In the kitchen's exterior islands, vertical sapelle leads up to an enormous glass recess just
below the Seafoam granite countertop. "The glass has a color fused into it so that you can't

see through it, but it gives a reflective quality and looks like it's glowing from within," says
Schaerer. "There are no windows in the kitchen. I wanted to play with the light so you wouldn't

miss the fact that there's no daylight." The same glass is repeated in the cabinets that flank
the cookstove and hood and along the top of the wall cabinets while a glass mosaic backsplash

runs up the wall. To the right of the ovens, what looks like another wall cabinet is actually a
door that pushes into a walk-in pantry.

The lower level, with a guest suite and
changing room, walks directly out to
the lake and pool for easy access to

outdoor entertainment. The homeowner

wanted a media room but didn't want
it tucked away from the rest of the
lower-level fun, which includes a bar

area, an activities room with games

and a full kitchen and dining area.
The home theater's swivel chairs
from Arkitektura in Birmingham are

covered in an iridescent fabric from

Knoll that also is used for wetsuits —
to easily wipe away spilled drinks and
greasy popcorn — while a wall divider is

covered in silk to match the chairs. A

sitting area is two steps down; above,
each light fixture has four individual
prisms that can be dimmed, similar

to the technology on a sailboat's deck

lights that disperse light below.

"If you could fly over the lake, you would see the most gorgeous seafoam green — like a sheet at
the bottom," says Bob Schaerer. "We found a stone from Brazil called Seafoam that's the exact

color of the bottom of the lake. And the entire palette of the home grew out of that Seafoam —
but grayed down a bit. It's almost like Jack Frost came and added this gray silvery shimmer to
everything." That's where Vogue Furniture came in, he adds. "When I realized how subdued this

palette would be, I knew I needed a lot of texture to make it interesting," says Schaerer. "Vogue

really helped bring out those textures — some sleek, others more rustic, by using a metal brush."
In this breakfast room, the Seafoam granite on the floor is acid-edged for texture, cut in a ring
and surrounded by large format tiles. "Every single tile was drawn on a piece of paper by my staff

so we could tell the tile guys where to start the layout, how to line it up, how to interface it with

the circle," says Schaerer. "There is no distraction." The design is set off by the flat edge of the
thick stainless-steel table base, which is topped in ribbon sapelle wood (which is repeated on the
walls that frame the windows). The recessed ceiling is a perfect mimic of the table. "Because I was

involved so early in the process, I knew where the furniture was going and could create shapes in
the ceiling to relate to the furniture," says Schaerer.

40 January 8 • 2015

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In the foyer, a frosted-glass-floored bridge connects the
bedroom suites upstairs. Inspired by Southwest Indian blankets
that are draped over walls and railings, Schaerer commissioned

a 30-foot-long unframed canvas that could flip up over the

balcony into a scroll. Verde Bamboo stone creates contrast on
the floor.