lofty living, cottages & bungalows

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Historic Providence, Rhode Island home with industrial-modern edge

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Page 1: Lofty Living, Cottages & Bungalows

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Page 2: Lofty Living, Cottages & Bungalows

... v ng~~~~F:~~~7~~~~~¥~~Retro pop art

~1 ~~~ =iE~~1 "1,fl'-i . . . I ••

~~""';""""'----~~-;"T_I I antique CUriosities.~~~.;..r-,_~--; and repurposed

furnishingstransform a late19th-centu rycarriage house intoan inviting live/workspace.I

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Opposite: The dining chairs are a melange of styles, from midcentury to workshopto schoolhouse, that the couple tied together by painting them all in high-gloss red.

BY MARGIE MONIN

DOMBROWSKI

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NAT REA.

• NDUSTRIAL STYLE AND COZY,

casual living can coexist-if you

have the right combination of

mid-century pieces, salvaged

furniture, retro art posters and

antique-tool displays. Carving out

distinct living and working spaces

were vital to making this Providence,

Rhode Island, carriage house, which

once housed horses, feel more like a

home and less like a stable.

Lisa and Victor Russo, owners of the

design services company Two Russos,

and their 11-year-old daughter, Cecily,

live in this former 1890s "garage," Its

july/august 2012 35

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three floors of wide open spaces are separated

into conversation, entertaining and sleeping

quarters by mid-century furniture pieces

updated with recycled fabrics. Filled with

eclectic art and antique collections, the home

has a modern loft-like edge, and a warm and

welcoming vibe. Here's how Lisa and Victor's

home balances different period styles and

live/work functions:

DIVIDE AND CONQUER SPACEAlthough they escaped to New England after

living and working in New York City, the couple

brought the urban-loft aesthetic with them,

merging it with a casual cottage style. The

challenge was adding warmth (literally) and

defining specific areas in the open space. On the-

first floor, they erected insulated walls, installed

radiant-heated concrete flooring and repurposed

the horse stalls as their design studio, while

the living space on the second floor is com-

partmentalized into smaller areas for dining and

entertaining (the third is for the bedrooms).

For example, the bar featuring beer taps is

where Victor brews small batches of Belgian-

style craft beers, wines and meads for friends

and family on occasion. Creating nearby

"seating clusters" with a '60s-era sofa they

bought at a flea market and reupholstered in

orange fabric, mod barstools and a mid-'50s

bent plywood chair by Danish designer Ib

Kofod-Larsen (one of their favorite flea-market

finds) provides comfortable conversation

areas. "We're always looking for pieces that can

stand alone in the middle ofthe room or 'float'

because you can see it from all sides;' Lisa says.

RECYCLE, REUSE, REPURPOSEThe running theme is how the Russos

creatively repurpose antique furniture and

touch it up for a modern setting. Their dining

table, which was "frankensteined" together

from multiple pieces of different tables, is one

example. Its vintage wood chairs, all found at

flea markets and yard sales, were lacquered in

Lisa and Victor create their own furniturefrom salvaged materials for a personaltouch. The dining table top at left was froma 1950s table they purchased at a fleamarket and stripped off its legs. "Our friendhas a wood shop. We went over andcreated a base for [the table], then addednew legs," Lisa says.

36 cottages & bungalows

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bright-red paint for unity. "They're all different

periods and styles: one from the '30s, an

Eames .chair, an old schoolhouse chair and

one from an old mill building," Lisa says. Other

chairs are upholstered with fabric from a

recycling center, where manufacturers unload

unused ends offabric bolts.

DESIGN OF ALL KINDSAs designers, Lisa and Victor require a

stimulating environment, and the entire space

is dotted with unique pieces of art. The

artwork and furnishings are always changing,

but you'll often find their own projects on

display as well as many other artists' works.

From heirloom nude drawings by Victor's

grandfather to funky letterpress posters for

concerts, and from farmers markets to New

York subway maps spray-painted with an

Empire State Building, art is everywhere and

adds to the loft feel.

MAN-MADE, INDUSTRIAL STYLEVarious tools in the space double as art,

giving the space a masculine side and a nod to

the industrial age, when live/work spaces

originated. A collection of Kirby wrenches used

on trains, found at New England flea markets,

adorn the fireplace. The wrenches are just one

of the many items the Russos collect. "We're

always trying to make collections of like

things," Lisa says.

Although the vintage letterpresses Lisa and

Victor use for work are there for a utilitarian

purpose, they're an unintentional part of

the decor. Sometimes the homeowners will

entertain in the work space, even while

working on a poster for their business. "All

our friends are artists, so everyone likes to eat

and drink around design;' Lisa says. [!lJ

SEE RESOURCES, PAGE 94

The Russos cluster seating together forinformal conversation areas whenever theyentertain guests. At left is a wooden churchpew and camel saddle used as a footstool.The tea cart in the foreground is from Lisa'sfamily house in Boston. "It somehow madeits way here for a party: Lisa says. Afterfinding out it could be worth something.they decided to fix it up and keep it.

38 cottages & bungalows

•..

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I

july/august 2012 39

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"We/re always looking for pieces that.can stand alone in the middle of the room or

'float' beca-use you can see itfrom all sides," Lisa says.

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DECOR BASICS: HOW TODISPLAY ART

Take a few tips from the Russos on how to select and displayunique art in your space for an eclectic, casual style.

COMMON INTERESTS

There's strength in numbers.When you have a prized collec-tion or are frequently drawn toa certain object, collect severaland display them together for astunning effect.

UNEXPECTED ART

Wall art doesn't have to be meantfor a frame. Lisa and Victor findand frame art posters from farmersmarkets and concerts with excit-ing designs. Decorate with whatintrigues and inspires you.

ANTIQUE TOOLS

Tools of yesteryear are sculpturesunto themselves. Anantique sewingmachine, iron, camera or stove--whether or not they work-canbecome part of the scenery in yourhome.The older they are the better,even if your aesthetic tends to bemore modern.

COLOR FOR COMPLEMENT

It's hard to go wrong whenchoosing a color palette that willgo with the room: It's easiest tofollow the two extremes: Choose apiece that unites all the colors inthe room or find one with a palettethat stands opposite on the colorwheel of your room's hues for aperfectly contrasted pop.

Opposite: The closet doors at leftare salvaged barn board from thefirst floor. The hardwood floors arecenter-cut pine and are original tothe carriage house. "Pine isn'tavailable in this region anymore,"Lisa says.

•••

:.. --&"$YII

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42 cottaqesS bungalows

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Remnants from the barn doorsshow up elsewhere in the home,including the bar. Below, the Kirbywrench collection becomessculptural fireplace decor. Thedesign studio at left wasrepurposed from the barn's originalhorse stalls. "We repurposedeverything," Lisa says. "Now, it'snice and warm and cozy."

july/august 2012 43