2014 Design Awards
Judges | Details | Exteriors | Interiors | Homes
Rising Star | Reader’s Choice
WINNER: VanBrouck & Associates, with Olde World Homes and Oliver Max Interiors
COMPANY NEWS: VanBrouck is opening LUXE Homes Design+Build (a veritable mini design center). Partnering with Olde World Homes, the company specializes in high-end, new residential projects.
LA DOLCE VITA: It’s all about the good life in this Bruce Township home where rustic meets elegant.
Tuscany is one of Italy’s best-loved regions, and for good reason!
The beautiful countryside is home to a rich artistic heritage that includes exquisite art and architecture, excellent vineyards, and delicious food.
All of those heavenly attributes were undoubtedly on the minds of the builders, architects, and designers when they crafted this Italian villa-inspired residence, which took top honors in our annual Readers’ Choice/Best Overall Home category (it also won in several other Detroit Home Design Awards categories!).
“It’s a work of art for everyday living,” says John VanBrouck, president of Birmingham-based VanBrouck & Associates.
Inspired by the classical architecture of Italian villas and designed by VanBrouck with Olde World Homes of Birmingham and Oliver Max Interiors in Birmingham, this luxury home in Bruce Township features a procession of beautifully proportioned spaces with strong axial sightlines that draw the eye through the home.
— John VanBrouck
Especially appealing is the way the interior and exterior areas interact. Stone loggias at the entry, rear, and side of the residence visually and literally extend the interior living spaces.
Cross-breezes flow through the living areas, and natural light streams in through French doors that are lyrically arranged.
The enduring farmhouse villas of Tuscany inspired the exterior, which is constructed of rustic Cortona stone. The designer explains that his goal was to juxtapose the rugged austere exterior with the elegantly relaxed and refined interior.
Of note: an original Richard Bogart oil painting above the fireplace; a quiet color palette of furnishings; a wide range of varied textures, patterns, and patinas; and a well-thought-out scale in design (making the home functional, comfortable, and livable at once).
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