Houzz Tours
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Houzz Tour: A Colourful Family Home in Arizona
A clever revamp took this home from a mishmash of architectural styles to an harmonious blend of colour and pattern
When this home was built a decade ago for a renowned hockey player, its style lay in what Holly Ogden deems a grey area. In other words, its architecture was a mixed bag. When it was purchased by the current owners as a holiday retreat, they hired Ogden and Patty Burdick of Wiseman & Gale Interiors to move the needle on the aesthetic metre solidly to Mediterranean.
Before the renovation, this room just off the kitchen served as a breakfast room. Now it’s called the morning room, and is as much about relaxing with the newspaper or laptop as eating a bowl of cereal.
‘We moved a table into the living room, and it seemed redundant to have another table here. We made it a really lovely spot to sit and relax with the newspaper or a cup of coffee,’ says Ogden. ‘I believe it’s become the favourite room in the house.’
The colour palette in this room runs throughout the house: white, blue, red and orange. ‘The whites have a grey base, and the blues skew to indigo,’ says Ogden. ‘The colours are complex, because with reds and blues, it’s easy to go sports team.’
Wall fabric, Rose Cumming. White armchairs, bespoke. Striped armchairs, Charles Miller Furniture. Cocktail table, Rose Tarlow. Console; floor lamps, all Paul Ferrante.
‘We moved a table into the living room, and it seemed redundant to have another table here. We made it a really lovely spot to sit and relax with the newspaper or a cup of coffee,’ says Ogden. ‘I believe it’s become the favourite room in the house.’
The colour palette in this room runs throughout the house: white, blue, red and orange. ‘The whites have a grey base, and the blues skew to indigo,’ says Ogden. ‘The colours are complex, because with reds and blues, it’s easy to go sports team.’
Wall fabric, Rose Cumming. White armchairs, bespoke. Striped armchairs, Charles Miller Furniture. Cocktail table, Rose Tarlow. Console; floor lamps, all Paul Ferrante.
The client came to the initial design meetings with photos of a Mediterranean-style tile. The designers took the concept and worked with a tile company that would allow them to modify the scale and finish of the pattern. ‘We made sure the surface looked a little worn, as we wanted the tiles to look old and this interior to feel as if it had been assembled over time,’ Ogden says.
Tiles, bespoke pattern by Wiseman & Gale, made by Craftsman Court Ceramics.
Tiles, bespoke pattern by Wiseman & Gale, made by Craftsman Court Ceramics.
The blue and orange on the tiles are amplified by the deep blue kitchen island and orange and coral bar stools. Of the florals in the tiles and the stool upholstery, Ogden says, ‘It’s fun to play prints off each other. I think, sometimes, if you think about things too much, the design becomes rigid. As I said, we wanted to make it feel as if the house had evolved over time, even though we did it all at once. Mixing prints makes it seem as if that’s how it came together.’
Bar stools with Queen’s Creek fabric in Marigold by Robert Allen, Lockhart Collection. Light fixture, Rose Tarlow. Cooker hood; shelves, all bespoke.
Bar stools with Queen’s Creek fabric in Marigold by Robert Allen, Lockhart Collection. Light fixture, Rose Tarlow. Cooker hood; shelves, all bespoke.
Another trick to making the interior seem more ageless than just-installed involved layering details such as the curvaceous corbels on the island worktop, the beefy cooker hood over the hob and the lantern-like light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. ‘That last 10% of the design process, the one where the small details are worked out, that is the crucial part,’ says Ogden. ‘That’s where the most interesting things happen.’
Many doors and windows were replaced with metal, factory-like panes (such as the bank of windows behind the white sofa), while other wooden windows remain in place with frames painted black (such as those that bookend the fireplace).
Paint also transformed the chandeliers hanging in this room. Before the renovation, they were done in shades of taupe, brown and yellow. The designers revamped them with the vibrant colours found in the room.
White sofa, Dennis & Leen. Patterned sofa; ottoman; coffee table, all bespoke. Lounge chairs, Ironies. Artwork by September Vhay, Altamira Fine Art.
See how you can give your living space a Moroccan mood
Paint also transformed the chandeliers hanging in this room. Before the renovation, they were done in shades of taupe, brown and yellow. The designers revamped them with the vibrant colours found in the room.
White sofa, Dennis & Leen. Patterned sofa; ottoman; coffee table, all bespoke. Lounge chairs, Ironies. Artwork by September Vhay, Altamira Fine Art.
See how you can give your living space a Moroccan mood
A view from the kitchen shows how the formerly nondescript lighting fixtures give the room a vibrant atmosphere.
The room contains a dining area. One of the designers’ favourite moves is to put a small bench-style seat at the end of a table. ‘It’s more informal, and it allows you to fit more people around the table,’ says Ogden.
Table, bespoke. Chairs, Ironies.
Table, bespoke. Chairs, Ironies.
An antique map chest in the dining room fits the family in more than one way. ‘One of the owners had a grandfather that was into sailing and maps, so it was fun to find a piece like this for them,’ says Ogden.
Lamps, Rose Tarlow.
Lamps, Rose Tarlow.
Another kind of antique chest has a home at the foot of the bed in the master bedroom. The designers note that this room is a sanctuary, and like any good relaxing space, it has armchairs. The decision to cover them in two different upholsteries was made to, as Ogden says, ‘mix it up a bit’.
Bobbin bed, Aesthetic. Armchairs, bespoke.
Bobbin bed, Aesthetic. Armchairs, bespoke.
Throughout the house there are handcrafted, sometimes quirky, accessories – such as this little side table by the armchair in the master bedroom. One of its legs appears to be a man wearing a tall hat and carrying a hatchet. ‘Sprinkling these kinds of things around the house adds a layer of depth,’ says Ogden.
The pre-revamp master bathroom had a confusing layout, but was a healthy size. The reconfigured room allows the residents to walk in from the bedroom and be greeted by a show-stopping, focal-point pewter bath backed by an elegant tiled wall.
Bath by Camelot, Devon & Devon. Chandelier, Niermann Weeks. Wall tiles, Craftsman Court Ceramics.
Browse these luxurious freestanding baths
Bath by Camelot, Devon & Devon. Chandelier, Niermann Weeks. Wall tiles, Craftsman Court Ceramics.
Browse these luxurious freestanding baths
The couple’s son’s room doubles as a guest room (he is in college and not always in residence). A collection of black and white photography is a permanent resident in this room, and the designers decided that ethnic prints complemented the collection perfectly.
‘We put two double beds in this room,’ says Ogden. ‘Anytime you have a guest room that will accommodate that, it makes arrangements more flexible.’
Beds, bespoke. Wall lamps, Urban Electric.
‘We put two double beds in this room,’ says Ogden. ‘Anytime you have a guest room that will accommodate that, it makes arrangements more flexible.’
Beds, bespoke. Wall lamps, Urban Electric.
The bedroom features a bespoke concrete basin and three-dimensional tiles. ‘They have a raised diamond pattern on them,’ says the designer. ‘I think they add more dimension to the room.’
The bathroom off the daughter’s room also features extraordinary tiles, but these rely on pattern rather than shape for a wow moment.
Wall tiles, Craftsman Court Ceramics.
Wall tiles, Craftsman Court Ceramics.
You enter that bathroom from the bedroom through blue barn-style doors. ‘The daughter has a vibrant personality, and this room fits her,’ says Ogden. The space is furnished with a bed whose headboard and footboard are blooming with flowers.
In fact, inside and out, the home is alive with colourful accents. ‘Before, the house was very neutral, very beige,’ says Ogden. ‘Now it’s more vivid and playful, the perfect spot to get away.’
TELL US…
Do you love Mediterranean style? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
TELL US…
Do you love Mediterranean style? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here A couple with a university-aged son and daughter
Location Phoenix, Arizona
Size: 5,600 sq ft / 520 sq m; 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
Designers Holly Ogden and Patty Burdick of Wiseman & Gale Interiors
‘Before the revamp, the house was a little vanilla,’ says Ogden. ‘And stylistically, it was going in all different directions.’
To get all the rooms heading the same way, the designers gutted many of them and started from scratch. ‘We wanted it to seem like a Northern California Mediterranean home,’ Ogden says. ‘Because we are working with the amazing light in Arizona, we embraced bright colours. The intensity of the light here allows this. If you tried the same thing in a foggy, grey environment, the colours would be too intense.’