fireplaces
Just because we no longer require hearths to warm our homes and cook our food doesn’t mean we no longer need them. On the contrary, the primal attraction of a roaring fire is always a boon to a room, especially if the display is framed by a standout mantel. The crowning touch for a traditional living room is a neoclassical fluted and pedimented version in pale and elegant stone. There can also be primitivist beauty in simple slabs of stone set against a clean expanse of creamy plaster. A screen, fire tools, and andirons are accessories that only add to the allure—something nickel plated and sumptuous or wrought iron and rustic? And don’t forget to add ample seating for enjoying the show: a tufted leather fender or a circle of furniture in cosseting linens or velvets are pleasant perches to warm your hands when fresh in from the cold.
The focal point of John Saladino’s cultivated, curated Montecito estate is a neoclassical fireplace.
A large-scale limestone version in Richard Hallberg’s California villa dominates a Spanish-inflected living room.
A surprisingly placed fireplace greets guests in the entryway of an Alabama house by Susan Ferrier, Bobby McAlpine, and Scott Torode.
In a North Carolina house by Betsy Brown a molding-clad fireplace divides a grand space and shelters a serene seating area.
floors
The most basic of building blocks starts with the surface area under your feet, and it can be the most evocative, atmospheric design choice you ever get to make. Floors are literally and figuratively the foundation that will give everything else in the house a framework. It’s important that they provide a sense of place: black-and-white checkered marble in the foyer of a stately Georgian, wide pine planks in a rural farmhouse, unvarnished parquet de Versailles to split the difference between both ends of the spectrum in a country retreat that’s refined but also relaxed. A well-placed Oushak or thickly woven seagrass mat can heighten the effect, but there’s also something powerful about standout floors in a bold material left completely bare.
In the foyer of a New York apartment, Miles Redd transforms wood flooring with a graphic black and white faux marble paint finish.
For a Sag Harbor, New York, dining room, Sharon Simonaire ripped out linoleum to find plain planks that she then varnished with wax for a raw appeal.
Parquet salvaged from a Paris flea market is a grace note in a stair hall by Frank de Biasi on the North Shore of Long Island, New York.
In North Carolina, Betsy Brown uses high-gloss paint as a foil to a rough-spun rug in the same ivory shade.
floor lamps
The floor lamp is the unsung hero of the lighting world. Though the accessory is often overlooked, it synthesizes form and function as few pieces do, providing unobstrusive task lighting in tight spaces where a table might not fit, or casting a soft glow as a focal point, its shapely profile enlivening any room. Do you need something slim and sleek? Strong and sculptural? Utilizing rich materials, ranging from brass to ceramic to leather, there’s something to fit the bill no matter what direction you choose.
