The holidays are officially in full swing! In the meantime, it has been another busy month at Janet Brooks Design. Over the years, I’ve noticed that we tend to keep a steady pace of well-spaced projects, with a comfortable combination of projects in pre-construction design and specification, others in various stages of construction, and others winding down and in the full-blown furniture design and acquisition stage. However, that’s not been the case this fall! Somehow, our projects are ALL in pre-construction or framing stages, which means we are busy little designers elevating fireplaces, cabinet walls, designing flooring layouts and tiled walls, and selecting/documenting the hundreds (if not thousands) of materials that go into a new home. It’s a good thing we love what we do!
Four Peaks looks great framed in a hallway window!
Tuscan to Mediterranean
One of our relatively new projects is a home on the back side of Troon Mountain, with gorgeous views of the McDowell Mountains and Four Peaks. The architectural style of the home was intended to be Tuscan, but our clients are thrilled with the idea of lightening it up, both in terms of color and also in the heavy finishes and details that came to be known as “Tuscan” here in Arizona.
The arched doorways that would have had stone surrounds will now remain simple and unadorned. The clay tile roof which would have been heavily mortared will now be a lighter more terra cotta color without all the heavy mortar. The carved fireplace surrounds that might have been heavy with details, will be simple and elegant. The stone flooring, which might have been a chiseled Oro Travertine in a Versailles pattern, will now be a light colored leathered marble in rectangular shapes. Rather than tumbled stone and typical contrasting deco bands in tiled walls, we will keep the finishes light, clean edged and use marble wherever it is a practical application (which means NOT as a kitchen counter!).
Mountain Home With a View
Stem walls and slab are in…framing will start soon
We have been working for a few months on a project in the Prescott area and finally had a chance to visit the jobsite recently. Wow! The views are magnificent, even including some of Sedona’s red rocks in the distance.
It’s particularly gratifying to me to get to work on a home in a location in the hills/mountains, whether Prescott or Telluride, because of my early background in design in Colorado. I love the big square beams and natural stone veneers of mountain homes.
The selection of the veneer stone for a home is a huge decision, affecting the overall style and color palette of the home from outside to inside.
Although we are called ‘interior designers’, we are always involved in the selection of the exterior materials from roofing material to driveway pavers, as everything must flow together in one harmonious design.