A Library for a Well-Read Client
When asked to renovate an entire 1920s residence and transform it into a voluminous library for a well-read client, Mark McInturff eschewed the notion of working with the home’s decorative roots.
Instead, he chose to work with a universal system of steel, glass and cherry wood, and apply a standard set of interventions throughout the 2,500 square foot home.
The result is a series of surprising and pleasing planes that intersect vertically and horizontal in every room of the project.
The best example lies in the formal foyer, where only the newel post of the original staircase remains intact. Beside it rests a horizontal bench on limed oak floors.. “There’s a warm/cool thing happening there that’s very nice,” Mark said.
For the owner, an attorney who’s also a bibliophile (“He’s got more architecture books than almost anybody I know,” he said), bookshelves were a must. The architect designed them for verticality, with glass shelves penetrating aluminum supports. “It’s a little like those shelves we used to build in college, out of concrete blocks and planks.”
The shelves are most successful in the living area where they serve as a backdrop to a floating Spark Fires fireplace that’s side-by side with a television, both framed in one-half-inch matte aluminum facing. “The hard part was finding a television and fireplace the same size,” Mark said.
The library takes on various configurations to create walls of books, drawers for CD’s, a desk and shelves nearly everywhere. “Wherever they land, the new shelves are lit with new windows to complete the picture and create light-filled spaces for reading,” he said.
For more on McInturff Architects, go to http://www.mcinturffarchitects.com
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These bookcases are amazing! What I would give to have a whole wall of custom-made bookcases. What’s with the fake tv fire though?
That’s a real gas fire, Marisa.
A 1920s residence turns over a new leaf. Overdue.