Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Glamorous Home Strikes a Bold Note in Black and White
A new house in suburban Minneapolis looks to Hollywood and Italy for interior inspiration
The owners of this newly built home in suburban Minneapolis are equally drawn to Hollywood Regency glam and the designs they fell in love with on their honeymoon to Italy. To merge these two looks, they turned to designers Ammar Alshash and Rachel Drewitz and told them to go full-throttle glam with modern Italian references mixed throughout. Unexpectedly durable fabrics and enameled paint ensured that these two posh styles would hold up to the family’s two kids and pets.
Antiqued mirrors over the black paneling give a distorted perspective: It takes a second look to decode what’s inside and what’s out. The spiky light fixture just inside the threshold is a Jean de Merry design, the console table is made up of legs taken from a Bernhardt console table and fitted with a marble top.
Browse contemporary gold chandeliers
Browse contemporary gold chandeliers
The first floor’s main powder room sits right off the entry, so they duplicated the same enameled black paneling. Three antiqued mirrors hang above the sink. “There is a normal mirror on the back of the door; it’s just not in a conventional location,” Alshash says.
Sink and faucet: Callista
Sink and faucet: Callista
The other small powder room is a study in how opposing forces can be mutually enhancing: The lightness of the Holly Hunt lace motif wallpaper is mirrored in the real lace draperies. Both contrast with the heavy mirror and intense, inky black color scheme.
The homeowners had this “junky, old rusted mirror” in their garage for 10 years and really wanted to use it, Alshash says, so the designers had it refinished with a matte black sheen and gave it a new home behind the hanging pendants.
The homeowners had this “junky, old rusted mirror” in their garage for 10 years and really wanted to use it, Alshash says, so the designers had it refinished with a matte black sheen and gave it a new home behind the hanging pendants.
The homeowners issued a challenge to their designers: They really wanted their living room to be as casual as possible, while keeping an all-out glam look. This demanded a pillowy sectional with down filling ideal for the family to watch TV all together. The sectional is from Italian modernist brand Arketipo with different back heights and a mix of fabrics, including a tweed and a hardy Trevira fabric that mimics the look and feel of velvet.
Gold barrel-backed chairs and a pair of white wingbacks from Brabbu keep with the Hollywood Regency style. A “heavy and dramatic” floor lamp made of cold-rolled steel guards the multiple doors that open to a gorgeous backyard with deck and outdoor lounge space.
Find velvet sectionals
Gold barrel-backed chairs and a pair of white wingbacks from Brabbu keep with the Hollywood Regency style. A “heavy and dramatic” floor lamp made of cold-rolled steel guards the multiple doors that open to a gorgeous backyard with deck and outdoor lounge space.
Find velvet sectionals
For their dining room, the couple requested as large a table as they could fit. Alshash describes the resulting custom table as a “hero” piece: Standing on acrylic legs, the walnut and brass tabletop appears to float in space. Its design was a “complete experiment,” Alshash says. They turned the live edges of the two planks inward and enmeshed them with a solid chunk of brass. “It was really challenging to trace the same shape on both sides,” but they managed to create a structurally sound knockout spanning a full 10 feet.
The three-legged chairs were another funky design decision that is offset by the simple untextured leather upholstery. Going minimal with the chair fabric allowed them to go a little more ornate with the patterned charcoal rug.
The three-legged chairs were another funky design decision that is offset by the simple untextured leather upholstery. Going minimal with the chair fabric allowed them to go a little more ornate with the patterned charcoal rug.
Off the dining room, a custom bar serves as an entertainment hub and houses the grown-ups’ beloved wine collection in a recessed cabinet. The cabinetry is wire-brushed oak and each door has three knobs instead of the expected one.
Another unconventional and dramatic choice is the chainmail curtain that separates the bar from the dining room in this otherwise very open floor plan. Fabricated by a company that makes them for commercial applications, the curtain frames the space and works in concert with the stacked stone to visually distinguish this swanky nook as a room unto itself.
Another unconventional and dramatic choice is the chainmail curtain that separates the bar from the dining room in this otherwise very open floor plan. Fabricated by a company that makes them for commercial applications, the curtain frames the space and works in concert with the stacked stone to visually distinguish this swanky nook as a room unto itself.
At first, the designers had envisioned a more typically modern Italian kitchen, but it wasn’t quite fitting into the home’s overall look, so they kept the cabinetry Italian-style and added beefy, gold hardware to glam it up. “The conventional thing to do would be a Shaker-style door, but we definitely wanted to keep the hybrid modern-but-glam look,” Alshash says, so they opted for chic flat panels. To make a statement, a custom range hood made of black metal with a brass band contrasts texturally with the wire-brushed oak cabinets.
The room’s light fixtures are some of Alshash’s favorites in a house rife with statement lighting. Sourced from Slamp of Italy, they resemble smoked glass with gold bands around them, and it’s not until you touch them that you discover they’re actually acrylic. The bar stools are covered in a fabric resembling crushed velvet.
Countertops: Agata Granite
The room’s light fixtures are some of Alshash’s favorites in a house rife with statement lighting. Sourced from Slamp of Italy, they resemble smoked glass with gold bands around them, and it’s not until you touch them that you discover they’re actually acrylic. The bar stools are covered in a fabric resembling crushed velvet.
Countertops: Agata Granite
The butler’s pantry is tucked behind the kitchen. The designers went white here to break up the black and offer some contrast. Still, Astek wallpaper with a black background connects the space with the rest of the home.
The breakfast room, which the family of four uses for everyday dining, sits on the opposite side of the formal dining room, which is reserved for larger dinner parties. The chairs are upholstered in a silk Trevira fabric, similar to the living room sofa the designer described as “bulletproof.” Custom draperies lighten the mood and complete the look.
Because the office is used only occasionally, there was no need to clutter it up with a lot of furniture and the accoutrements of work. That being the case, the designers wanted the desk to be over the top. They found the base, originally in a worn-out gunmetal finish, through an online antique auctioneer. They had a specialty finisher gold-leaf the base and added a smoked glass top.
The homeowners’ previous residence was very modern and clean-lined, so the designers weren’t sure what they’d think of this wild, curvaceous beauty. “We took a risk showing them this desk, and they loved it!” Alshash says. On the wall is a vinyl wall covering that looks like grasscloth.
The homeowners’ previous residence was very modern and clean-lined, so the designers weren’t sure what they’d think of this wild, curvaceous beauty. “We took a risk showing them this desk, and they loved it!” Alshash says. On the wall is a vinyl wall covering that looks like grasscloth.
For the master bedroom, the designers wanted to bring in some glam elements but lighten it up with a textural design and tone-on-tone coloring, studded with plenty of gold via nailheads on the chairs, a gold-leafed bed frame and the Julian Chichester fish-scale cabinet under the TV.
Because this was the only kid-free room in which they had carte blanche to go wild with fabrics, they selected a delicate viscose-blended carpet, a silk-linen fabric on the chairs and a vintage velvet ottoman that felt “a little risky.” A simple drape adds some weight at the windows, and the sculpture above the fireplace satisfies the clients’ penchant for art that represents the human form.
Bedding: Bloomingdale’s
Because this was the only kid-free room in which they had carte blanche to go wild with fabrics, they selected a delicate viscose-blended carpet, a silk-linen fabric on the chairs and a vintage velvet ottoman that felt “a little risky.” A simple drape adds some weight at the windows, and the sculpture above the fireplace satisfies the clients’ penchant for art that represents the human form.
Bedding: Bloomingdale’s
In the master bathroom, the designers created a lot of drama with luxe materials like Bella Carrara marble on the walls, counters and backsplash. The room may have minimalist underpinnings, but it’s all-out in terms of luxury and thoughtful appointment. The oversized shower and tub are integrated into one big walk-in. The designers opted out of the wet room approach because of the potential for mold, so they kept it half-open, partially sheltered by a glass partition.
Some of the decor, like the raw iron mirrors, play the tough guy, but there’s one element that is purely for fun: If you look carefully at the drawer hardware, you’ll see the pulls are little lion heads. They were “something unusual that fit in perfectly with everything else we’d done in the house,” Alshash says.
Mirror: Made Goods
Mirror: Made Goods
You almost have to look twice to realize this isn’t a second indoor living space; it’s the covered loggia just outside. The couple wanted a true indoor-outdoor feel with all the creature comforts and warmth of the family room just inside: They sit out here even during Minnesota winters. Having this extra space expands the area available for entertaining, as guests can flow freely between the inside and outside.
One of the biggest challenges for the designers was finding patio furniture that looked virtually indistinguishable from interior furniture. Always up to the task, they found chairs made of polypropylene and a sofa with blown-fiber innards resembling the down of the family’s sectional. For durability and ease of cleaning, it’s covered in a Sunbrella fabric.
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One of the biggest challenges for the designers was finding patio furniture that looked virtually indistinguishable from interior furniture. Always up to the task, they found chairs made of polypropylene and a sofa with blown-fiber innards resembling the down of the family’s sectional. For durability and ease of cleaning, it’s covered in a Sunbrella fabric.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A young couple with two small children
Location: Edina, Minnesota
Size: Five bedrooms
Designers: Ammar Alshash and Rachel Drewitz of Dwelling Designs
Alshash and Drewitz describe the entry as a jumping-off point for the rest of the home’s design. Wanting the floor to be “a real show-stopper,” they placed white, black and gray marble tiles in an asymmetrical fashion. Two recurring design themes seen throughout the house start here: black enameled walls and stunning light fixtures. “Doing that helped give the space a more dramatic feel,” Alshash says. Instead of a pure black, he chose Benjamin Moore’s Onyx, which in the can appears dark brown but transforms into a soft black on the walls.
The modern chandelier from Restoration Hardware in the foreground is typically used indoors, but it has an outdoor rating, so the designers figured it was fair game for some drama in the sheltered nook just in front of the front door.