Beachfront Retreat in Los Angeles

Today, dear readers, I have a most singular house to show you. Designer and antiques dealer Richard Shapiro built this Malibu beachfront retreat and decorated it in a rustic yet elegant style with unique period pieces. If you'd like to read the whole story just go right <a href="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/homes/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man_article">here</a>.<br /><br /><br /><img alt="" class="featureimg" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/01_renaissance_man.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 596px;" /><br />Richard Shapiro, antiques dealer and head of Studiolo home furnishings, at the Malibu beach house he designed with architect Douglas Burdge. The Dutch wicker chair is from the 1960s.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/02_renaissance_man.jpg" style="width: 552px; height: 598px;" /><br />Steel windows fabricated by Pierre Quinton open to a view of the Pacific Ocean.<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/03_renaissance_man.jpg" /><br />The living room walls are sheathed in frescoed plaster; a 17th-century Italian gilt-wood mirror is displayed above an antique Cypriot fireplace. Shapiro designed the chairs, the wood stools are 19th-century Ghanaian, and the white-painted cast-bronze floor lamp, by Patricia Roach.<br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/04_renaissance_man.jpg" /><br />The open kitchen occupying one end of the living space is anchored by an island made of basalt. The same volcanic stone is used for the backsplash and counters; the cabinets are black lacquer. A vintage glass waterfall table by Pace is paired with a linen-covered sofa custom fitted to the alcove. <div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/05_renaissance_man.jpg" style="width: 552px; height: 598px;" /><br />The dining area is centered beneath a pair of 18th-century inlaid Cosmatesque panels. Rattan chairs and a bench designed by Shapiro.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/06_renaissance_man.jpg" style="width: 554px; height: 600px;" /><br />A sculptural staircase with a steel balustrade winds up to the master bedroom and bath. At its base is a 19th-century replica of an ancient Greek statue; the nail-studded walnut front door is 17th-century Italian.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/07_renaissance_man.jpg" style="width: 553px; height: 599px;" /><br />In the living room, a painted-steel pedestal displays a fourth-century Roman torso.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/08_renaissance_man.jpg" style="width: 553px; height: 599px;" /><br />The timber staircase leading to the beach was designed to resemble the weathered ramparts of a Moroccan fort.<br /><br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/09_renaissance_man.jpg" style="width: 552px; height: 598px;" /><br />The stone terrace is furnished with rattan and wicker chairs and an early-20th-century octagonal table painted deep red; the large ceramic jar is 16th-century Thai.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/10_renaissance_man.jpg" style="width: 553px; height: 599px;" /><br />The front door is framed by a French 18th-century stone surround and lush greenery.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/11_renaissance_man.jpg" style="width: 553px; height: 599px;" /><br />A daybed covered in mismatched stripes is tucked into a corner of the library; the table is 15th-century Italian, and the painting is by Shapiro.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/12_renaissance_man.jpg" /><br />The library walls feature <em>tadelakt</em>, a traditional Arabic polished plaster. An 18th-century French chair is paired with a Spanish desk of the same period; the ottoman and sofa are Shapiro designs.<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/14_renaissance_man.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 596px;" /><br />A 19th-century Uzbek suzani covers Shapiro’s bed; the 17th-century Italian Savonarola chair stands alongside an antique Burgundian roof corbel.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2011/04/renaissance_man/13_renaissance_man.jpg" style="width: 551px; height: 597px;" /><br />Shapiro conceived the master bath so that the minimalist tub has views of the garden and the Malibu hills.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br />Photographed and produced by Miguel Flores-Vianna<br /><br />All images and information from <a href="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/">Architectural Digest</a>.<br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>

Beachfront Retreat in Los Angeles

Today, dear readers, I have a most singular house to show you. Designer and antiques dealer Richard Shapiro built this Malibu beachfront ret...

Read more »

Tiles and Colours in Malibu

This house in Maibu, California, used to belong to Merritt and Rhoda Adamson, whose family started Malibu Potteries. Where better than in their own home to show off their colourful handmade tiles in every room.<br /><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_385_xl.jpg" style="width: 501px; height: 625px;" /><br />Even the facade has tiles surrounding the entrance door and the upstairs windows.<br /><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_526_xl.jpg" style="width: 501px; height: 626px;" /><br />The grandfather clock stands next to an eclectic tiled table. The lamp and urn are Italian hand-painted earthenware. The blue ceiling and burnished walls, which symbolize sky and earth, echo the natural vista outside.<br /><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="450" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_483_xl.jpg" width="360" /><br />Down to its intricate fringe, the Persian-style tile "carpet" in the loggia was conceived for the house by William Handley, a designer for Malibu Potteries. The elaborate pattern, which includes more than 670 tiles, was created using cuerda seca glazing.<br /><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_476_xl.jpg" style="width: 503px; height: 628px;" /><br />Glass doors with a wrought-iron grille bring light and ocean views to the hall.<br /><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_502_xl.jpg" style="width: 414px; height: 516px;" /><br />The baseboard skirting is composed of tiny individual tiles set into a motif that continues up the stairs.<br /><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_259_xl.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 624px;" /><br />The dining room's frescoed ceiling consists of painted, wood-framed plaster panels that echo the rhythm of the floor tile.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_407_xl.jpg" style="width: 501px; height: 626px;" /><br />The kitchen's geometric patterns have been described as Pueblo Deco, in contrast with the Moorish motifs in the rest of the house.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_518_xl.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 624px;" /><br />The upstairs hall with its ironwork railings and scored oak floor features decorative painting by two Danish artists who spent a year accenting doorways, ceilings, and furniture. The linen closet doors are adorned with trompe l'oeil "carvings."<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_508_xl.jpg" style="width: 499px; height: 623px;" /><br />Viking and Venetian galleys, an ocean liner, and a clipper ship navigate the bright-blue-tiled walls of Merritt Jr.'s bathroom.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="450" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_511_xl.jpg" width="360" /><br />A closeup of the bathroom tile.<br /><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="450" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_520_xl.jpg" width="360" /><br />The Adamsons planted a flowering coral tree outside the bathroom shared by their daughters, Sylvia and Rhoda May.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_321_xl.jpg" style="width: 502px; height: 627px;" /><br />The floral patterns on their Belgian silk bedspreads mimic the tree's red-orange blooms. The bedroom's ceiling was painted by Danish artists, who also decorated the bookcase.<br /></div></div><br /></div><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" height="450" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_504_xl.jpg" width="360" /><br />The Malibu Potteries bathroom tile also takes its inspiration from the flowers just outside the window.<br /></div><br /></div><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_439_xl.jpg" style="width: 502px; height: 627px;" /><br />Each of the home's six bedrooms has its own bathroom, where walls, floors, and even some ceilings are tiled.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_355_xl.jpg" style="width: 501px; height: 626px;" /><br />The Peacock Fountain, just outside the loggia, captures the colours of the Pacific. One tile to the left of the urn was set backward; it's believed to be a deliberate error reflecting the Islamic belief that perfection comes only from God. (Beats me... I can't find it!)<br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div></div><img class="lpgVerticalShadow" src="http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/pub/ms_living/2010Q2//mld105664_0510_463_xl.jpg" style="width: 504px; height: 629px;" /><br />Designed for sunset viewing, the tiled patio features a built-in fireplace for chilly evenings.<br /><br />All images and information from <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/">here</a>.

Tiles and Colours in Malibu

This house in Maibu, California, used to belong to Merritt and Rhoda Adamson, whose family started Malibu Potteries. Where better than in ...

Read more »