This weekend has been largely consumed with design, cooking lessons and reading a new compelling book, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.

Act one, design:

Meeting with clients to review designs for the metal work for their new house being built in Sonoma, I had a design enthrallment (concocting a word to suit the event). The architect on the project happens to be Cole Smith, who also happens to be my husband. Long ago I fell in love with him as I watched him sketch, drawing half conceptualized visions into recognizable forms right in front of the clients and me. He has the ability to design on the spot while my own system is one of percolation…letting it drip thru my design filters while I germinate the ideas.

This morning’s meeting was a joint one with him to discuss the light fixtures, doors and railings which would bejewel this elegantly simple structure. Since Cole is a blacksmith as well as architect, the metal work he dreams up transcends the usual. He brings an artist’s eye, technical expertise and the creatively unexpected to each design. As perfect foils to Cole’s roiling concepts, these clients are art collectors and great connoisseurs of the unique, of the extraordinary.

For these same clients, Cole, with a bit of input from me and lots from them, had already concocted designs for a number of stunning and award winning metal objects for their Dallas home. The husband, especially, has a knack for extracting the very best, most creative thinking out of his design team. I particularly enjoy his challenges to find new and astounding ways of solving each design puzzle.

Today, I fell in love with Cole again. The drawings he revealed, one by one, all sketched meticulously with artistic line weights, brilliant shading, and color which highlighted the great detail and thought involved in each detail of each item….well, every single drawing was a little work of art. The clients actually took deep breaths, had big smiles and seemed as entranced as I was by the beauty of the work. Almost reflexively, they said they’d like to keep and frame the drawings. I had been thinking the same thing.

Normally, at joint meetings with Cole or any architect, I have alternate suggestions for various details. Normally these particular clients have other ways they’d like to see an idea developed. Today, everyone’s response was the same.

As Cole smiled a little shyly and slowly revealed each page filled with highly articulated, glowing designs, we looked at each other and grinned. This is design! He had taken their suggestion to look to Gaudi for inspiration for several items, adapted the designs to the front doors, the interior ironwork, light fixtures for inside and out, even the hinges and metal work on the kitchen island….creating a suite of related but unique objects that will bring life and excitement into spaces that will suit them perfectly. The house he has designed is far enough along for us to envision these beautiful objects in their proper places.

The proposed Gaudi-esque gate and entrance:

proposed gate

Proposed light fixtures:

proposed chandelier

Proposed kitchen hardware:

I would say our clients might have a crush on him now too. I know I still do.

Comments

July 30, 2012 - 06:15 PM Bobby Burden

Nice start, I look forward to getting more in the future. Also, great picture of the two of you.

July 30, 2012 - 08:56 PM Eric Nathaniel Wilson

Very nice article and straight to the point. I am not sure if this is actually the best place to ask but do you people have any thoughts on where to hire some professional writers? Thx :)

Thanks for the compliment, Eric. I'm afraid we can't help you with any professional writers, but if you need an interior designer, we know a good one.

August 11, 2012 - 08:01 AM Melanie

Im looking forward to following along.

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