Good Books: California Homes, Studio William Hefner

French Style Home in Bentwood Park

Hello to all! - It has been quite awhile! I realized just how long when looking at the date of my last blog post! Things are in a whirlwind here at Katie Denham Interiors to say the least. I have been blessed with a very robust client list and have hired a new assistant, Curtis, to help me move the company forward and "getter done!" We are working on some large projects which vary from a beautiful Santa Barbara style home which is getting a John Saladino-esque flavor to another modern version of a Santa Barbara style house which is going much more modern in the interior. We also just finished up a private executive office, which I hope I can reveal sometime soon! After the office, the client was very pleased and asked us to work on a vacation home in Phoenix....sun, sun, sun, here we come! We also have a variety of Kitchen and Bath remodels, and fun decorating projects including a pretty Living Room and Dining Room in the Sacramento Fabulous Forties neighborhood, a beautiful new Santa Barbara style home (I am seeing a trend here!) in Granite Bay by Murray Duncan Architects, and a Dean and Dean Tudor in Curtis Park (which also includes a Kitchen and two baths!) . Phew!

So that is why I am a little late in getting to touch base with you all, AND why I still need to photograph finished projects to show you.

However, I have missed you all and wanted to show you a peek from book I recently received from Images Publishing called California Homes. Since I am a California Girl working on a variety of homes at the moment, it has been quite apropos and very helpful in the inspiration department! The homes in this book have all been designed by Studio William Hefner, and I have developed a new design crush. These homes vary in style from a Provencal style in Hancock Park, to Mid-Century in Brentwood, to sort of a Bauhaus style in Rustic Canyon to Traditional French in Brentwood (again) and many more. I am so impressed with this book and the detailed information is contains, from the site plan, to floor plans, to photos of the house in model form, to extensive exterior as well as interior photos. But I am even more impressed with the beautiful and thoughtful design aesthetic of this architectural studio. I been finding myself pulling out this book every evening for the last few weeks after a long day in my own studio, just flipping the pages looking at details and figuring out why they are so pleasing and successful.

As a designer, I have run across many houses designed by architects that design from the outside in, They look good on the outside, but completely fail to take into account how furniture will work in a room....how a sofa can relate to a fireplace, how different height windows make it impossible to apply window coverings in a logical way, how traffic flows and makes a home livable. I have to say that William Hefner is not one of those architects. He and his Studio "get it". They understand that working from the inside out makes for harmonious living. They take furnishings and layout of interiors into account when designing room adjacency and placement of things like fireplaces, windows and doors. Bravo!

Zinc counters and great little shelf unit on the back counter add character!

William Hefner's designs are beautiful inside and out. There is also thoughtful integration between the house and the exterior landscape. Heaven knows that life in California is predicated on life outdoors and making a smooth transition between the two is what makes a home so perfect here.

Metal framed windows and doors....I would love to have these some day.

Mr. Hefner gives credit for the interiors, which I think are so lovely and timeless, to his wife Kazuko Hoshino who oversees the firm's interior design. (Remind you of anyone else we know?) There are designers that specialize in a particular style of design...some are more on the traditional side, some on the modern. Some tend towards seagrass and Bergere Chairs, and some towards Lucite and Mid century. Kazuko seems to mastered it all and has the talent to mix ingredients in a way that satisfies like the perfect meal. Tailored and classic, interesting and layered, but also clean and uncluttered....I am completely taken in.

Lovely Bathroom with creative shower space!

Different end of same Bathroom....notice the frosted glass fading to clear...I like that!

There was a house I had tagged recently in a magazine that I was gong to blog about. It has been laying in a pile of magazines and notes I have set aside that just keeps growing. There was something about it that I just loved. I thought....if I ever get to build a house for myself.....

But then the pile gets bigger and one gets distracted by other more urgent matters. But I was reminded of the house again when going through this book! I had first seen it in C for Men magazine Spring 2013, and was smiling when I discovered it in California Homes as well......

Simple classic detailing: honed limestone floors, ceiling molding and minimal traditional base and door moldings. Soft grey color palette with blues and natural woods.

I love the kitchen with the blue grey cabinets and antique brass counter legs!

Again, the soft putty grey moldings and drapery are so soothing with the blue accents

An art studio on the roof...sigh...

This next house struck me mainly because of the expansive gardens....and I do love a classic Monterrey style house!......

See what I mean?...

Pretty Bathroom! (And enormous!)

William Hefner has included eight homes altogether, which he designed over a 20+ year career in residential homes. Prior to this, he had been with Skidmore Owings and Merrill designing high rise buildings.....quite a departure, no?

Studio William Hefner was just cited in the Robb Report as one of the top 30 firms in the world for luxury residential architecture. I don't wonder......

As I said, I was quite taken with the amount of visual information about each of the houses. When I first received the book, I thought it might be mostly contemporary design, but I was surprised, pleasantly so, by the variety of styles. All of them so well done.

I will keep dreaming about building a house someday and fueling the dreams with California Homes.....