Worldly Appeal

Valeria Zozaya and her family weren’t using the dining room much in their Rochester Hills home, so Zozaya, an interior designer who owns Zozaya Studio, decided to transform the space into a what is now a fun and chic
gathering spot.

The game room/bar is exactly what Zozaya and her husband, Jorge Morales, and their three sons needed. “It was rarely used, but now it’s a hangout for family and friends,”
she shares.

Just off the kitchen, the 320-square-foot room, part of the designer’s 1976 Mid-century Modern-style home, features globally influenced accents, thanks to the family’s work and life history. The couple, originally from Mexico, lived in China for a few years for Morales’ job. Trained as an architect, Zozaya, who’s been in the design field for some 30 years, says she wanted to add a variety of unique elements from their travels, but also needed to make the family’s new hangout comfortable. Completed one year ago, the updated room, which boasts 10-foot-high ceilings, gets a thumbs-up from the family members and Timber, their Bernese mountain dog.

Head-turning accents include two large wood elements featuring walnut slats (custom-made by Ethan’s Walls). “One is like a surprise,” Zozaya says. “When you see the slats from the side, you can’t see what’s behind them — but when you move around the space, you start to discover something back there.” That something is a large, deep-black botanical mural painted in acrylic by Zozaya. “I saw a tapestry with a flower motif in black-and-white in Mexico. It was kind of like Talavera leaves, and I thought about it quite a bit and wanted to have something like it,” she says. (Talavera refers to a type of colorful, glazed earthenware pottery and tiles that were developed in Mexico.) The other wood slats are attached to the wall behind the television.

A walnut butcher block bar (from Home Depot), cabinetry from H.J. Oldenkamp Co. in Troy, and a refrigerator make up the beverage area, which is something Morales had always wanted. Behind the bar is a gold-leaf backsplash. ”I wanted a reflective background but wasn’t keen on a mirror or glass; I wanted something with character,” Zozaya says, adding that the LED lights behind the shelves bring the whole area to life. “That wall treatment gives it dimension. I love doing those kinds of things.”

Zozaya says she likes to offer unique, handmade pieces for her clients, too, and often paints artwork or walls for them. A pool table that her husband procured takes center stage in the restyled room, while a high-top table with a custom-made metal base (by Flowyline) was designed by Zozaya. Its circular top consists of a pewter antique Indian tray she found at High Point.

The floor lamp is a rustic piece imported from Mexico, while the accent chair mixes global artisanal lines with European craftsmanship. “That chair was a great antique-shop find,” she says.

Beyond playing pool and crafting cocktails, Zozaya says she’s planning to learn the tile-based game Mahjong, which was developed in China — and the family’s new hangout, with its worldly appeal, is just the place in which to play it.