Cool Ranch Revival (continued)
It's oak to the rescue for a midcentury modern gem in Dallas refurbished by architect Mark Domiteaux and interior designer Nancy Leib
"The original kitchen was built in the era when the wife disappeared into it at mealtime and reemerged an hour later with dinner ready," says Domiteaux. "This family doesn't live that way." The architect took down the walls separating the butler's pantry, kitchen and breakfast room and made them into one open space. That expanded the view into the backyard, and he further brightened the work areas by extending the kitchen windows all the way to the ceiling. "In gaining a glimpse of the sky, you don't feel as closed in," he says.
Domiteaux and Leib knew that their client was not timid about color. "I had a red kitchen in my previous house," says the wife, "and I never grew tired of it." When it came to outfitting the kitchen, she played a pivotal role in pushing the color limits. "We started with a base of white oak cabinetry, as in the rest of the house," says Domiteaux, "then worked with her in selecting a range of colors that refer back to '50s architecture without being reverential."
Now an island clad in orange Okite, a quartz-based surfacing stone, anchors the space, while the adjacent cooking area is covered in red Ceramica di Treviso tiles that look, Domiteaux says, "like the flames from someone wildly sautéing." Abet Laminati-clad panels in hues of yellow, red, green and white sheath the pantry doors and create a Mondrian-inspired pattern. The color blocks continue around the breakfast table, where Domiteaux added a series of table-height cabinets for dinnerware storage. "It reminds me of the Partridge Family," he says, laughing. "There's a happy, carefree aspect to the way it looks."
In contrast to the color and pattern of the main living areas, what the homeowners had in mind for the master bedroom and bath was understated tranquillity. Happily, the master suite flanked the pool and garden; unhappily, views of and access to the yard were limited. Domiteaux reconfigured the bedroom so that the main wall, with space for a headboard and nightstands, now overlooks the backyard. Likewise, he changed small windows into expansive glass doors and added a deck that serves as a private retreat.
Carving out space for all the elements the couple wanted in their suite -- bedroom, bath, closet and an office for the wife -- meant that Domiteaux had to apply space-saving strategies wherever possible. One means was through the use of pocket doors, and he added a grid of MDF panels to the bedroom wall in which doors to the bathroom and the office can recess. "The entire wall became like one piece of furniture, with the pattern becoming a focal element in the room," he says.
This kind of creative adaptation is what Domiteaux says draws him to renovations, "as opposed to designing something from the ground up. The inherent quirks of an existing house force your hand and make you come up with completely different ideas," he says. "In the end, I think you gain a richer experience."
What the Pros Know
Letting in light while maintaining privacy was the critical issue in the master bathroom, where the previous owner had used cabinetry and floral window shades to obscure views. Domiteaux reworked the space using various types of translucent glass to keep the room airy. For a large window over the tub, he specified a narrow panel of art glass for visual interest, then added two panels of frosted glass, including a small operable window. "Sandblasted glass shows fingerprints and is hard to clean," he says. "On an exterior window like this, we use insulated glass with a frosted film on the inside." For the shower and toilet enclosures flanking the tub, he used laminated glass panels with an interior frosting. "It's a film that's laminated between two pieces of glass so that you don't get water spots," he adds. To mount the panels, he suggests using base and ceiling clips. "That avoids a silicone joint and allows air to circulate, which cuts down on maintenance since the shower dries more quickly."
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