Decorating a Modern House Inspired by Nature

Decorating a Modern House Inspired by Nature

Modernists like to say that an open floor plan is ideal for casual entertaining. True?

Decorating a Modern House Inspired by Nature

It’s perfect here. This is not a giant house, but there’s an economy of space and room to move around. The two long sofas are built in, and there’s a seating area in front of the fireplace, so they can easily handle a crowd. Or if it’s just a couple of us playing backgammon by the fire, we can talk to someone at the dining table or in the kitchen. My clients are wonderful cooks — everything seems effortless. The open kitchen lets them prepare a delicious meal and not leave the conversation.

Decorating a Modern House Inspired by Nature

I guess parties must spill over to the outdoors when the weather’s good.

They just open the barn doors on the poolhouse. The first time I came over, that was their gym. I said, ‘This could be the greatest room. Let’s do a huge sofa here. We can watch movies, have dinners.’ There was so much equipment in there that they never used. I was like, ‘Get rid of it!’ I say that all the time. One of the batik screens was made to hide a kitchen. But it’s not as if our friends have gotten out of shape. We stuck an elliptical trainer behind the other screen.