Given the homeowners’ request for an open-concept house with a fluid floor plan, Bloomberg first stripped the building down to its basics. Brick walls and a steel structure appeared; both became integral to the design. The architecture was not meant to be wholly decorative – that was the full responsibility of the bold furniture and art.
Architect KUBE ArchitectureWhen a couple bought a row house in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., they aspired to live in their dream home of minimalist ease. But at first, eight-foot ceilings and dark corridors created quite the opposite effect. Janet Bloomberg, principal of Kube Architecture, felt that the best way to achieve their vision – and highlight their love of art and entertaining – was to open up the home as much as possible. Exposed brick brushed in white and lines of black steel frame beloved paintings. Vibrant colors in the furniture and on the walls mirror those found in the artwork, and an unexpected two-story wall of glass carries light in from the backyard. Named the “Salt and Pepper House” in regard to the owner’s penchant for cooking, the property is now a comfortable place of cool simplicity.