A Bloomfield Hills
home shimmers
like a vibrant red
jewel box.

Lynne Konstantin I Design Writer
Beth Singer I Photographer

I

love color;' says Joanne Tushman.
Which is a rare and exciting
prospect for an interior designer. So
when Tushman tapped Scott W. Bartshe,
a Beverly Hills designer whom she met
through a mutual (and adoring) friend,
to bring her new home to life, he was
thrilled. Plus, he says, "She brought
virtually nothing from her previous
homes. We were able to create a very
cohesive look, almost from scratch."
When Tushman and her husband,
Earl, bought their Bloomfield Hills
home, by Dominick Tringali Architects
in Bloomfield Hills, it was only partially
complete. Bartshe was able to get in on
the planning early.
"I also love Asian culture," say
Tushman, "so we went for this deep
Chinese red with orange accents and
beige-y backgrounds, and I let Scott
take it from there. I'm an open-minded
person, and when I'm hiring an artist,
I like to let him do his thing — artists
shine best when you give them room
and let them create."
Yet Bartshe also wanted the home
to reflect its inhabitants and their per-
sonalities. "Part of my job is to figure
out what clients want even if they don't
know exactly themselves;' says Bartshe.
"We clicked immediately," says
Tushman. "I loved him the moment
we met, and he knew exactly what I
wanted so it was so much fun shopping
with him. The home is warm and invit-
ing, comfortable for my kids and nine
grandchildren, yet I think it's also very
dramatic. I love every room." ❑

POWDER ROOM

The powder room mirror floats in front of black

glass mosaic tiles while the countertop of polished

ungauged slate provides the effect of ripples of

water. The walls glimmer with luminous antiqued red

lacquer paper by Maya Romanoff; Bartshe mounted

a trio of antique Asian masks, one of the few

collections Tushman brought from previous homes,

on black glass panels set in custom frames.

FOYER

Solid wood doors and a cast-bronze handle with Asian-

styled fretwork in the hardware welcome Joanne and Earl

Tushman to their dramatic Bloomfield Hills home. Working

with Vogue Furniture in Royal Oak, Bartshe created a

custom console of luxuriantly grained Macassar ebony,

native to Indonesia, and a frame of the same material that

borders antique mirrored glass laced with silver leaf.

DINING ROOM/Right

The living area sweeps into the dining room,

at the other end of a 30-foot expanse of

windows treated with bamboo shades and

topped with a red patent-leather cornice. The

Louis Poulsen Artichoke chandelier, designed

more than 40 years ago by Poul Henningsen

for a Copenhagen restaurant, billows with

72 copper leaves. "It's gorgeous at night,"

says Bartshe. Bamboo McGuire dining chairs,

lacquered in a custom antique-red finish and

silver-leaf back, dance atop floors stained a

rich coffee and ebony. Behind the Donghia

dining table, a kimono sculpture crafted from

a reclaimed oil drum by Gordon Chandler

hangs on the wall: "It looks like gently folded

fabric; but as you approach, you realize it's a

very industrial piece of steel," says Bartshe.

LIVING ROOM/Facing Page

The living room became "an oasis in a voluminous space," says Bartshe. To bring textural

interest and warmth to the home's soaring spaces, with ceilings 20 feet at their highest

point, Bartshe stacked ledge stone to create a fireplace the full height of the living room.

Suspended overhead, a vintage mobile was snatched up at the Michigan Modernism

Exposition. "I called Joanne and said, 'Come here now and bring a check!' says Bartshe of his

Calder-like find, which had once hung in a 1950s Southern roadside diner. Below, a cocktail

table of polished stainless steel is topped with an industrial stainless grate, reminiscent of

a subway grate, and softened with a collection of antique red-lacquered cinnabar boxes. The

cord of the lamp resting on the table (inset with a red lacquer top) is drilled into the table and

runs through its leg, into the floor and out of sight. A soft and plush area rug is bordered in
red suede.

March 8 • 2012

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