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When she bought it four years and a half flat, hired Fiona Scott, who worked as an artist and designer, to help redecorate the space. "It's fine to push the boundaries," she said, a quality that resonated with her. Their mutual love of dark design, daring and atmospheric brought the two closer together, and soon Scott and Fiona were enough partners, both private and professional, founder Brave shop together. "We both have the same eye," Fiona said. "We love the drama and the theater."

Fiona chose a rich purple carpet for the living room. "It is an ideal base to show the furniture," she says. On a wall, it applies the Mirror Antique wallpaper. "When the light shines on it, it creates the most amazing effect, she said. "I like the wallpaper to look as if it's not wallpaper. This gives the most amazing texture.

Mirror Antique wallpaper Cole & Son.

Fiona likes to use small panels of flashy wallpaper in some places to create a textured function, and and Scott decided to highlight the fireplace by adding faux crocodile wallpaper to the chimney. The various ornaments on the mantelpiece were collected during the couple's travels.

The walls are a mixture of tones. From Brinjal Farrow & Ball purple as a base Scott uses multiple colors to create layers of depth and shadow.

Crocodilo Vinyl w allpaper, Osborne & Little.

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in a corner of the living room there is an upright piano, played by both Honey and Scott. Fiona comes from the antique, which even candle holders on each side of the rest of the music, from a teacher in Kensington.

A vase stuffed with peacock feathers texture adds another element to the composition. 'You can not live without peacock feathers! "Rit Fiona. "They are the most divine colors. You always have a peacock feather in the room.

animal skulls appear throughout the house. They are all handmade by Scott, who is constantly experimenting with new designs and textures, including mosaics, camouflage techniques, the colors that glow in the dark and applications of the chain and spikes.

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This large mirror, which was in possession of Fiona for more than 20 years, conveys an air of mystery because of its foxed surface. Scott gave another layer of character basking in the white box above.

in the hallway leading to the master bedroom and honey chamber daughter, Fiona and Scott added another series of suspended aviaries, floating ethereal against the canvas black. The fluorescent orange chair is another ancient picked up the couple and painted.

the bedside tables were also made by the couple. Fiona them were covered with cloth and topped with glass to stability. "They are very gentle and kind, said -she. The bedside lamps are repurposed antique sconces.

third bedroom of the apartment now works as Fiona Office. The Golden Mirror is another antiques fair found, while the Portuguese cabinet below, it was purchased at auction Lots Road in London.

The small cloakroom remains faithful to the character of the house by wowing with wallpaper all-over leopard print, which Fiona bought on eBay.

Photos by Michael Woodall

Houzz a glance
Who lives here a pair Music- and art lover retired
Location Scottsdale, Arizona
Architects Tate Architects studio
Size 3 bedrooms, 5½ bathrooms, plus an exercise room and an art studio



'Wherever you walk in the house, we want you to be looking outside, "said the architect, mark Tate. The house is full of large windows, corner windows, skylights and tall, narrow windows that frame views. In some areas there are crisply framed views; in others, there is the very open feeling of life in the view.

A large outdoor canopy 9 'continues in this space compressed corridor inside. Here is the 9 foot ceiling gives way to layers of higher ceilings. "The ceilings pop up as you go through the house, said Tate. There are 9 feet, 12 feet and 15 feet ceilings, creating dynamic layers head.

in the house the view through the rear garden is open, except for stair treads, which are cantilevered from a massive wall cast in place concrete. Underfoot, the same porcelain tile continues through the public areas and hallways and outside on the covered patio (tile has outside a rougher texture to prevent slipping). The tile is just one example of the seamless transition from inside to outside in any home.

Tiles, Refin Ceramiche.

Concrete Wall repeat texture seen outside in the front yard. Its scale is resistant to high volume home. The wall separates the staircase from the great room. The owners are art collectors, so Tate kept neutral texture palette and limited in size. This puts the focus on the work and views.

'The staircase was a true feat of engineering, "Tate said. Bands ebonised ash bearing slide on the tube welded steel supports that were thrown into the concrete wall. The staircase is Starphire glass, which has no green cast of other products in clear glass.

The windows are not only the views but also can passively heat the home while protecting the heat of the sun in the warmer months. The glass on the windows and doors is high performance solar glass gray isolated with Solarban 70 low-E coating on the third surface. The orientation of the house, placement of windows, the overhang above the patio and hidden shades on the windows while reducing the amount of direct sunlight that reaches the interior during the warmer months.

See glass balustrades

You can look completely through one side of the house to another in the main hall; each side has an opening like the end of the photo to give a view outside. To the right is the kitchen; left the dining room.

a piece of ground up and through the ceiling window is a dramatic stunner in the master bathroom. At night you can see the city lights. cantilevered pool of units float high above the ground.

Basin units Wetstyle.

Mark Tate wanted to create a real entrance. Right next to the driveway, we are moving almost due west, looking carefully placed and cactus at dusk, the setting sun. The long-term vision keeps the region to feel constricted.

Stepping stones, concrete aggregate with Graphite pigment Davis Colors.

Closing, brick pathways and planting were all part of the redesign of the landscape.

this high-breakfast area is just off the kitchen, and used to be one of the corridors which was removed during renovations. The tongue and groove is another great touch period. "We added stained tongue and groove small cozy nooks throughout the house," Jeff said. The seat is integrated in the storage below.

Table Claro walnut, Offerman Woodshop.

the living room is on the opposite side of the dining room from the kitchen. The fireplace is original, as is the paneling behind it. Because of new wood stoves are no longer allowed in the area, Jeff did not touch. It breeds a comfortable seat window just after the fire in front of a bay window.

Jeff also broke the existing low ceiling attic space, raising the ceiling in a safe covering more white painted tongue and groove paneling, and reusing the original joists. "We thought painting the joists, but they had a great patina, and they had little notes the original writers had written about them even still intact, he said.

'The living room has a barn-like feeling. It seemed natural that we put a sheep here, "says Holly with a laugh, referring to the sheepskin throws in the seating area. The coffee table is another catchy song; it was designed by the collective carpentry Offerman Woodshop. Holly says she can not praise. "Their manager, Lee, is fantastic, and the whole crew are wonderfully passionate, talented people, she said. "Our table is a work of art we get to interact with every day - it is not sitting behind glass on the wall. I know that this will change over time, and I want to think how it will look when our kids are old enough to fight over who gets to take to college. "

The oak floor lamp steam bent is another piece that is unique to Holly, as his uncle did.

The library originally had a much lower ceiling and a single library. Again, Jeff vaulted ceiling in the existing attic, and coated boards for tongue and groove which reflect the period. He also added the alder shelves all the way up to the top of the gable.

"The library feels like such a luxury; it humbles me, "says Holly. "Obviously, there is an incredible value in the books; we love them, we lugged across the country, and we want to convey this appreciation for the stories of old, printed along our son. "

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This bathroom is adjacent to the kids' art room. "We wanted it to be nice enough to serve as a bedroom, but not too fussy powder, where children could clean the messy brushes," says Holly.

The office is an antique 1940s, "We were looking for antiques of the 30 and 40 as much as possible, she said. Jeff office head with remaining soapstone kitchen countertops and converted into a single vanity. The curved sides are another nod to the 1930s style.

Because the room does not have an exterior window, they replaced the top panel of opaque glass door and added a skylight, recovered elsewhere in the house.

"This space used to be an old raw laundry room, "says Jeff. He now serves as casual entrance next to the garage. He was able to preserve the gate and the original window and added a spacious bench, shelves and hooks to keep busy family organized. The tongue and groove connects this space with the rest of the house.

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in the bathroom downstairs, raw copper basin dictated part of the design. Holly believes it came from a train behind. Because it has three sides, Jeff had the custom vanity to fit, but he imitated some office style became vanity in the bathroom.

When owners first visited the house, they had to climb a ladder with torches to look that previously unfinished part of the attic. "He was full of crude insulation and cobwebs and was not structurally sound," says Holly. "It is the space that has transformed the most.

Jeff carved a new master suite of an unfinished part of the attic. He incorporated a tongue and groove-covered cozy area for reading, relaxing and getting a little work. "Owners do not want or need a main bathroom and large closets. They preferred to use the space for comfortable seating, "he said.

This window offers a garden view from the master bedroom.

While owners did not care to have a large bathroom, they only want to incorporate an antique bath and separate shower. A sidelight redirected shares down light between vanity and shower unit. The counter is gray limestone and faucets are not lacquered brass.

A favorite of Holly elements in this room is the button on the shower door. "I could not find a shower door hardware that I liked. Most options were too modern in search of my aesthetic, "she said. As an alternative to what was available on the market, she used a vintage crystal handle. The contractor who supervised the renovation, Nate Stockmeir, is also a creative craftsman - and a passionate surfer. He drilled a hole in the glass and had the idea of ​​inspiration for combination use neoprene to cushion the joint.

gray limestone seen on the bathroom counter made an appearance on the accents in the shower area.

The boys room bathroom has a scribble pattern playful hand-painted on the floor tiles Ann Sacks. It was a great folly and another challenging part of the project, but the results are worth it. "You need every piece of a model before you order it, so you know exactly where all the scribbles go, Jeff said. "You only get one chance to get it!

'This tile was crazy, but I'm so glad we did it," Holly said. "The bathroom is visible from top of the stairs, and everyone who sees it says, "Oh, this is so much fun" I like to think that pokes fun colonial elements most serious of the house.

the result of collaboration between Jeff and the owners is that the family now has a home that is adapted to their occasional modern lifestyle, but it is difficult to say that the house never renovated. "Everyone who comes in this house think almost everything is original, Jeff said.

Basin, Kohler. Wall Schoolhouse Electric & Supply.

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