Amazin

Interior desi

arbara Gaber renovates an award- in

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7",•elo. •

Matte black chairs, covered in black raffia,
surround a stainless steel Breuton dining table.
They sit atop a custom rug in a Frank Lloyd Wright
pattern. The living room sofas, upholstered in
black wool flannel, are flanked by leather lounge
chairs. Accessories include African vessels and
a framed ceremonial Kuba cloth.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LASZLO REGOS\BY CARLA SCHWARTZ

F

rom the street, drivers
observe a rusted steel barri-
er. Once inside, guests and
visitors experience an awe-
some, majestic sight. Architecture
becomes sculpture when massive
windows form a V-shape intersection
in the foyer of an ultra-contemporary
home where many of the rooms
enjoy a lakefront view.
Enter Royal Oak interior design-
er. Barbara Gaber. She has the cre-
ative task of making an award-win-

2 4 •

NOVEMBER 2002 • STYLE AT THE JN

ing home by architects Dirk.
Denison and Adrian Luchini
reflect the new owners' personali-
ties. "It gave me a showcase for
what I could achieve," says Gaber.
Most of the furnishings are from
the Michigan Design Center (MDC)
in Troy and Gorman's in Southfield.
The owners met Gaber while she
was working at Gorman's and were
impressed by the fact that she guar-
anteed to work within a set budget.
Gaber added to the dramatic

foyer by designing a matte black
asymmetrical shelf built by Greg
Bartelt of Vogue Furniture in
Royal Oak, and placed three wood
veneer vases from MDC's Beacon
Hill showroom on top. The owners
worked with a photograph in Style
magazine of a rug from Azar's in
Birmingham, and ordered a custom
carpet in earth tones.
They also commissioned two
Schumacher custom rugs with a
Frank Lloyd Wright motif for the

dining room and living room.
The artwork throughout the
home is eclectic. Most of the
pieces are from Danielle Peleg in
West Bloomfield and Batista
Gallery, formerly the Anderson
Gallery, in Birmingham. The
African pieces complement the
bold architecture. "The contempo-
rary lines went well with the primi- •
tive art," adds Gaber.
Working with Birmingham archi-
tect Kevin Akey of AZD Associates-