Seeing (and Touching) Is Believing

TYPE

Residential

How do you create a stunning home that’s contemporary, clean, comfortable and down to earth? You trust JAQUE.

Picture this: A couple owns a majestic, traditional home in a Chicago suburb. Now they’re building one in the foothills of Scottsdale, Arizona, that they want to be every bit as stunning, but with a completely different vibe—a fresh contemporary space that can comfortably host large dinner parties without feeling overly serious or imposing. And they need to keep tabs on the project from over 1,300 miles away in Chicago. How do you make it happen? You put together a dream team that includes a builder, an exterior architect, and a designer/interior architect: JAQUE. The team started by developing a master floor plan and accompanying architecture based on extensive feedback from the client. JAQUE’s approach to design focused on balancing the architectural lines with a soft and comfortable interior filled with layered textures. Equally as important, her approach to managing the project focused on involving the client as much as possible, despite the distance.

Texture has always been a hallmark of Jaque’s work, and this project was no exception. “I put textures everywhere, carefully stitching the patterns together to create an experience that’s subliminal,” she says. “You can’t put your finger on it, you just love how the spaces make you feel.” To involve the client in this pursuit, JAQUE took them directly to market to touch, feel and sit on every item she wanted to include in the house. This allowed the client to confidently approve each piece based on intimate, personal experience. JAQUE then built a 3D model so the client and construction team could see each room with its exact fixtures and furnishings as soon as possible. Knowing that the client wouldn’t want to travel often, she virtually walked them through each space so they could view materials as they were selected—as well as check their function, storage, special scale and coloring in daylight and darkness. The team could then address any concerns before they became problems.

Another crucial element: lighting. JAQUE believes that a space must be correctly lit to generate the right energy during different seasons and times of the day. Partnering with the builder’s team, she developed a lighting design that highlighted her choices in colors, textures and materials while setting the appropriate mood for each task being performed. Her design allowed for easy owner access to an extensive lighting infrastructure, as well as built-in smart features that allowed them to do things like turn on their oven from the golf course, switch on a lighting scene for guests before their arrival, and heat up the pool for an impromptu party. Sometimes too many cooks spoil the broth, but in this case they each made it better. You know you have an excellent team when the client walks into the finished project and says that every element fits perfectly together. The owners now have the perfect down-to-earth Scottsdale masterpiece to compliment their formal Chicago home. And that’s a serious success.