Archives: Case Studies

Contains case studies

MOMA Moments

 

With its sweeping view of the ocean, a California home gave Denise Morrison a chance to use her skill balancing environment, furniture, and an art collection so prolific she named it after the Museum of Modern Art.

 

Designer Denise Morrison recalls connecting strongly with the Corona del Mar home. “From the beginning, the tremendous use of steel, wood, and custom lighting made it a favorite. With a view of the Pacific, it was a real showstopper,” she recalls. The client’s extensive art collection added to the work of balancing and layering it all, putting the project squarely in her sweet spot.

With clients who were “creative, open to all ideas,” Morrison’s design intelligence kicked in as she sought ways to keep the view unimpeded. Things like a slatted office wall and sculptural but unobtrusive furniture worked beautifully. When she saw the Angela armchair and Lily stool at Sossego’s AD space, she knew they would help her play on the contrast between very light whites and strong darks through use of texture, wood, and fabric.

“I had the opportunity to sit in those chairs, and absolutely loved the way they felt. Aesthetically, they’re just so beautiful, they almost feel sculptural,” she reminisced. “The silhouette was so beautiful they complemented these fully elevated artful moments throughout the house. The leather back fold over is textural, pretty, and “gives” comfortably. For the downstairs bar, the leather lends a nice masculine feel.”

Sossego’s modern design integrated well with the art and even the antiques I used, the designer recalls. “I love to surprise people, pushing the envelope to find flow and balance. Layering that way is intentional – but also tricky. A client feels at home and enjoys seeing things that are fun and fresh mixed with the pieces they love. As a design team, we love working with Sossego products. We completely trust in the quality and know we’ll have something extraordinary in its beauty and its build.”

The Loft At Workflow

 

 

Designing a workspace for themselves in a historic brick and beam loft gave Workflow a chance to integrate products from its own roster of 50 go-to manufacturers into a layered and cohesive environment.

 

Workflow became its own client when they expanded their offices into a vacant upper floor of their historic loft building. With its small footplate, that meant getting rid of drywall and cubicles to open the space and install an eclectic mix of furniture that showcase an inviting hospitality aesthetic.

They did so through skillful layering and soulful materiality selection, using warm wood tones found in the brick walls and oak beams: Sossego’s Lupita and Beatriz upholstered armchairs, different from one another but speaking the same design language; blackened wood flooring; a sumptuous leather booth. Domingos Tortorà’s Frisos wall piece, a sculpture of cardboard and mud put out to dry in the Brazilian sun, its color connecting it to a symphony of other wood pieces playing against the black floor.

A custom bar with premium finishes and exceptional craftsmanship, not to mention high-tech features like a wi-fi charging countertop, took center stage, so designers introduced the Duda stool by Aristeu Pirès, all angles and curves and comfort. It mirrored the quality of the bar without stealing the spotlight from it.

A most excellent balancing act and juxtaposition of old-world space meets sleek new furniture and finishes. Tailored corners, joinery, and legs that come together in tabletops, are more than a tip of the hat to the architecture; they unify the structure of the space with its curation so well that the design team and the client both deserve to take a bow.