Citizen House – Oklahoma City
“Our vision and challenge were to create a warm and elegant world-class destination that felt like it had always been there; a place where members would want to return over and over again.” Shane Morris – Designer, Michaelis Boyd
If Oklahoma City doesn’t bring to mind a vibrant arts, culture, and culinary scene, you likely haven’t visited in a while. And you almost certainly haven’t experienced Citizen House, the live-work-play destination by Brady Wood (WoodHouse) that’s giving members and guests three new reasons to fall in love with this forward-thinking city.
Inhabiting the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of AHMM’s modern mid-rise set just across from the elegantly curated Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, Citizen House brings together a private social club, hotel, and executive workplace.
Michaelis Boyd, a London and New York-based architecture and interior design studio with a global and diverse hospitality portfolio of award-winning projects, was selected to bring residential warmth and holistic flow to the project. Partner Rina Kukaj and designer Shane Morris handled the interior architectural layouts, finishes, and furnishings, case goods, millwork, and accessories.
Guided by the firm’s “light, form, flow” ethos, the designer incorporated abundant natural light and sweeping city views, complemented by the addition of greenery and the use of natural materials. “We love how wood patinas that age gracefully make a space feel organic and lived in,” said Shane.
The designer’s choice of Sossego tables, chairs, lounge chairs, and stools in Brazilian Jequitibá wood finish played well into the designer’s “accumulated” aesthetic. “The way the chairs are carved, it looks like hands passed over the wood for a long period of time. Like there’s a story there,” he said.
And while the pieces nod to legacy design, “they’re also undeniably sleek and modern,” said the designer. That balance allowed seamless integration with his layered approach to pattern, color, textiles, and style – whether drawing from Art Deco, Beaux Arts, or Spanish Revival influences. “From hotel lobby to speakeasy and from executive office to intimate dining nook,” he added, “Sossego designs live effortlessly alongside other furniture, whether a marble table or a sculptural bench.”
Shane felt the pieces fulfilled client WoodHouse’s desire for flexible, multifunctional furniture. “The minimalist structure and lightness of the Sossego chairs gave us true freedom of movement. Combined with their exquisite craftsmanship, they are perfectly suited to the space. Warm and worn-in, as if they’ve always belonged here.”
