After a couple purchased their vacation home in Scottsdale, they were pleased with the views and the spacious floor plan, but the heavy interiors and almost gothic overtones needed a serious facelift.
To brighten the space, the California transplants called on designer Laura Kehoe, who implemented white walls and dark trim that define the classic Santa Barbara style that the wife was going for. Kehoe’s next task was more daunting: She had to catalogue hundreds of her clients’ antiques, furnishings and works of art to incorporate into the new interiors.
“A big part of the challenge–and the excitement–was piecing in their heirlooms,” says Kehoe, noting that her team measured the dimensions of every piece of furniture and art so they could be entered into computer layouts. “We moved things around three of four times before we were done.”
While the designer was busy with the interiors, the wife–a master gardener–set her sights outside. “I’ve had at least 17 gardens–and this is my favorite,” she says of her collaboration with landscape designer Chad Norris, who filled the grounds with potted plantings, boulders and more than two-dozen varieties of cactus.