Polhemus Modern

This Atherton house is a meditation on the power of subtlety and sophistication: pale colors and luxurious textures; light wood paneling applied with restraint and precision; and open, airy rooms animated with abundant natural light. The deftly calibrated materiality of the interiors—incorporating artisanal plaster, marble, granite, copper, and burnished steel—lend weight and substance to the ethereal ambience. The furnishings represent a marriage of the past and the present, with classic vintage pieces by the likes of Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier, and Tobia Scarpa rubbing shoulders with bold, modern designs by Rogan Gregory, Pierre Yovanovitch, and Michael Anastasiades. Contemporary artworks invigorate the hushed ensembles with splashes of bright color and energy.

This lofty contemporary home was designed to make space for a family to spread out and grow in genuine comfort and serious style. Finely tailored furnishings sit lightly in the generously scaled rooms, complementing the architecture’s clean lines and minimal forms. High ceilings allowed us to introduce a curated selection of artisanal lighting with sculptural silhouettes that gently tweak the architecture’s taut angles. The overall materials palette is deliberately neutral in tone and devoid of graphic pattern, deferring to the clients’ impressive collection of contemporary art to provide moments of joyous color and visual activity.

We designed this penthouse as a festive family retreat that nods to its location on the azure waters of the Baja Peninsula without relying on predictable caricatures of Mexican style. Artisanal furnishings—including raffia-skirted stools, straw lamps, tasseled bedcovers, and a woven leather headboard—evoke the craft traditions of Mexico with subtlety and restraint. Complementary contemporary furnishings, eminently suitable for a beach home, keep the mood light and breezy, perfectly attuned to the rhythms of modern family life. While the design reads as smart and sophisticated, nothing about it feels overly precious or fussy. This is a vision of resort living in which style and ease work hand in glove.

Amid the scenic splendor of Pebble Beach, this striking contemporary home is an ode to precision. Working in close collaboration with architect Jim Jennings and a client with a highly refined design sensibility, we crafted interiors that reinforce the pure, planar language of the architectural shell while gently softening its crisp, rectilinear angles through select forms, materials, and textures. Bleached walnut paneling, subtle wood accents, vintage pieces by Pierre Jeanneret and Dan Johnson, and a broad array of custom designs add depth and warmth to the rooms without disturbing the resolutely neutral palette. The verdant landscape that surrounds the home provides all the color the homeowner requires.

This soulful Hawaiian retreat adheres to Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous dictum on the importance of siting: “No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together, each the happier for the other.” In collaboration with Walker Warner Architects, we designed the house as a private refuge, nestled securely into the landscape, which reaches out in an open embrace toward magnificent vistas of ocean and sky. Bowing to the splendor of the site, the quiet, comfortable interiors place a premium on artisanal craftsmanship, fine organic materials, and a subdued color palette of warm whites set against planes of pale cypress. Here, nature is the star of the show.