Lounge

Daniela and Francisco are a psychologist and engineer by day (respectively), but they’d almost always rather be outdoors. They’re avid hikers and passionate about sustainability, so when they had the chance to build an off-the-grid vacation home on a rustic lakeside patch of land in Southern Chile, they jumped on it.

Floating wood shelves accent the fireplace wall and link to the nearby kitchen.

Removing the partition wall makes it so the entire living space benefits from the natural light that comes through the floor-to-ceiling glass in the living room, increasing the sense of indoor-outdoor flow throughout. A sofa from Article is joined by art from Lynne Millar for Juniper Print Shop and a vintage credenza.

“The clients’ main priorities in their lives consisted of: their kids, their friends, their food,” says the firm. “We knew we had to knock down the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room to create one big, open space - this immediately created ease of flow.”

The Floyd sofa was chosen to jive with the family’s vintage painting, called the “Jazz Musician.”

A vintage rug sits with a Koti Sofa by Hem, reproduction Eames moulded plywood chairs, and a vintage travertine table from Midcentury LA. The credenza is also vintage, with the artwork above it by Maja Dlogolecki.

The living room furniture is from Sobu.

The stairs also double as a seating platform.

The architect considers this the "heart of the house, where all of our valuable possessions, from books, to movies, to records, are stored," he says.

A soaring tower of shelves crafted from Shinnoki pre-finished wood panels in the "Ivory Oak" color now form the family library.

For a home in West Hollywood, Romanek punctuates the living room with a sunny pair of Facett chairs by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

Original details can be found throughout, including the stone-clad walls and exposed beams awaiting on the lower level.

This painting was just intended to be a placeholder in the mock up, but the homeowners loved it so much they commissioned an identical one.

The original layout was very much of the time: a perfect midcentury modern flow, with a closed-off kitchen and a fire put in the floor. “They were cool but impractical spaces,” says Schaer.

“I walked in and thought, this room wants to be low,” says Kirsten. Friends in Amsterdam had the same sofa. “The kids would jump all over it, and I love that kind of feeling. I wanted to bring that to our house.”

A Samsung Frame TV blends in with other artwork collected by the homeowners.

Artwork by Octavia Tomyn adorns the living room, where Huggy faux-shearling chairs flank a Chub coffee table, both designed by Sarah Ellison. A neutral rug from Nikau ties the pieces together. The artwork is by Octavia Tomyn.

A white onyx countertop extends from the kitchen island to create a breakfast bar, outfitted with Bobby stools by Daniel Tucker for DesignByThem. “The floating benchtop is the most brilliant thing we’ve ever done, and we’ll never have a house without one again,” says Cheryl. Metallic accents like pendants from Lighting Collective and brass drawer handles complement rich wood finishes. The runner rugs are from Pampa, and the faucet is from ABI Interiors.