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Houzz Tour: Scandinavian Modern Expanse in Napa
Personal art, custom fabrics and Helsinki living inspire a native California designer's home
Indra Fortney describes her three years in Finland as a love-hate relationship. "The Finnish people are extremely kind and well educated, but the weather got to me," she says. The California native found it hard to endure the long, dark winters that are part and parcel of Scandinavian living. "While I was there we had record lows for snowfall and one of the darkest winters in history. We had a scant nine hours of daylight for the entire month of December last year."
As many on the West Coast know, California (and Napa, specifically) is a great place to be both grape and human. For the most part, Fortney now enjoys the Mediterranean weather that Wine Country dwellers enjoy: clear days and balmy nights, with a relatively short rainy season in the winter.
"I do miss my clients [in Finland]," Fortney says. "By the end of our time there, I had cultivated a thriving design and architectural photography business."
As many on the West Coast know, California (and Napa, specifically) is a great place to be both grape and human. For the most part, Fortney now enjoys the Mediterranean weather that Wine Country dwellers enjoy: clear days and balmy nights, with a relatively short rainy season in the winter.
"I do miss my clients [in Finland]," Fortney says. "By the end of our time there, I had cultivated a thriving design and architectural photography business."
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Fortney loves the Ikat fabric she had custom made for the throw pillows. "Ikat fabrics are woven by hand on narrow looms," she says. "It is a labor-intensive process. I prefer handwoven Ikat fabric because it's free of the chemical additives and stresses of power-loom production, and they are vastly different in appearance and feel from machine-made fabrics."
Coffee table: Habitat (Sweden); floor lamp: CB2; armchairs: Vintage flea market with original faux leather upholstery; Buddha statue: Via Diva
Coffee table: Habitat (Sweden); floor lamp: CB2; armchairs: Vintage flea market with original faux leather upholstery; Buddha statue: Via Diva
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| Fortney's home showcases original artwork from friends and family, and some she created herself, such as the artwork above the dining table. "The photographs are a triptych of my girlfriend, Anna, who volunteered to be my model," she explains. "I was going for a vintage '70s Vogue [style]." Rug: Vegetable-dyed Afghan rug from the Alameda flea market; table: Ikea; white leather chairs: imported from Finland |
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| Fortney loves the modern fireplace. "No plug-in, no gas outlet," she says. "It just burns with cans of gel. You pop open a can and light the fire." Artwork: Angela Willetts; fireplace: AllModern |
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Fortney identifies the design roots of the guest bathroom as distinctly Finnish. "This bathroom has the simple, clean look that is prevalent in Finland," she explains. "I included touches that give it a more earthy feel: pottery, baskets and an oil painting." The oil-on-wood art piece is a smaller version of a larger fish painting by Angela Tirrell, given to Fortney as a housewarming gift for her villa in Greece. The fish, along with a few other pieces, now call Napa home.
Sink: Vessel sink by Decolav; artwork: Angela Tirrell
Sink: Vessel sink by Decolav; artwork: Angela Tirrell
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| The buttery cream paint color was Fortney's way of infusing the space with a bit of a New England feel. "I don't mind throwing in a New England reference into a modern, loftlike interior," she says. "My focus was to maintain a spacious feel, a place where both furnishings and art can breathe." |
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| The master bedroom is still incomplete, with a slipcover headboard and a George Nelson pendant on order. But "this article has resulted in a purchase of a big, beautiful new painting in our bedroom," says Fortney. The abstract is also by Angela Tirrell. "I asked her to bring something over for the photo shoot," Fortney recalls, "and then decided that I couldn't live without it!" The prayer bench against the wall was acquired from one of Fortney's trips to Nepal. |
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| The top shelf in Fortney's home office, from where she maintains her blog, displays a portrait in oil that artist Caitlynn Booth did of her; it was part of a larger exhibit of portraits. "The fan is circa 1940s, and the lamp is very now, from Target," says Fortney. The top-down, bottom-up shade is made of the same natural woven fabric as the living room shades. Bamboo shades: Woven Woods Plus |
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| Fortney, seen here with her husband, loves to entertain and says that their favorite place to hang out at home is without a doubt their built-in bar. "I'm always throwing a party," she says. "The last one was a Mad Men cocktail party. The open floor plan we created is the perfect arena for small or large groups of people." |
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| The couple had a steel frame made with a long leg section that was bolted into the wall. "One of my 200-pound workers stood on the bar — that's how strong it is," she says. Fortney's stepdad, who used to design race cars for Lotus, came up with the bar design; lacquer car paint was used for the bar finish. More: Houzz Tour: Clean, Colorful and Collected in Denmark Guest Picks: 20 Scandinavian Finds Regional Modern: Northern California Architecture |
Ideabook published on Feb. 15, 2012.
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