"No matter the style or scale, however, his sixth sense for the provision of creature comforts is evident throughout his work. "He just knew how to design a house for cultured living," notes Escher. It's telling that Williams opted for modernism in his own residence, yet the functionalist disposition of the rooms is balanced with richly personal details. "On one hand, it's still sort of a traditional layout in how the kitchen and back-of-house facilities are organized," says GuneWardena."
"When it came to understanding the complex mix of styles in the house, Williams's library offered an important clue. GuneWardena found a 1950s press photograph of the architect in his office in which he could read the spines of books on his shelves. These included several volumes on interiors by French designers including Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, so it's no surprise that Williams, whose buildings spanned the architectural spectrum from Beaux Arts to Space Age, wove Art Deco details inside his own International Style house."
"One particularly evocative flourish is the wrought-iron staircase railing embellished with galloping cast-brass gazelles. Another striking feature-a request from Mrs. Williams after the couple visited a similar space at a country club in Jamaica-is the so-called Lanai room with its coffered ceiling and stone floor that opens to the back garden. Escher and GuneWardena also carefully uncovered the dreamy original sorbet-like color palette under layers of white paint: The rooms had originally been swathed in pale pistachio and rose."
Williams designed a residence that pairs International Style modernism with traditional functional organization and individualized decorative flourishes. The plan centers on a stair hall that acts as a pinwheel, with three principal spaces angling off it, while back-of-house and kitchen arrangements retain a conventional layout. The library's collection included volumes on French interiors such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, informing the integration of Art Deco motifs into a modern frame. Interior features include a wrought-iron stair railing with cast-brass gazelles, a coffered Lanai room opening onto the garden, and an original sorbet palette of pistachio and rose uncovered beneath white paint. Restoration choices sought to respect surviving elements and furniture to balance history with contemporary living.
Read at Architectural Digest
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