To some extent the measure of a designer’s genius is how successful their combinations are. Combining styles. Combining colors. When you go into someone’s home who is not, let’s say, blessed with a visual gift, you may feel like you are in a hodge podge. A crazy mixture of things that just don’t work together. I have friends like this and….I love them anyway. (It’s not the end of the world for heaven’s sake!) But someone who has that gift of “seeing aesthetically” just knows how to make a hodge podge beautiful. This home was designed by Windsor Smith for her family in Los Angeles. The view above is from the foyer through to the black-walled play room. Checkerboard limestone floors, dark stained stair treads and bannister, and black furnishings set up a theme which is repeated in most of the house. The silk upholstered settee is from the designer’s own furniture line. Chandelier and mirror are Venetian in style….one antique, and one reproduction.

Are you ready for the black walls……?

The reason the darkest-of-all-colors works so well here is because there is black in the adjacent foyer….so we kind of had a hint it was coming. And because the white fireplace, polar bear print and other accessories lightens it up and makes it not so heavy. The bright blue ping pong table top does not seem to relate to anything else in the house. For that reason I would have slapped a coat of paint on it and called it good (such as a lime green or the tan of the rustic bench).

The airy open kitchen is painted a midnight blue which is, indeed, another dark color. But the white tin ceiling and white marble mosaic flooring provides a crisp contrast that turns what could have been a heavy room, into a light room. The white linen wing chairs are a wonderful touch in this kitchen. You kinda want to settle in for wine and conversation, yes? Reflective hotel silver upon open shelves makes a bright glamorous statement.

I love the seafoam green of the fabric upholstery (again, from Smith’s own fabric collection for Kravet) and the jute rug.

The next room is pink. Take a look and tell me what you think of it.

Does it relate to the rest of the house? The white woodwork does. The jute rug does. But does the room need some black to ground it to the adjacent rooms? In all fairness, it is sometimes difficult to tell from photos in a magazine article. The upholstery is beautifully detailed.

Here is one side of the master bathroom with it’s elegant white marble walls. The skirted sink is so-o-o romantic. I am happy and somewhat relieved to see black and white again, after the big statement made in the other rooms. Sconces are from Pottery Barn and that is an antique French repousse’ mirror.

The other side of the master bath shows us a lovely example of great accessorizing. Of course the orange is…pow! Repeating it three or four times in different ways holds the entire picture together….and it even trails into the next room in the form of a throw over the chair arm. The console table is Louis XVI gilt.

I am always interested in people’s closets. Are you?

Our last photo (below) is the master bedroom. A gold embroidered fabric was used to enclose the canopy bed, creating a “little jewel box.” A more tender pink velvet covers the chaise at the foot of the bed creating a sort of Hollywood Regency look to the room.

Photos from House Beautiful September 2009

Tags: Black Walls, Pink Walls, Windsor Smith

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