Artful privacy: A bump-out wall is a masterpiece of color, texture, and light - home guide - interior design - Brief Article

Sunset, Jan, 2002 by Peter O. Whiteley

The neighboring house is less than 15 feet away from architect David Stark Wilson's living room, but with this thoughtfully designed alcove, he can have privacy and natural light too. The 2-foot-deep alcove cantilevers toward the property line. Slender windows in its shallow side walls bring breezes and early-morning and late-afternoon sunlight into the house; they also allow angled views of the side yard.

The bonus--and what makes the alcove especially artful--is the wall's surface treatment. Framed by sage-colored plaster, the 14- by 9-foot ocher-colored plaster wall resembles a minimalist painting. It's textured with a random crosshatch pattern of short slash marks. Late-afternoon sunlight washing across the wall exaggerates the pattern: "We knew raked light showed every imperfection, so we intentionally made it more imperfect," says Wilson.

At night, recessed light fixtures wash the wall from above, reinforcing the impression of a canvas on a museum wall.

DESIGN: Wilson Associates, Berkeley (510/883-0868 or www.dswdesign.com)