Decorating with restraint: a limited palette unifies a multifunctional room

Sunset, April, 1999 by Ann Bertelsen

Furnishing multifunctional spaces - such as one that combines living room, dining area, and kitchen - can be a challenge. How do you differentiate each functional space without creating a stylistic hodgepodge? The decorating plan for this house in Big Sur, California, designed by Monterey architect David Allen Smith, shows how to use a palette of materials and colors inspired by nature.

Interior designer Barbara Scavullo wanted the interior to be a seamless extension of the house's dramatic coastal setting and rugged contemporary structure-its floor-to-ceiling windows, massive stone fireplace, and exposed wood posts and beams.

The rocky landscape inspired the use of concrete for floors and kitchen counters. From olive green to deep terracotta to sea blue, the colors of nature appear in the fabrics and the concrete. The designer treated one wall as a canvas, saturating it with a golden ochre that was mixed into the plaster and recalls the strong slanting light of late afternoon. Wood surfaces were left unpainted.

The furniture is oversize to fit the scale of the house - the ceiling is up to 16 feet high. "I wanted the furniture to be comfortable and simple, blending into the architecture and the site rather than competing with it," says Scavullo.

A large banquette divides the living area from the hallway and wraps around the corner to pull the eye to the area's primary focal point, the fireplace. Two soft-red, suede-covered lounge chairs separate the living room from the dining room without enclosing either space; an island performs the same function between the dining area and kitchen.

Reinforcing the olive green of the chenille that covers the banquette, a striped olive-and-bronze wool rug helps warm the sitting area and subtly defines the space.

The beautifully grained wood dining table and chairs complement the house's exposed wood structure.

WHY THIS ROOM WORKS

* A limited color palette gives a sense of order to the room. Carry a few dominant colors through the entire space to impart continuity, then individualize each functional area with different but compatible accent colors.

* The design harmonizes with the architectural style and materials of the house. This is good general advice, and it will lend an underlying uniformity to the multifunctional space.

* The simple color palette is spread across broad swaths. Strong patterns can fragment a multifunctional space, as can numerous small spots of color. The yellow wall and the long line of the banquette's olive green upholstery provide continuity.

* The boundaries of each functional area are marked with rugs or low dividers such as the lounge chairs.

* There is a focal point in each functional area - the fireplace and the striped pillows, the dining table - to anchor that part of the room.

Resources

ARCHITECTURE: David Allen Smith, Architect, Monterey, CA (831/373-7337)

INTERIOR DESIGN: Barbara Scavulto Design, San Francisco (415/558-8774)