At the Intersection of Art, Architecture & Design» Architectural Staircase – At the Intersection of Art, Architecture & Design

Architectural Staircase

Jackie Braitman — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:18:24 +0000

Painted Risers & Balusters Add Drama & Rhythm

Notice the details on this architecturally pleasing staircase. The rise of the stair is relatively low which gives it a graceful appearance and comfortable step. To save space, there are no landings at the 2 corners and instead the steps are pie-shaped. This feature also lends the staircase the grace of a curved staircase but without the expense. The only particularly difficult component is the twist of the railing to match the turn of the stairs. Painting the risers and balusters white creates a very pleasing rhythm in the cherry treads and railing. The newel posts step back from the last tread creating a sense of welcome. The staircase is also quite wide at 42″. The shaker-like paneling also creates a pleasant counterpoint to the detail of the staircase. At the top of the stairs, the railing forms one “wall” of a hallway leading to 2 bedrooms. Skylights and a window at the top of the stairs help bring light down the stairway to the 1st level and brightens the stairway itself. Roof detail prohibited skylights directly above the stairway which would have been ideal.

Skylights, a door and window help light the stairway

This is the home of a friend in Southern California. It was built approximately 4 years ago.

What Makes Color Work?

Jackie Braitman — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:28:44 +0000

Use of Near Complements

We looked at this home yesterday and I promised to discuss what makes the color scheme work. I’ve used several bold colors but none overwhelm.

I’ve listed, below, the main elements I use when selecting a color palette for a client.

-	Energy Level & Taking Advantage of Light Exposure
-	Views Through Rooms & Whole House Composition
-	The Strategy of Near Complements
-	The Importance of Transitions
-	Accenting Good Architecture
-	Considering Your Furniture & Artwork

Look at these additional images of the home (click on image to view larger). Each demonstrates one or more of the elements of color composition. After the images, is a fuller explanation of each element. In other articles, I’ll talk about the same elements using dramatically different color palettes.

Energy Level & Taking Advantage of Light Exposure
Some of want to be in an energizing environment and some of want our homes to be a serene refuge. This is the most critical decision in the selection of a palette. Obviously the owners of this home sought energy and vibrancy but not so much that it would overwhelm their living. While many of us have learned that greens and blues are cool colors and reds and oranges of warm colors, it’s not as easy as that — in part because the colors are additive and relative. The soft pumpkin color of the living room is calming compared to the brightness of the breakfast room. The kitchen itself is quite calming even with yellow tiles — in part because they have a hint of green and because it is calmed by the blue in the countertop. Similarly, the blue of the countertop and green of the walls helps calm the red and oranges. The wood tones — while golden — are calming not energetic.

The other important factor to consider when seeking an energy level is the outside light exposure. The southern sun is hot with primarily warm tones. It can light up a highly saturated color. Northern and eastern exposures are cool without much direct sunlight but with reflected light instead. A highly saturated color in a northern exposure — or a more northern climate will look harsh. This is one of the reasons you see such saturated colors in more tropical climates — the intensity of the sun will wash out less saturated colors.

So in this home, the brighter red and orange were only used near the patio door on the south side of the home. On the north and east side of the home, I only used less saturated tones.

The Strategy of Near Complements
The color wheel is a basic map that shows the relationships among colors. Primary colors — red, blue & yellow — are pure. They can’t be mixed with other colors. All other colors on the color wheel are created by mixing primary colors. Secondary colors are equal mixtures of the primary colors — orange, green & purple. Tertiary colors are equal mixtures of one primary and one secondary color. Rarely, do we use the primary or secondary colors in decorating — they are too saturated and not very complex. But the color wheel can be very helpful is helping us think about what colors work well together. Analogous color schemes are built from hues that sit near each on the color wheel — green, green/blue and Aqua — or tangerine, orange & gold. These are the schemes that many people use because almost by definition the colors go together. I find, though, that colors have more impact — and to me feel better — when juxtaposed with a “near” complement. The compliment to red is green — I find I like red better when it is paired with a green/yellow or a green/blue. You see this approach throughout this house. In the back entry (near the breakfast room), the blue/red of the column is a near complement to the creamy green of the wall; the indigo of the countertop is a near complement to the orange of the dropped ceiling. In the kitchen proper, the green/yellow of the tile is a near complement to the indigo of the countertop. And in the Dining Room, below, the green of the walls is a near compliment to the light violet of the vaulted ceiling.

Views Through Rooms & Whole House Composition
It is also important to consider each room in relationship to the whole house. We never see rooms in isolation — and as we move toward more open-plan homes this is even more true. You can see that I’ve paid attention to this throughout this home.

The Importance of Transitions
When I can, I like to create transitions at entryways and stairways. In the image, below, we can see how the lowered, orange ceiling creates a sense of entry into the home. The red column also marks the entryway as an important feature. In the photo of the stairway, you can see that the stairway wall is a darker and more intense color than the living room — again marking the transition as significant. Tomorrow, I’ll show you a completely different color treatment of transitions.

Accenting Good Architecture
This is the image we started with yesterday about accenting architecture — where the white of the wainscoting, the orange of the dropped ceiling, the red of the column and the green of the walls creates a composition where these elements are called into bright contrast.

Considering Your Artwork & Furniture
As a final note, I’ll mention that while I definitely consider artwork and furniture, it’s less important than some of the other concepts we’ve spoken about. If the pieces are important to you, they often reflect the same aesthetic that you create in your home. The palette for this home combines beautifully with the Mexican pottery collection of the owner. However, the source for both is the same enjoyment of color and energy — we didn’t set out to match the pottery. Others are afraid that artwork only looks good on white walls — not true. In fact, galleries use white because it will go with everything. But each individual piece usually looks better against a more intense color. In the picture, above, notice how nicely the green walls set off the black and white pictures. In the photo of the living room fireplace, notice how the light tangerine color complements the off-white of the parchment and the black of the image.

All images courtesy of Braitman Design/Build

Using Color To Accentuate the Architecture

Jackie Braitman — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:01:03 +0000

Cabinets Finished with Oyster Milk-Paint

You don’t think color when you look at this kitchen from this view – the cabinets are an oyster milk paint finish. In this view, only the island cabinet is a cobalt blue milk paint.

Cabinets Finished with Cobalt Milk-Paint

But look from this angle and cobalt blue is a dominant color. The impact of the cobalt is heightened by its limited and dramatic use. We use it on the island cabinet, the hutch seen in the foreground, and the angled wall that designates the basement stairway. Often basement doors are an uninteresting or even ugly note in older homes. In this home, we moved the door to the basement to the basement level which allowed us to open up the stairwell with a see-through glass cabinet. New wood paneling in the stairwell is painted the off-white used on the trimwork throughout the house. The white of the stairwell plus the deep cobalt of the angled wall, adds interest and a sense of space to this remodeled kitchen.

Tumbled Cararra Tiles w/ Cobalt Accent

Mosaic w/ Marbles

The grays and off-whites of the Cararra backsplash and concrete countertop compliment the oyster and cobalt tones in the rest of the kitchen. To further blend the composition, we included 3 colors of cobalt in the custom diamond tiles inserted into the tumbled Cararra backsplash. Overall, the palette is quite cool including a light grayed-mauve on the walls. The other dominant color in the palette comes from the natural oak flooring. The golden oak adds a warm compliment to the otherwise cool palette. A playful mosaic composed of marbles and round ceramic coasters on the stairway wall adds additional definition to the cobalt color with small, bright touches of red, blue, green and yellow. Cobalt blue grout blends the mosaic into the wall.

If we had used the deep cobalt more extensively, the overall feeling would have been much darker and more formal. However, by using a palette of cools off-whites and golden oak as the dominant tones, the deep cobalt is becomes a sophisticated accent. The predominantly neutral palette also allows us to use bright colors in other parts of the house as additional accents.

We will be writing a series of articles on this kitchen in the next few days.

All images courtesy of Braitman Design/Build

Modernizing a Split Level – Part 1

Jackie Braitman — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:01:18 +0000

Split levels were the suburban rage in the mid-1950’s and 60’s. Modernizing them can be a bit tricky. In this entryway there are several changes – all non-structural that spell modern:
- Stainless Steel Cable Railings replace old-fashioned wood newel posts and ballisters.
- The blue and white wall-to-wall carpet gave way to a modern rust runner
- The wall up the stairs was clad in large scale charcoal porcelain tile.
- The doorway was filled with a modern pocket door that tucks away when not needed.
- a single ceiling fixture was replaced with monorail lighting with custom diffusers.
- the front closet doors were also switched out to doors that match the pocket door (without the lattice) — not shown here.

"Before"

All images courtesy of Braitman Design/Build

A Coat (or two) of Paint

Jackie Braitman — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:25:00 +0000

What a difference a coat of paint can make! The original knotty pine paneling made for a dreary non-descript stairway (see below). All we did was paint the paneling, the stair risers and freshen up the paint on the wrought iron railing. The result is a dramatic, architectural statement in the foyer. Adding to the drama, the plaster in the entry foyer and stairwell were painted a dark brown for high contrast against the white paneling.

“Before”

All images courtesy of Braitman
Design/Build