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Though Pinterest is flooded with images of built-in bunk beds that would enhance any childhood dream, these ideas rarely get beyond the 'Pin” stage of wishful thinkingunless you're working with interior designer Connie Vernich. While putting details in place for a family-friendly home in Brentwood's exclusive Windstone neighborhood, she recreated these functional bed designs, along with a host of other playful features.
The owners, who Vernich worked with more than three years to develop the 10,000-square-foot home, have a young son and daughter, who enjoy entertaining their many cousins in a room that includes the four built-in bunk beds. Each space-saving nook imbues the room with a cheery vibe, and the room also features a clever toucha chalkboard on which each guest can write his or her name.
'We wanted to have a place where all the cousins could hang out and have sleepovers together,” Vernich says.
The homeowners tapped Vernich for the interior design of the home before the architectural plans were even rendered by Jack Herr Design Associates. Set amongst the bucolic topography of Windstone, which includes a valley surrounded by ridgetops, the home is built upon a multiple-acre foundation. Custom homebuilder Justin Davis, the founder and president of Davis Properties, was chosen to build the home, and Vernich's team worked with him to put the home's look together, blending industrial and rustic elements into the hilltop retreat.
Vernich cleverly brought the woodland setting indoors through rustic accent pieces, branch-framed artwork, and a natural palette that includes pewter gray tones.
'The owners love the outdoors and they wanted everything to be very soothing and calm and peaceful,” she says.
Vernich used modernism as the counterpoint to rusticity by adding asymmetrical pendant lighting, a modern metalwork staircase, and black-framed windows. The staircase is the pièce de résistance. It features iron-tube railing complemented by thick oak steps. Upping the drama is a custom-built, contemporary chandelier that hangs at different heights.
All of the floors are heavily distressed and stained with a blend of classic gray and dark walnut tones to give them a weathered look.
The kitchen is a bright, inviting space that includes a massive island, 'The clients wanted a really large island as a gathering space for friends and family,” Vernich says. 'So, we've got plenty of areas where people can talk and the kids can do their homework.” Two styles of wooden Mid-century Modern chairs offer seating. 'We needed the warmth of wood,” Vernich says. 'Those chairs warm up the industrial look.”
Another highlight, though not necessarily for the public eye, is the home's stunning white-and-gray master bath, which garnered the Best in Show award from the American Society of Interior Designers' annual competition. The white bathtub, with its sleek lines, was the room's inspiration. Vernich added gray tiles as a flattering backdrop to the tub and finished the large shower, which features his-and-her doors, in the same gray tiles.
'That's one of my favorite bathrooms I've ever done,” she says. This house will be a favorite, as well, for anyone who loves a modern-rustic aestheticand a leafy perch.
Photos by STUDIOBUELL.