PLAY HAUS TOUR
An architectural language,
built from the inside out.
Before we played with objects, we played with architecture. We approached this project not only as designers, but as craftspeople. Every major architectural and artistic element—handmade tile, stained glass, painted murals, custom lighting, built-ins, and structural detailing—was designed, fabricated, and installed by the studio’s two principals themselves; nothing was outsourced.
The project was conceived as an immersive, hands-on act of making, where even some creative direction emerged directly through material exploration. Rather than impose a borrowed architectural language, the designers chose to build one from the inside out. With a limited budget and complete creative trust, they set out to construct a personality reflective of their clients using color, craft, and custom fabrication as primary tools.
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Architectural beams punctuate the living and entry ceiling plane in a soft, hand stained blue hue from Linolie and Pigment, while a custom light fixtures using upcycled fabric and shade shines softly over the entryway.
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Thatcher wallpaper climbs from the wall onto the ceiling, in a unique hand-cut installation, dissolving conventional boundaries and a stained-glass transom introduces color and light between spaces.
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Dead stock silk was crafted into curtains to frame the owner’s favored vintage piece by Stanley Prowler and salvaged Henry Evans prints hang on sliding doors that cover the TV. The sectional is a vintage Jack Lenor Larson upholstered in his iconic “Aurora” pattern in Purple creating bold contrast in the space.
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Handmade tiles, fabricated with guidance from Lennox’s former VP of design and master ceramicist Tim Carder, frame the threshold between living and dining areas. The walls, mural and blue cabinet use a palette of rich colors donated by Benjamin Moore to create cohesion throughout the space.
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The threshold between the spaces creates much needed separation between programs while still feeling open. The rooms balance each other out instead of depending on each other for purpose.
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A hand-painted mural defines the dining room. Below it, a salvaged church pew was reworked into a dining bench. The dining room is like a connection to a soft, outdoor space, blurring the lines between indoors and out.
The threshold between the spaces creates much needed separation between programs while still feeling open. The rooms balance each other out instead of depending on each other for purpose.
The studio’s ethos blends function and aesthetic, and this house wasn’t an exception. A custom vestibule with a hidden wallpapered pocket door at the top of the stairs provides acoustic separation between the bedroom wing and main living space while creating a necessary moment of transition and drop-off. Full-height built-ins increase storage and display capacity for the homeowners’ extensive art collection, while a custom cabinet surrounding the television allows the living room to shift seamlessly between daily life and large gatherings. The threshold between kitchen, dining, and living areas is punctuated by uniquely textured hand made tile, and peek-a-boo shelving. The interventions maintain visual permeability while giving each space a clear identity.
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