From a designer’s standpoint, there is really only one way to ensure that clients get exactly what they want—get to know them. With regard to one couple in particular, designer Jennifer Knowles interviewed them multiple times, knowing them first as acquaintances, then as clients and eventually as friends. Knowles notes that it is critically important to understand an owner’s needs and wants, dreams and desires, likes and dislikes. After all, Knowles says, “An owner’s life centers around all the little details you put into his or her home.”
A particular color story wasn’t the couple’s only desire. The man of the house was also very particular when it came to the comfort of the chairs, finding that very few were actually a good fit for him and his chronic back pain. “I think I sat in every chair from Miami to Jacksonville,” jokes Knowles. Her persistence paid off when she sat her way through a Roche Bobois showroom. They customized both the dining chairs and the two side chairs in the great room, where they extended the back by 6 inches. “Their willingness to tailor means this owner can be comfortable in his own home,” Knowles says. The kitchen, too, took some detailed understanding. The woman of the house is a serious cook, but she wanted the kitchen to be a wide-open, straightforward galley opening into the great room. “We mapped out where every item goes, right down to the spices and utensils,” Knowles recalls.
Although this home is smaller than the owner’s previous house, the architect still wanted it to feel expansive. “We maximized the footprint without making it feel tight,” he says. This was tricky, however, because the couple wanted a large entertainment area, including space for their full-size Ping- Pong table, a deck and a swimming pool—as well as the public spaces and a pub—all on the ground level. “Each space is important, and they all want to feel voluminous,” Stofft says.
Building this wasn’t as easy as it would have been on a different lot, according to the builder. First, the lot has narrow sidelines. Second, the rear is directly on a seawall. Third, the contemporary interior detailing leaves little room for error. “And then there were the marble slabs that measured 5 feet tall and 11 feet long, and weighed 800 pounds,” Cudmore says with a laugh. The couple envisioned something unique for the master bathroom on the upper level. So Knowles decided to enfold the room in marble. Simple enough. But she wanted the stone book-matched, laid horizontally and with very few joints. In turn, Cudmore had enormous slabs machined—a typical marble slab is 8 feet long—and had them lifted by crane to a second-story window, where they were moved manually and set by hand. The effect is stunning—and carefully attuned to the couple’s desires, much like the rest of the house. Says Knowles, “Design is not simply lines on paper. It’s understanding what makes an owner tick.”
—Patrick Soran