Husband and wife, Kathryn Robson and Chris Rak, founders of the Melbourne-based Robson Rak architecture and interior design practice, have recently completed their most demanding and ambitious project to date. It is a dream project in many ways as Robson Rak was commissioned to create not just the house but the interiors as well.

The dramatic Stone Soul House is a six-bedroom family residence partly blasted into the ground. It is approximately 900 square-metres (9,688 sq.ft) in size and covers three levels.

The House is massive, not just in size but in presence. At first glance, it brings to mind a fortress, a monument or an art museum. It exudes permanence and solidity. All of this is part of the brief as the family, consisting of a couple with four children, was looking to re-house itself in a home that reflects their current family-centered life and also meets their potentially multi-generational future needs. They wanted that sense of permanence and also a feeling of belonging to the surroundings.

We wondered how a family could have nothing they wanted to keep, that they could allow designers, no matter how suited to the task, to choose everything. “Our clients had some sentimental items and art that is in the home but they had previously not really invested in beautiful furniture so now was the time,” Robson Rak told The Cool Hunter. “It was also important to them that the furniture be the correct scale and complete the whole story of the design concept.”

While the house is large and monolithic, the family’s living spaces have a human, intimate scale. In addition, each area has softening features such as rounded openings and corners, arches, curved staircases and bookshelves, soft furnishings, greenery, and views of the nature outside.

The drama really does start at the entrance where the designers commissioned a multi-hued work by Hong Kong-born, Melbourne-based John Young Zerunge to contrast the fossilised stone walls. Titled “Aleph Spring 2021”, the artwork layers colours and images onto a dream-like, soft surface. The combination of stone and brick, art and softer features is apparent throughout the house.

The entrance space is a chamber flanked by two basement courtyards that allow the tops of mature plane trees to grow though the levels so that as you enter the front door at ground level, the first thing you see is treetops. Not something you’d expect to reveal itself from the stony façade.

Much of what is in the house was custom-created by mainly local craftspeople, artisans and trades. Everything from door handles to lighting, from tables, seating and rugs to staircases and pools was specifically designed by Robson Rak and created for the Stone Sould House.

The top floor houses the bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom, plus a large library and reading room. The basement includes a gym, guest rooms, the two terraces and a rumpus room.

As the family entertains large groups of guests frequently the designers focused on the flexibility of spaces as well as emphasizing the sense of reveal and drama in the more public areas.

In the entertainment hub on the main level, we especially love the pivoting, elongated-oval-shaped, bronze-framed glass screens. The screens can shut off or connect the sitting area and the kitchen. The sitting area in turn connects to one of the outside terraces and the lawn beyond, helping bring the outside in. Stone and brick arches also lead into this area, drawing the visitor in and revealing one surprise after another.

But in the end, the home like a home. Surprisingly, it does not feel cold or distant. And as the family and the designers firmly agreed on and insisted throughout the process, Stone Soul House was designed for a busy and active family, not as a show space or showcase.  Tuija Seipell

Images by Shannon Mcgrath

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Great things take time to develop. The secondary home in Montecito, California, planned and completed over a period of a decade by of Los Angeles-based architect William Hefner and his late wife, interior designer Kazuko Hoshino, is a perfect example of this.

The extended design and construction period allowed the ideas to mature, unexpected methods and materials to present themselves, and the decisions to gel for both. Eventually, the long incubation time resulted in a relaxed holiday retreat that feels both new and old, both modern and traditional.

It is not a house but a compound, a set of low wood and stone buildings rather than one sprawling house or a multi-story structure. In some cultures, compound-living is a cherished tradition that gives different generations or branches of a larger family both together-time and privacy. In others, having separate functions of a household in separate buildings is a long-held tradition.

In the case of the Romero Canyon compound the process began in 2008 when Hefner and Hoshino bought an overgrown one-acre parcel of land in the lush Romero Canyon area of Montecito. The site had a 900-square-foot (84 sq.metre) 1930s shack and even older stables that had been converted into a guest house.

Busy with their growing architecture and design practice Studio William Hefner in Los Angeles during the recession, California-born Hefner and Japan-born Hoshino, who was pregnant with the couple’s son, Koji, decided not to rush with the renovation as this would be their secondary residence in addition to their Hancock Park principal home.

They called it a personal experiment in ideas for modern family living. Initially, they thought they’d just renovate the shack and add something to it, but they eventually felt they wanted a more meaningful expression of what their fantasy of a “cool hunting lodge” would be. The construction process started in 2013 and took three years.

Their Romero Canyon compound now extends to 6,000 square feet (557.5 sq. metres) of living space. A large central square is flanked by the L-shaped main building and separate buildings for various activities.

The principal house includes an open-plan living room, dining room, kitchen and a game room, all connected through breezeways. The pool house serves as a spacious guest house that also became a favourite “holiday house” for the owners who felt that when they stayed in the guest house, they were on a real holiday. The smaller stone building functions as a gym

The main house, the gym and the guest house overlook the pool and gardens and all have views of the surrounding mountains as well. Large decks are accessed by full-height glass doors to further blur the line between inside and outside.

The materials used throughout are local. For example, the main house is clad with chunks of the Santa Barbara sandstone found on site during the excavation for the foundations and the pool. All spaces are also under-furnished on purpose to allow the oak floors, stone detailing and stained cedar accents to shine. The rustic hunting-lodge atmosphere is emphasized by five wood-burning fireplaces.

We love the low profile and human scale of the entire compound. Both indoors and out, everything is built for living, for real people to relax and enjoy. Tuija Seipell

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Masseria Belvedere is an expertly restored Italian 16^th century masseria now functioning as a sophisticated guest house for up to 16 people. Located in the Puglia region, Masseria Belvedere drew our attention because of its elegant, low profile. Another redeeming quality that is even more significant than the low profile is the complete lack of distracting modern embellishments.

The architects have allowed the original natural stone walls to continue to speak the loudest. Everything else, including the gorgeous – and very modern – infinity pool stays discretely in a supporting role. Architects Nicolò Lewanski and Federica Russo, partners in Lecce, Puglia-based Valari have taken an enlightened, unintrusive approach that has not only produced a cohesive, well-functioning new whole but has also created a lasting legacy for the handsome compound.

A masseria is a fortified farmhouse built in the 16^th century on the estates in the Puglia region of Southern Italy. Usually, it consists of a pair of buildings running along two sides of a central high-walled courtyard.

The Masseria Belvedere property extends over a hectare and a half of land that faces the Adriatic coast and includes an ancient olive garden. The structure is L-shaped with the original two-level farm house forming one wing and the restored stables the other.

The architects decided right from the start that they would not increase the vertical mass of the buildings. Rather, they would focus on the horizontal. The result is not only an unintrusive overall profile, but also a set of gorgeous terraces, lawns and al fresco dining areas and, of course, the beautiful infinity pool.

Another aspect of the architects’ approach was to not attempt to define the function of each segment or area of the compound, either inside or outside. Instead, things are left open, often unfurnished and, in a sense, undefined, although everything is clearly walled and segmented.

We love this feeling of possibility and openness. This is not a place where one must accomplish or strive and where every space has a set function in which one must participate. This is what we call an authentic, relaxing atmosphere. Limitless opportunities when the environment presents no demands on its inhabitants.

The eight bedrooms of the complex are located in the 500 square-metre (5,382 sq.ft) main farm house. Most of the living areas and public spaces are in the former stables. Both structures are characterized by the original vaulted ceilings, exposed natural stone and a subdued colour palette.

Masseria Belvedere is situated in the d’Itria Valley in the province of Brindisi. The closest airport is the Brindisi Airport about 20 minutes’ drive away. The closest shops are in the ancient Roman port town of Carovigno, about seven minutes’ drive from the masseria. The beaches of Torre Santa Sabina, the resort town of Specchiolla and the Torre Guaceto Nature reserve are all within 10 to 15-minute drive away as well.  Tuija Seipell

Images: Lorenzo Zandri

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Can Brut is a family villa on the island of Ibiza located on an 85,000 square-metre cove plot overlooking Spain’s Balearic Sea. The plot overlooks a relatively secluded cove with a small beach and a lovely swimming and snorkeling area favoured by locals on the otherwise rather touristy island of Ibiza that is one of the main Balearic Islands in addition to Majorca, Minorca, Carbera and Formentera.

The house was designed by Amsterdam, Paris and Ibiza-based Framework Studio founded by self-taught Dutch designer, Thomas Geerlings. The key characteristic of the villa is the use of local materials, including beautiful traditional stonework on the house and on the extensive garden walls. In its materials, features and contents the villa is clearly local but it is also eclectically modern and global.

Outside, the dramatic pool is lined with the green Verde Lapponia stone from Norway with the edges and decks clad with limestone. Wood and stone dominate the material palette inside and out, with vintage finds, impressive pieces of art and crafts reflect the owners’ respect for detail, traditional skills and unique pieces.

Most of the rooms have views of the pool and the century-old Ibizan Sabina juniper trees, once plentiful on the island and because of their incredibly hard core, often described as reflections of the hardy and noble character of the people of Ibiza.

Framework Studio’s senior architect and interior designer Alexandra Ramos has described the goals of this project as being comfort and simplicity. They have achieved both, and by peppering the interior with a mix of vintage finds, they have lifted the rustic local material and design language up to a contemporary and timeless one.

The white entrance hall has curved ceilings that echo traditional local building methods. The living room features the deliciously pillowy vintage sectional sofa by the Viennese group, Wiener Werkstätte (1903-1932), flanked by the vintage Conoid lounge Chair by George Nakashima, a Vincenzo de Cotiis coffee table and a unique dark-wood wall panel by the Italian artist  duo Giovanni “Nerone” Ceccarelli and Gianni Patuzzi known as Gruppo NP2 (1962-1974).

The kitchen was custom-designed by Framework Studio using oak, gunmetal and Travertino Romano stone. The kitchen accents include a Allan Gould-designed mid-century modernist lounge chair circa 1950s and one of the Arno de Clercq wooden Senufo stools that appear in several rooms of the villa. The main bathroom’s material palette echoes the kitchen’s with its gunmetal fixtures, oak vanities and Travertino Romano stone.

The dining room’s  dominating piece is the bulky wood table crafted by the late Brazilian architect Jose Zanine Caldas (1919-2001) that is surrounded by vintage Pierre Jeanneret (1896-1967) chairs. Tuija Seipell.

Images by Cafeine – Thomas de Bruyne

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Magic can result when architect and client have known each other for two decades and when both are willing to take the time to consider the best way to renovate a sprawling Upstate New York estate.

Architect Niels Schoenfelder of Mancini Enterprises and client Beverly Kerzner spent countless days and dinners over four years debating the details of the 125-acre scenic Hudson Valley parcel of land that Kerzner had purchased in 2007. The hilly property contained a river, two large barns, a cabin and a house.

These extensive considerations have produced a brand-new barn-like residence for Kerzner hand her two grown daughters. The house mimics the double height and lofty scale of the existing barns.

Reclaimed wood, natural-stone and other natural materials evoke a sense of age and nature while the immense windows and gabled ceilings recreate and emphasize the scale that both client and architect considered essential in the new structure.

The soaring, elegant exterior of the structure is one of our favourite aspects of it. The ruin-like lower floor embedded into the hilly land is especially ingenious.

Inside, we love the gorgeous, tall windows with their minimalist black frames and without any heavy treatments or drapery. They give the key rooms a strong, structural focus, but at the same time create a sense of lightness and airiness. The white gabled ceilings have the same effect, drawing the eye up, yet giving the rooms a feeling of order and calm

We also love the India-inspired low dining table designed for this space by Schoenfelder and surrounded by low cushions as seating.

Another favourite is the large and spacious main bathroom with its shower glass and vanity custom-designed by Schoenfelder The hammock in the main living space is a masterpiece designed by Jim Zivic for Ralph Pucci. It was purchased for the family’s previous house, but to hang it in this high space, Zivic was engaged to create the custom-length chains.

Client and architect also share a keen interest in India. German-born and educated, 45-year-old Niels Schoenfelder is the principal architect of Mancini Enterprises based in Chennai (Madras) and Mumbai.

He went to India two decades ago for a hotel project and ended up not only staying but basing his business there. Part of the reason for staying was meeting his future wife Malavika Shivakumar, entrepreneur and partner in the Chennai-based embroidery atelier of the late Jean-François Lesage, the French heir of the Maison Lesage. The atelier is now owned by Chanel through its subsidiary Paraffection.

Schoenfelder’s first hotel project in India 20 years ago caught the eye of Beverly Kerzner, New York socialite and daughter of the late South African casino and resort tycoon Sol Kerzner. Beverly Kerzner splits her time between New York and a small town in India. – Tuija Seipell

Images Björn Wallander

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A vast book collection and a trusting friendship between designers and their client helped turn cramped ground-floor rooms into a sun-filled, tranquil private reading room.

Six years ago, Tao Liu and Chunyan Cai, co-founders of the Shanghai-based architecture and interior design firm Atelier tao+c, designed an apartment for a client with whom they have since become friends. At the time, the apartment brief required designing space for the client’s vast, ever-increasing book collection.

In 2020, the client invited the designers to his new office located in a 1980s building on Gaoan Road in Xuhui District in the former French Concession. He asked the designers what he should do with the building’s empty ground floor with its two small rooms and a glass house in the courtyard.

The designers suggested transforming the rooms into a private reading space that would bring together the client’s office, his book collection, his team and his friends.

The rooms were small — the total finished size of the reading space is only 76 square metres (818 sq.ft) — and the ceilings lwere ow, and there were weight-bearing brick walls that could not be taken down.

The resulting spaces are sun-filled and open but there are also private reading rooms, a pantry/tearoom and a washroom. The openness and fluidity are achieved by reconfiguring the space, but also by using minimalist material and colour palettes.

Tao Liu and Chunyan Cai covered the glasshouse with a wood ceiling into which they cut one round and one square skylight. Oak bookshelves line the rooms and off-white travertine seating is covered with blue-green fabric.

A triangular travertine structure conceals the existing pillars in the middle with two sides structured as bookshelves and one side as a fireplace.

The space can now be used for multiple purposes from quiet, private reading and study to small meetings and events. – Tuija Seipell.

Images by Wen studio

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“It’s not a place to show off, it’s a place for my soul to rest,” says 37-year-old Colombian reggaeton superstar, José Álvaro Osorio Balvín known professionally as J Balvin in a magazine article. “It’s about creating something with nature. Like everything in life, the simple things are the most amazing.”

This is was all we needed to know to become interested in J Balvin’s latest residence, Casa Aire, recently completed in his Colombian city of birth, Medellín. J Balvin cultivates a considered bad-boy demeanour with his sometimes controversial views, multicoloured hair, numerous tattoos and loud outfits, but he has also understood that he needs a counterpoint to balance his hectic and crazy global superstar lifestyle. He has said that he wanted to create a sanctuary with balance, peace and inspiration.

Casa Aire is J Balvin’s third residential collaboration with Medellín-based architecture and design studio Cinco Solidos (5Sólidos), established in 2019 by Daniel Correa, Maria José Fernandez and Elisa Ortega. We recently covered the studio’s Casa JL, also located in Medellín.

The minimalist style of Cinco Solidos matches perfectly with what J Balvin was looking for in this mountainside retreat that he expects to expand eventually into a major residential compound for family and friends. He shares the three-bedroom 500 square-metre (5382 sq.ft) residence with his son, Rio, whom he had with his girlfriend, former Miss Argentina, fashion model , Valentina Ferrer, 10 months ago.

With a long, collaborative relationship already existing between the designers and their client, the design process was not as complicated as it would have been had they started from scratch. The basic principles were clear to all; minimalist open concept, Japanese zen-like vibes, and connecting everything with the surrounding, lush nature and gorgeous mountainside vistas. As a result, Japanese water features, and bonsai and Spanish olive trees, arranged according to the principles of feng shui, are distinctive and important design elements in the house as much as the minimalist furniture.

In the living room that opens fully to the terraces outside, low, forest green, tube-like Osaka sofas, designed in 1967 by French Pierre Paulin (1927-2009) for Italian manufacturer La Cividina dominate the space.

The sofas flank two large, thick travertine slabs that function as coffee tables. The two marble tables weigh two tonnes together and it took 15 men to position them in their places.

The dining room has a strong mid-century minimalist feel with oak Buffala chairs designed by Kristian Sofus Hansen and Tommy Hyldahl for Norr11 flanking a table designed by Cinco Solidos. Only one piece of art decorates the room that also opens directly to the terraces: a painting by Colombian artist Christian Abusaid.

The residence has a muted colour palette with only a few hints toward J Balvin’s love of colour. Each of the three bedrooms is decorated by bright works of Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami and Californian art collaborative of Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, FriendsWithYou. Outside, a pastel blue and pink basketball court adds a sense of fun to the otherwise serene surroundings.

In addition to his multiple-award-winning musical career, J Balvin is known for collaborations with fellow Latino musicians including Benito ‘Bad Bunny’ Martinez, Nicky Jam and Daddy Yankee. He has also convinced other superstars, including Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran and Pharrell Williams, to sing with him in Spanish. He has also collaborated with fashion brands Louis Vuitton, Prada and Supreme, animated TV-series character SpongeBob SquarePants and artist Takashi Murakami. – Tuija Seipell

Images by Rainbow Nelson

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The shingle-clad East Hampton beach house, located on the coveted Further Lane, has an illustrious celebrity-amplified past as do so many in the area. It was built in 1998 by French fashion and celebrity photographer and former international creative director of ELLE magazine, Gilles Bensimon, and his then-wife, former model, American real-estate agent, author, The Real Housewives of New York City cast member and one of ELLE Accessories editors, Kelly Killoren Bensimon.

The pair divorced in 2007 and in 2012 Killoren Bensimon sold the highly publicized property to the current owners, a New York City-based couple who own an impressive collection of mid-century, modernist and contemporary art and design.

Now, 10 years later, when the couple needed a designer, celebrated Southampton-based designer Timothy Godbold was a natural choice. He already knew the owners and was also familiar with the house. The couple was already his clients thorough earlier work. In addition, in the 1990s, when a friend of his was a guest of the previous owners of the house, Godbold used to park on the front lawn and then walk to Two Mile Hollow Beach.

Although the owners have had the home now for 10 years, they had not seriously addressed the interiors before. They had added the pool house, which increased the total livable space of the home to 7,300 square feet (678 sq.m).

Because Godbold’s minimalist style matched the owners’ aesthetic taste, he had the freedom to clarify the interiors that had become cluttered and confusing over the years. He wanted to avoid the Hampton clichés of nautical themes and beach hues and instead aimed for a timeless West Coast cool vibe. The primary bathroom and kitchen were completely gutted and everything else was pared down to create calm and functional spaces.

The six-bedroom, six-bathroom home now bestows appropriate settings for the couple’s collections and provides open space for entertaining and elegant rooms for guests.

Godbold custom-designed furnishings and features for several rooms including the travertine fireplace in the living room. Godbold’s inspiration for the fireplace came from David Chipperfield’s architecture. In front of it, Godbold placed Patricia Urquiola’s linen-upholstered Gogan sofas that echo the curving pattern of the carpet.

Behind one of the sofas and repeating the marble of the fireplace is the dramatic Arthur De M. Casas-designed www.arthurcasas.com Wyllis floating sideboard made of Brazilian Freijo-wood and travertine marble. Above it Godbold placed an oil painting by Robert Kelly titled Akmatova’s Lament.

The understated balance of the entire residence comes from Godbold’s ability to place the clients’ collection among a curated selection of furniture and accents —new and vintage pieces, customized features and store-bought models. By placing all of this in an minimalist, white-dominated colour-palette, Godbold has created an environment that feels fresh and contemporary but has the warmth of a home. – Tuija Seipell

Images by David Mitchell

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In interiors, we are not fans of subdued and prissy nor decorative and antique-filled. When we saw the first images of the Californian Canyon house restoration by Los Angeles-based interior designer, Carolyn Miller, we almost passed it by.

However, as we do admire skillfully achieved balance in interiors, and almost always place intelligently re-purposed architecture above shiny spanking new, we gave it a more careful look. In the Canyon house, there is a definite, relaxed appeal and an atmosphere of life well-lived that drew us in.

And the more we familiarized ourselves with this large revitalized residence from the 1930s, the more we liked it. The designer achieved a sense of elegance and permanence by revealing the structure’s best features and by creating fresh surroundings for the owner couple’s eclectic mix of art and collectibles, furniture and accessories.

The owners had lived in this house for more than 30 years but Miller convinced them to embrace change while respecting the heritage. This is not a pasted-on facelift, it is a complete rethink, but with a sensitivity to all that the owners wanted to save. The elegant initial character of the house is now clearly visible and the previously dark, small rooms have given way to openness and light. On the canyon side, nature and scenery now seem closer than before and the poolside looks brand new although the restoration has stayed true to the original.

The house’s Arts and Crafts spirit is also still visible in many rooms. In one of the bathrooms and one of the entryways, for example, the wallpaper has all of the hallmarks of Arts and Crafts.

Pieces of the owners’ eclectic collection of American pop and impressionist art occupy an important place in almost every room. These include art by pop artist Edward Ruscha (b. 1937), late abstract and impressionist painter Helen Frankenthaler (b.1928 d. 2011), sculptor Joel Shapiro (b.1941) and painter and graphic artist Robert Rauschenberg (b. 1925 d. 2008). In addition, there are pieces by the Californian impressionist plein-air landscape painter Marion Wachtel (b. 1873 d. 1954) and the surrealist Leo Kenney.

We love the light-filled entrance hall with its black-and-white marble tile floor and graceful staircase. The staircase’s tiger oak treads were restored and new doors of solid mahogany were installed. Dover Ball hanging light by Urban Electric, an Art Deco bench and a vintage console complete the stylish hall.

The Arts and Crafts movement was anti-industrialist decorative and fine arts movement (1880-1920) initiated mainly in Britain and considered to be the precursor of the Art Nouveau movement. The hallmarks were craftmanship, inherent beauty of each material, simplicity and utility. Important features included rough-hewn, nature-inspired aesthetics, often inspired by romantic or folkloric styles.

Brentwood Park is a neighbourhood of the Westside region of Los Angeles. Known to many as the site of the O.J. Simpson crime, the neighbourhood has been home to many celebrities including actors Marilyn Monroe, Joan Crawford, Bea Arthur, Gwyneth Paltrow, Betty White and Reese Witherspoon, musician Alanis Morissette, former U.S. president Richard Nixon, TV host Conan O’Brien and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Tuija Seipell

Images by Sam Frost

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In its three-plus-year existence, Casa JL, designed by Cinco Solidos, has become gradually more and more one with its lush natural surroundings. When the 1,100 square-metre (11,840 sq.ft) house was built up the hill to face the city of Medellín, it was created to respond to and disappearing into the mountainside. With the tropical, rainy climate of the area tempered by the altitude, everything eventually becomes part of the surrounding nature.

Typical to the design language of Cinco Solidos, the beautifully minimalist, mid-century modernist residence lacks any ornamentation or embellishments. There’s nothing that would distract from the principal, two-level structure that in its weight falls nicely somewhere between Frank Lloyd Wright’s hefty Fallingwater and Mies van der Rohe’s weightless Farnsworth.

At Casa JL, the only perceptible distracting feature is the gorgeous, white spiralling staircase but in its sea-shell-like organic form, even it seems more like a piece of nature-created art than a frivolous interference.

The open-plan ground floor includes living, dining and kitchen areas plus a separate lounge/TV room. All of the spaces on the ground floor are open to the building-length terrace and pool. Only full-height retractable glass panels separate the interior from the exterior that together become a large natural living environment.

On the second level, similar glass panels in the three bedrooms open to the full-length balcony. While most of the living areas are open to the views over the city, the garage and the storage and utility rooms are located on the opposite side of the structure and remain totally hidden.

Natural wood, concrete and glass dominate the minimalist and functional interiors with the abundant greenery outside visible at every turn. The minimalist interior lets light become a significant design and architectural feature. As clouds are reflected in the pool outside, shadows fall on the walls through skylights indoors and create ever-changing wall art. A sense of meditative calm characterizes the entire house. It has what we call breathing room; a visually calm environment that encourages deep breathing and relaxation.

Medellín-based Cinco Solidos was founded by Daniel Correa, María José Fernández and Elisa Ortega seven years ago as an interior design studio, but it has since grown to more than 20 people working on residential, office, hotel, retail and hospitality projects.

Medellín is the capital of Colombia’s mountainous Antioquia province, and with 2.6 million residents, it is the second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá. Tuija Seipell

Images by Nick Wiesner and Anna Dove

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