
For a redo on a custom DesRosiers Architects home built in the late 1980s, a creative team with seasoned pros like Staci A. Meyers, interior designer and owner of S|A|M Interiors in Bloomfield Hills, made updates that feature clean and modern interiors to better suit the client. “It was about cleaning it up visually so it could be a nice palette with a modern feel, and (a place to showcase) the homeowner’s art collection,” the designer says.

“We could tell it was a great house; we wanted to make it a really timeless interior. The hardware, doors, and windows are a focal point, so it was really about honoring the integrity of the architecture and softening it,” Meyers says. After deciding to replace the carpet in several areas, the designer had to work around the high demand for white oak during the pandemic. “We went with rift-cut red oak and lightened it with bleach, and applied a finish to tone down all the red,” she explains.
The updates to the four-story home have staying power. “The house was brought back to its original beauty. It has one of those classic interiors that will feel current in 15 or 20 years,” Meyers says. Classic contents include a custom-colored rug and a cable-suspension light fixture with crystal globes in the great room. Velour chairs and a generous sectional with headrests create the ultimate lounge area, and the TV fades into the environmentally conscious slab fireplace.

Art adds a personal layer to the mix. “We curated the artwork for the project, starting with the great room. It’s a great visual pop of something that was unexpected,” the designer says about a series of pieces with simple frames that make them stand out. “When you’re going for a clean, modern feel, art gives you an opportunity to reflect your personality and (determine) how you want people to feel when they walk in the space.”
Other conversation pieces include the textured wallpaper with an Andy Warhol theme in the rounded powder room, where a custom backlit mirror and pendant light accent the refinished vanity and countertop. “It was a really fun powder room to do,” the designer says. “We wanted to honor the curves of the wall. The whole room is like a sculptural (work of) art.”

Unique artwork also appears near the floating stairs, where the handrail was stained to match the millwork. The featured pieces include intricate buildings and a girl with an eye patch by artist Yoshitomo Nara. “They make you stop and look at them,” Meyers says. In the rounded office, the millwork, built-in, and shelving were also refinished and restained, while a glass-topped desk and leather chair are new. “They’re very timeless, clean, and simple,” she adds. “The desk really lets the architecture (shine).”
The home’s interiors speak for themselves. “This project was a combination of my vision for what the house could be, and working with a really talented builder — Don Alfred, of Hughes Building — and trades, and an amazing client who really trusted us,” Meyers says. “There was very little back-and-forth. He was very quick and efficient with design decisions. It was a great investment, and now he wants to spend time in it. I’m really proud of it.”

The homeowner explains that he had already built a house from scratch, and enjoyed the process. “This (house) had great bones. The hope was to bring it back to life and then either use it as an investment or as a permanent home,” he says. “It turned out better than I thought it would; we changed the aesthetic and brought the home back to life. It’s the same house, but it has our personality and it’s open, bright, and airy.”
He says that his somewhat eclectic art collection consists of pieces he appreciates. “I like the idea of bringing disparate elements together and seeing how they mesh — just like design — in a way that resonates, like the wallpaper in the powder room,” the homeowner says. “I like to make it whimsical and fun.”

In the dining room, art that looks like paint flaking off a building also made the cut. “I’m just drawn to individual pieces,” the homeowner says. Even his 3-year-old son loves his art collection, which includes four Op Art pieces from the late ’70s by Richard Anuszkiewicz. “They’re three-dimensional and very geometrical. They both pull you into the art and push you out at the same time.”

At the project’s completion, the homeowner, his girlfriend, and their son decided to stay put in the residence, which now reflects its inhabitants. “The quality of the build was really astounding. To take a house with a great structure and cosmetically lift it up was really cool,” he says. “It’s a happy place and I feel really fortunate to work with great people like Staci, who brought it to fruition. That was the goal, and it lives really well.”
BEHIND THE DESIGN
INTERIOR DESIGN
Staci A. Meyers, S|A|M Interiors, Bloomfield Hills, s-a-m-interiors.com
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTOR
General Contractor: Don Alfred, Hughes Building, LLC, Bingham Farms
SONNEMAN CHANDELIER
Pinetree Lighting, Lake Orion, sonnemanlight.com, pinetreelighting.com
“Acoustics were a strong consideration for comfort in the (great) room,” Staci A. Meyers says of the selections for the room which included this dramatic chandelier, a custom rug, and two Poliform guest chairs that “are great for having a cocktail or swiveling to watch the TV or a movie.”
GRACE
Paul Vaga, TRA Art Group, Michigan Design Center, Troy, traartgroup.com
“Paul Vaga’s sculpture has graceful movement that reflects the room’s soft curves in the custom built-ins and wall.”
BOOK TABLE
Moe’s Home Collection, moeshome.com
Meyers selected this accent table for its “sculpted cement base and black terrazzo tabletop.”
EAMES ALUMINUM GROUP CHAIR
Design Within Reach, Grand Rapids, dwr.com
“The Eames Aluminum Group Chair in black leather is timeless. It nods to Eames’ influence and his time spent as a student at the Cranbrook Academy of Art.”
MILA CHAIR
Colibri Furniture, colibrilifestyle.com
“We chose this chair for its clean lines, and tailored black leather upholstery.”
CROWD
(Where’s Warhol), Flavor Paper, flavorpaper.com
“Flavor paper has lots of attitude. Crowd was the perfect choice for this powder room. It’s wallpaper inspired by the artist.”
Text by Jeanine Matlow. Photography by Jeff Garland. Mila Chair photography by Luigi Lieggi; portrait photography by Jeff Garland.
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