Pattern Language: A Textiles Enthusiast at Home in Ann Arbor - Remodelista
Photography by Rinne Allen. If clothes make the man, do textiles make the manse? A believer in spreading the word about “the artisans and the hands that make the cloth,” Krista shows us around the Ann Arbor house that she rescued from squirrels and shares her finds. The stucco house dates back to 1905 and was “thick with cobwebs, critters, and mold,” Krista says. “Introducing copper downspouts added so much to the exterior,” Krista tells us. Krista says, “The house had me as soon as I stepped into the front stairwell and saw the nine-foot ceilings and crown plaster moldings.” Though she classifies the project as “a complete gut rehab,” she kept the hardwood floors throughout–”refinished with an updated darker stain”–and largely preserved the original floor plan. A custom chaise longue in the living room is upholstered in a faded orange linen. Krista describes her approach to design as “textile centric.” This chaise cushion with antique Indian embroidery comes from John Robshaw’s one-of-a-kind Souk Pillows collection. A Thonet Era Armchair from Design Within Reach stands next to a limestone mantle that Krista designed and had fabricated by local stonework company Pascucci Marble & Granite: “The size and scale of it are impressive, yet it’s intentionally understated.” The living room’s bird lampshade and cachepots are from Jayson Home, in Chicago. Capitalizing on the bank of windows in the dining room, Krista built a long window seat, and paired it with a table from Dovetail Furniture and Eames Molded Plastic Dowel Leg Armchairs. The seat cushion is in Bailey, a Sunbrella fabric from Lulu DK that Krista classifies as “the best line of indoor/outdoor fabrics that look anything but indoor/outdoor. They are super durable and stain-resistant–perfect for a dining room bench seat.” The parade of pillows includes designs by John Robshaw and Chanee Vijay. Partially open to the dining and living rooms via archways, the kitchen features an island of Calacatta Gold marble, designed so that the stone appears to cascade over the edge. The house’s original kitchen was divided into a high-style laundry room, mudroom, and powder room. In the laundry, the counters are honed Absolute Black granite–”the finish gives them that sophisticated matte look”–and the room is lit by a Lindsey Adelman Clamp Light of blown glass that incorporates a brass-plated industrial clamp. The sink is made from a zinc washtub that Krista found at the Ann Arbor Antiques Market. She had Metal, her local metal shop, drill a hole in the tub and mount it atop a metal stool base–and from there, her plumber took over. The mudroom has custom shelves equipped with baskets similar to the Samantha Seagrass Baskets from Pottery Barn. As for the window shade, Krista tells us: “The design of the mudroom came together around Lee Jofa’s Nympheus fabric in aubergine. The Nympheus hand-block pattern dates back to 1915 and was inspired by the silk panels of a 15th-century Ming dynasty screen. Designer Thomas O’Brien reimagined this archival print for Lee Jofa. It’s not an inexpensive fabric, so the mudroom was a perfect place to use it. It’s a small window, but it’s visible from the kitchen, and I get to admire the pattern every day.” Krista designed the Quiet Room as a place for her kids, Alex, 7, and Tahlia, 4, to read. A perfect perch: a window seat surrounded by built-in bookshelves. The shade is John Robshaw’s Lanka print, and the cushion is John Robshaw’s Kota in linen. A Limited Edition Vintage Hmong Cross-Stitch Pillow from Non-Perishable Goods. “Alex is into whales and fish and water,” says Krista, by way of explaining her inventively nautical approach to his room. The room’s other main attraction, the ceiling light, is Australian designer Henry Pilcher’s Block Light: “I found it online and got obsessed. It’s designed to sit on the floor, but I had it converted into a ceiling fixture.” Alex’s diamond-patterned duvet is a discontinued item from the Land of Nod. The custom window shades are Katie Ridder’s Beetlecat fabric. Fiesta Garlands from Non-Perishable Goods complete the shiver-me-timbers look. A desk was inserted in Alex’s room in a niche that once held a sink. Dynasty Slate Prima, a wallpaper by Eskayel, patterns the third-floor bathroom in a Rorschach-like watercolor print. The guest room’s wicker bed is from Zak & Fox; Krista snapped it up on One King’s Lane. The master dressing room has custom built-ins painted in Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue in high gloss. Order at the top: In her attic office, Krista built shelves into the eaves. The winners will be announced August 9.