MidZENtury paradise
Hi there, welcome! Please, make yourself at home. This is the first post in the blog, and also a very special one.
This is the residence of Arielle Condoret Schechter, architect and designer. It is a space with great character and serenity, filled with natural light and good decisions. With a midcentury modern inclination and a zen outdoor inspiration, she decided to make her home as comfortable as possible, e.g., adding wheels to chairs and tables, allowing the sunlight to find her path in between sofas and shelves and fill every possible inch.
Driven by sustainability, the architect installed solar panels on the roof —approaching almost net zero— and also built a solar hot water heater and a large compost tiller. Condoret believes in making those kinds of decisions: conserving energy, preserving natural resources and reducing costs. "That’s the kind of environment that just makes you feel good about life." She continues, "Everyone deserves good spaces derived from good ideas. Modern, energy-efficient design provides all the good ideas you can imagine, whether you’re building from the ground up or renovating an existing structure."
Office nook by the fireplace, also designed by Arielle. Pic by ©Keith Isaacs
Arielle is also a furniture and object designer, and we can see one of her office nooks in the living room, surrounded by immense windows that caress the ceiling and reveal the wild backyard that she, her husband Arnie, and their rescued animals enjoy.
Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the residence was built in one of the highest points of Orange County and offers a spectacular view of the city of Durham in the winter. The dreamy U-shaped entrance features an exuberant goldfish pond and a covered porch by the kitchen, with translucent panels designed by Arielle.
The heart of the house. The living room faces the zen garden in the front and the wild backyard. Pic by ©Keith Isaacs
The living room, thoughtfully connected to the kitchen and dining area, is surrounded by two glass walls that bring the North Carolinian wilderness inside the house. The high ceilings and the fireplace—which also opens to the dining area—shape the heart of the house, exposed to the elements.
Pic by ©Keith Isaacs
The dining area features the breathtaking Poul Henningsen Artichoke Lamp. For the living room, Arielle found the golden arch floor lamp on the curb and decided to rescue it, making the space fun and even brighter. In the same room we can see a black Noguchi coffee table by Herman Miller topped by a Kaleido trays set by HAY.
In the hallway—one of the warmest spaces of the house—we can find the comfortable Womb chair by Saarinen. The architect designed the light fixtures, the built-in shelving unit and the linoleum runner. Facing a courtyard, and being an—almost—hidden intersection in the 4300 sqft custom designed house, the space is nothing but placid.
Warm and cozy reading corner, built in the hallway, facing a courtyard. Pic by ©Keith Isaacs
"Actually, I really enjoy being in every space in the house. It has turned out to be a really fun house to live in, but maybe the bedroom is my sanctuary. I love watching movies in there with Arnie and the dogs and cats with a fire going in the little firepod on a cold day. It’s a great place and the one place where I let myself 'not work'," and she adds, "I also enjoy our master bath, which was an experiement at the time I designed it. But it is such a nice sanctuary that I miss it when we travel!" The bathroom is a room for fun, geometry, reflections and light contemplation.
Master bath, designed by Arielle. Pic by ©Keith Isaacs
Arielle loves midcentury designers, and showcases their work in interiors in her job "because some of them are still not widely as known as they should be. I don’t like houses to look like everything was bought from one place." George Mulhauser, Knoll, Kofod Larsen, George Nelson, Alexander Girard, Jean Prouve (...) Arielle's house is a jewel for midcentury lovers, a curated selection that flows through the residence with grace, form and function. She collects her pieces by buying them online, thrift shops and vintage stores. "These vintage modern things resonate with me. I can feel the original designer’s thoughts about how they created the piece when I look at it and this is the significance of these pieces for me in the house."
Concludes:"I am continually inspired by them and find them pulsating with life - they are not just objects but ideas."
Part of her sanctuary, a corner in the master bedroom. Pic by ©Keith Isaacs
Photography: ©Keith Isaacs Photo
Architecture and design: Arielle Condoret Schechter, PLLC, AIA.
