as Brady’s enormous talent. With flourishes of aged surfaces, one-of-a-kind antiques and generous spaces, the home is indeed a piece of Old World France fervently fashioned in the heart of Utah County.
Modern Point of View
In Deer Valley, Dennis and Elke Levine conjure a modern vision of mountain style, captivating with clean lines, bold architecture and stunning views.
By Natalie Taylor, Photos by Scot Zimmerman
Call it love at first sight. When homeowners Dennis and Elke Levine initially visited the Deer Valley lot, they were instantly smitten and started envisioning their new home there. “We have a 270-degree view,” says Dennis of the house they built upon the land. “From our kitchen we can see Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons and Red Stone. And because the home borders permanent open space, our view corridor cannot be blocked.”
The generous views inspired the home’s bold architecture: a dramatic roofline, pop-up windows wrapped in steel and leaning walls merge to shape the dynamic dwelling. The 5,000-square-foot home, designed by architect Jack Thomas, boasts a series of rectangular forms joined at sharp geometric angles.
“The site and the vistas around the property imply two axis in the house—one rotated from the other to maximize views,” Thomas says. “The architecture unfolds the views by working with the sun angles, weather patterns and adjacent properties.”
Inside the home, geometric angles are clearly delineated with wide paths that facilitate movement and flow throughout. “These paths are the heart of the home,” Thomas says. A floating staircase framed with a sky-reaching window that extends the length of the staircase accentuates the home’s openness.
“The floating staircase is part of the paths, and the large three story window has a way of dramatizing the circulation and knitting the levels of the house together,” he says. Throughout, floor-to-ceiling window walls capture the vast mountain vistas and help shape the home’s modern design as do clean lines and keenly edited architectural elements including tall, beveled baseboards, stringers that support the staircase and cantilevered walls that fascinate.
“The leaning walls are a measure of form,” Thomas says. “They let the roof fold over the house, which breaks the elements in the façade to create interest.”
Throughout the interior, Elke directed design. “I chose a clean, simple, monochromatic color palette based on gray, white and black,” she says. She layered texture-rich reclaimed wood beams, 10-inch white oak plank flooring and pioneer sandstone to add visual intrigue while incorporating fabrics including felt, linen and wool to warm the modern spaces.
Her minimalist approach is the foundation for both aesthetics and function. “There’s no clutter, it’s just calm and livable,” she says. Custom-designed and imported furniture from Italy accentuate the clean architectural lines. “I am passionate about Italian design,” Elke says. “They are so far ahead in terms of fabrics, textures— everything.” She selected Poliform cabinets, for example, to furnish the kitchen, bathroom and media room, adding quality, rich finishes and modular design.
Dennis and Elke enlisted local artisans to create one-of- a-kind elements. “This area has great craftsman,” Elke says. “They get so excited about doing new things and are so proud of the finished product.” For example, RC Ornamental crafted the cold-rolled steel around the fireplaces as well as the metal work on the main fireplace that features a custom-designed steel door that hides the television when it is not in use. The Levines’ collaborative, creative vision for modern features brought harmony to the home, indoors and out.
“We love the Rocky Mountains, but we wanted to design our home with something eduring,” explains Elke of their decision to go modern. “Europeans do contemporary because it is always in style.” Elke’s attraction to modern European design comes naturally. Born and raised in Germany, she lived in London before moving, at age 19, to Venice Beach where she met Dennis who worked in the photography industry. They married, had children and lived on the East Coast before moving to Park City nearly a decade ago.
“Park City is a year-round place,” Elke says. “Skiing, hiking, biking—there are just a couple months of bad weather, but the rest of the time it’s just perfect.” Now retired, Dennis teaches skiing to children at Park City Mountain Resort and volunteers at the National Ability Center. Meanwhile, Elke create raku pottery in her home studio. There, like elsewhere in the house, every square inch is utilized and enjoyed.
“We wanted rooms we could use on a daily basis—no excess,” explains Dennis. “We use every room, every day.” It’s a modern approach to living that, appropriately enough, the couple passionately practices in a very modern home.
Take a Shot
Shot glasses put big flair and fabulous fare into tiny tumblers that will have your guests reaching for another taste of fall’s flavor-forward menus.
By Mary Brown Malouf, Photos by Adam Finkle
Parties have always been a big part of celebrating the season, and small bites continue to evolve as a portion-friendly way to serve guests with style, variety and ease. Enter shot glass entertaining. Cuisine Unlimited’s Emily Lavin along with Executive Chef Steve Ulibarri create and present fabulous holiday fare—from savory main-dish faves to sweet desserts and spirited sips— all in the confines of mini-serving shot glasses. For inspiration, they dished up this spectacular spread. Eat, drink, be merry…and by all means, help yourself to another.
Photo by Adam Finkle
From left to right:
1. Pepato Bread Pudding
Butternut squash, balsamic mousse and fried baby spinach
2. Beet Salad
Diced red and golden beets layered with goat cheese
3. Bangers & Mash
Lamb sausage with mashed potatoes, gravy and petite vegetables
4. Thanksgiving Dinner
Shaved honey roasted turkey, cranberry stuffing and sage apple chutney garnished with a fried sage leaf
5. Cranberry-Pomegranate Shortbread
Topped with vanilla whipped cream and dried cranberries
6. The Elvis
Banana cream pie layered with peanut butter sauce and topped with brown sugar bacon chips
7. Apple-Brandy Mousse with Fried Doughnut
Drizzled with cinnamon-caramel sauce
8. Deconstructed Pumpkin Pie
Layered with maple syrup and crowned with a tuile chip
9. Pumpkin Old Fashioned
With spicy stir stick and candied orange rinds
10. Cranberry Spritzer
Basil sugar rim and sugared fresh cranberries garnish
11. High West Whiskey
Served straight up
Shot Glass Strategies
Top tips from Cuisine Unlimited’s Emily Lavin
- Use shot glasses for chilled or room-temperature foods only. Hot foods cool quickly and can be difficult to handle.
- Use shot glasses when convenience is key. They are less cumbersome than plates to handle and they ease cleanup.
- Serve alongside cocktail napkins and demitasse forks and spoons.
- Use shot glasses when you are serving a broad tasting menu. They allow guests to sample many dishes without having to self-manage portions.
- Use a variety of shot glasses to stylize your presentation. Group like items together for a more modern presentation.
- Prepare shot glass fare ahead of time and store assembled in the refrigerator before serving.
- Layer ingredients to enhance visual interest and the tasting experience.
- Use creative garnishes to add complementary flavor, contrasting texture and height to shot glass fare.
- Freeze shot glasses ahead of time when serving iced desserts or palate cleansers like sorbets.
- Use pastry bags (with tip removed) to fill individual shot glasses with prepared ingredients. Small funnels perform well for beverages and soup courses.
- Choose chilled, stemmed glasses for foods that will quickly melt from the heat of hands holding the vessel.
- Limit each recipe to 2–3 ingredients crowned with a topping or garnish.
Naturally Modern
Designer Anne-Marie Barton transforms a cold, contemporary home in Holladay into a chic statement of warmth and comfort for owners Rick and Amy White.
By Brad Mee
For homeowners Rick and Amy White, the decision of whether to purchase a contemporary house in Holladay came down to one simple question: Can we make this home warm and comfortable? “Absolutely,” Anne-Marie Barton responded without hesitation. As the principle of AMB Design in Salt Lake City, she relished the challenge.
Barton deftly created a cozy sitting area from the expansive step-down living room by anchoring it with walnut floors and a large-scale modern sectional that fills the space with abundant seating while allowing light and views to move freely across the space. Layered art on the asymmetric mantel draws the eye without detracting from garden views framed by broad windows. Photo by Brian Twede.
When Barton first approached the property, she encountered a 16,775-square-foot home defined by horizontal lines, curved forms and glass block walls common to Streamlined Modeme architecture. Inside, she discovered few surprises. “It was the expected tour of glass, steel and shapes alluding to the future,” she recalls. Her clients warmed to the structure, but the interiors left them cold.
To remedy this, Barton conceived an organic take on modem design, for which she devised a keenly edited palette of soothing colors, natural materials, compelling treatments, and quality furnishings and fixtures. Her integration of these features into the expansive interior balanced its open space with striking focal points that simultaneously comfort and captivate.
If a single space can be said to exemplify the designer’s skill at balancing quiet space and eye-catching treatments, it is likely the entry. Once through the curved glass-and-steel front door, visitors step into the foyer where the serene, light-washed area is punctuated by key focal points-a stunning, tiered chandelier, a serene oil painting and a curved walnut and white bronze wall backing a modern sculpture.
Negative space focuses the eye on the best things, Barton explains. “Every room deserves a ‘moment’ but not everything in it needs to speak.” Memorable “moments” enrich the entire home, as do organic elements throughout.
In the dining room, Barton hung an Ironies chandelier above a table and leather chairs by Baker. A custom Tai Ping rug adds subtle texture to the space, as does Maya Romanoff organic wall covering. Buffet by Ironies.
“Relating modern design to living matter makes a home feel more comfortable,” says Barton, who rejected overtly shiny and slick elements for those engendering a natural look and feel. On the floors, for example, honed greenstone pairs with natural walnut anchoring the step-down living room, Amy’s office, the master suite and its round vestibule.
Barton gray-stained, wire brushed and oiled the walnut and arranged it in herringbone, chevron and square patterns that accentuate its distinctive beauty. “The rhythm of the wood speaks quietly, while grounding the rooms with a tactile platform and organic warmth,” Barton explains. The designer’s textile palette furthers the effect. Pure wools, silks, cottons, linens and shagreen leathers dress room after room. “Natural fabrics raise the level of quality and richness.”
Barton succumbed to sheen only where she desired contrast between similarly colored elements. For example, she wrapped the kitchen’s lacquered cabinets with white oak, adorned the office’s studded leather doors with polished marble pulls and surrounded the powder bath’s back wall of dimensional stone with sparkling glass tile. With each, the contrast reveals itself with shifts of light, contour and tonality.
“I rely on texture rather than color to do the heavy lifting,” Barton says. She painted the walls Benjamin Moore’s Sheep’s Wool to create a museum-like backdrop and introduced soft hues of aubergine, turquoise and warm gray using rugs, pillows and artwork that subtly tint the muted décor, while allowing the rooms to remain serene and calming. “Tonal isn’t monochromatic, it’s a soothing combination,” Barton explains.
Diagonal walnut flooring visually expands the master bedroom space. Porta Romana sconces illuminate a custom bed and nightstands by Bradshaw Design.Photo by Brian Twede.
Barton created a rug of mosaic tiles as a stage for the master bath’s freestanding tub and McEwen light fixture above. A spacious glass-enclosed shower and separate vanities backed with dimensional Ann Sacks tile foster the room’s spa-like allure.
In truth, much of the design’s success emanates from Barton’s reverence for simplicity, which she demonstrated through strong editing and restraint, as well as clean lines that flow throughout. “I count on less to make a bigger impact,” she says. This less-is-more approach by no means makes Barton a strident minimalist.
“I love layers—they put people at ease,” she says. The main living room best proves her point. There, Barton warmed the contemporary architecture teaming carefully chosen pieces: a stunning silk rug lies beneath a clean-lined sectional accented with plush pillows that complement the hushed colors of overlapping art displayed on the asymmetric mantel.
“The look is completely modern, approachable and livable,” she says. In the end, that’s exactly the result Barton intended for the home and one she masterfully delivered to clients now captivated by a sanctuary that’s as comfortable as it is contemporary.
Dive Right In
Cool water features make a big splash in landscapes across Utah.
By Brad Mee
To enrich his Holladay home’s lush Japanese-style landscape, Tuck Landscape’s Rob Radcliffe created a series of ponds and waterfalls that spill into a main pool filled with colorful koi, lily pads and water hyacinths
Falling from weirs integrated into a 3-foot-high masonry stone wall, water flows through grates into a nearby pool while also providing a safe and splashy play area for small children. Designed by Landform Design Group for a Springville residence, the feature wall is illuminated at night by flush, ground level lights.
In Farmington, Landform Design Group created a lawn-covered bridge that spans 18 feet and links grass areas on opposite sides of the large property’s natural stream.
In St. George, water flows from a glass-tiled wall, over a series of steps into a sparkling reflecting pool below. Behind the wall, a hot tub enjoys privacy and desert views. Landscape designers Kent Bylund and Josh Hellewell teamed with McQuay Architects and Assoc., Sunset Pools and Split Rock Inc. to create the multi-level water feature.
Topiary junipers surround a large sparkling pool surrounded by the tailored landscape of a 1938 Holladay estate
Measuring only 12-feet by 22-feet, this “spool” or combined spa and pool overlooks the valley from an Avenues residence. The spool boasts a negative edge design, hydrotheraphy jets and color changing LED lights. Eschenfelder Landscaping teamed with Omega Pools to create the feature and framed it with coping made from honed Park City gold sandstone from Brown’s Canyon.
Looking like a plane of water suspended over Ivan’s desert landscape, a three-sided infinity pool spills into a contemporary pond 12 feet below. The pool was designed slightly narrower at the end most distant from the main house to create the illusion that the pool is longer than it actually is. Landscape designer Kent Bylund worked with McQuay Architects and Assoc., Sunset Pools and Split Rock Inc. to create the spectacular water feature.
For the outdoor living area of a historic Pioneer-style home in Riverton, Northland Design Group created a lighted splash pad that, when not operating, doubles as dining patio furnished with easy-to-move table and chairs. Exposed aggregate concrete provides a non-slip surface for the family-friendly feature.
Purchased in France for an Orem home’s elegant landscape, this town square fountain is surrounded by French Limestone and features bronze spouts spilling water into a serene koi pond. Designer Don Brady and Aaron Inouye teamed to create this and other striking features integrated into the chateau’s property.
To create the look a lush natural landscape in Holladay, Big Rock Premium Landscaping and Design created waterfalls spilling into a 14-foot deep trout pond that, in turn, flows into two bubbling streams. Weeping beech, Japanese maples, evergreens, scotch moss and other layered vegetation hugs the tranquil water feature and enormous slabs of imported Brown’s Canyon sandstone.