Wall Street Journal House of the Day
Jim Schmit design featured in Wall Street Journal House of the Day: “Featuring photos of houses that are architecturally extraordinary and unusual homes for sale.”
Jim Schmit: Architect
Designing Oustanding Homes in Hawaii and the Continental States
Luxury in Architecture
Whether you are choosing to focus on traditional or modern architecture, the end result of your design should be the creation of a space that feels luxurious. I think there is often a misconception that modern design tends to be stark and barren and thus void of luxury. Although modern architecture is often much less detailed and simple than the ornamented styles of traditional architecture, this does not prevent it from presenting an image of luxury in its own way. Below are two samples of residential projects I did- one modern, one traditional.
Traditional luxury detail.
Luxury modern detail.
In the traditional house, the very expensive and intricate materials and moldings immediately give off the sense of fine quality and thus create a space that feels very rich and warm. In the modern house, however, luxury is conveyed in another fashion. Rather than incorporating detailed decorations and trims, the modern house seems luxurious based on the volume of space that is created through the sophisticated structural components.
Large spaces created by tall ceilings and open rooms seem immediately impressive and commanding. Strategic window placement allows for further manipulation of the space and can have great impact on the sensation one has upon entering the room. I have created a lot of very dramatic spaces through carefully determining how to best frame surrounding trees, sculptures or views.
Technology and Style
Ah, Technology. I just got an AT&T wireless USB and am adding this Blog while sitting on my boat Country Boy at the Ala Wai Harbor. That is just an aside.
Country Boy off Diamond Head a few years ago
Guard dog is sadly no longer with us
On to Style.
Hopper dining room wall -about as minimal as it gets
Another point about modern architecture that should be considered is that there are various subsets within the overall group. Minimalism, for example is a type of modern design that stresses the idea that less can be more. Minimalist architecture focuses on the fundamental structural aspects of design and does not highlight additional ornamentation. The idea of stripping something to its essentials is related back to the idea of focus on form and function as opposed to pure decoration.
Although this type of design emphasizes addressing functionality over aesthetics, this is not to say that the resulting forms and spaces created are void of their own beauty and charm. Rather than focusing on ornate detail, the eye is drawn to the foundation of the house and the relationship between different materials and structures present. It of course if possible to add varying degrees of warmth to a room through incorporating more traditional pieces of interior decor.
Schmit great room
The Ann Schmit house for example, is extremely modern in form however decorated with an eclectic selection of art, furniture and tapestries thus creating a pleasing contrast between the simple modern forms and the softer textures of interior pieces.
The space feels very grand and impressive due to tall ceilings, exposed steel beams and the angular pattern of the supporting structures, however also (as my daughter likes to point out) feels very “homey” due to the warmth added interior finishing.
Jim's thoughts
Discussing architectural design and style to understand why we react to different types of architecture in a variety of ways.
Recent entry
- 2011-03-08
- Wall Street Journal House of the Day
- 2009-09-03
- Luxury in Architecture
- 2009-09-02
- Technology and Style
- 2009-08-31
- Architectural Style: Then and Now
- 2009-08-29
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