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The House and The Interior,
under one hand.

Architecture and interiors are usually commissioned one after the other, from two teams. The Full Commission takes both on together, with one point of view from the property read to the installed rooms.

The plan influences the furniture. The furniture influences scale. Art affects walls and light. Landscape changes privacy. Materials connect inside and outside.

When those decisions evolve together, the finished residence feels less assembled and more inevitable.

Request a Private Project ReviewSee the dual journey
The beamed hall at 5901 Filaree Heights, slatted wood against white.
The living room at 20737 Cool Oak Way at sunset, the fireplace lit.

How the commission runs

Two stories, told one after the other.

First the architecture, from the reading of the property to the handover. Then the interior, from the reading of the house to the record. Each is followed to its end before the other begins, so every step can be understood on its own.

Chapter I

The architecture

Eight milestones, from the land to the finished house. This is The House, run inside the Full Commission.

  1. Site plan of 20737 Cool Oak Way, Malibu, the house and terraces set along the canyon's contours.

    01

    Read the property

    Before we draw, we understand. Land. Orientation. Approach. Privacy. Existing architecture. Provenance. Constraints. Views. Opportunity. The objective is not to begin designing faster. It is to begin correctly.

    We study

    • the land and its topography
    • the existing architecture and its provenance
    • orientation, daylight, views and privacy
    • planning constraints and access
    • wildfire and resilience requirements
    • what the property is capable of becoming

    Client receives / The Property Read

    A concise diagnosis of what exists and what the property wants to become.

  2. A lounge at 5901 Filaree Heights, Malibu: low seating by a fireplace under a timber ceiling.

    02

    Establish the idea

    What should this house become? We establish the project's central idea before resolving its appearance. How should you arrive? Where should the eye travel? Where should the house open? Where should it become quiet? What should remain? Only then does the plan begin.

    We understand

    • family rhythm and privacy
    • entertaining and cooking
    • art, books, music and collecting
    • wellness and work
    • the relationship with the landscape
    • what the house should feel like over time
  3. A watercolour floor plan of 20737 Cool Oak Way, the first drawing of the house.

    03

    Draw

    The first lines should already contain the house. Sketches establish proportion, movement, relationship to landscape and spatial hierarchy. The idea is tested before complexity is added.

  4. 20737 Cool Oak Way, Malibu, from the canyon: a low house in dark timber and glass among oaks.

    04

    Architecture

    One direction. Serious architectural depth. For selected commissions, architectural development is undertaken in collaboration with Jacobsen Arquitetura, alongside the licensed architects, engineers and specialists required by the project. Jacobsen's work is particularly aligned with the studio's belief in structural clarity, natural light and architecture integrated with landscape.

  5. 5901 Filaree Heights from the air at dusk: the house, its lawn and court set against the Malibu hills.

    05

    Resolve

    Every line eventually becomes a decision. Structure. Glass. Stone. Joinery. Lighting. Landscape. Hardware. Mechanical systems. Fire, glazing, energy and drainage are resolved so that the technical requirements never overwhelm the architecture. The quality of the finished house comes from resolving these decisions as one architecture, not as separate packages.

  6. 5637 Busch Drive, Malibu, under construction: the glazed pavilion complete, the pool still being excavated.

    06

    Build

    The drawing is not the finish line. The studio remains involved as the house is built, protecting the intent as drawings become structure, materials and space. The client sees one current project picture: where we are, what needs a decision, what comes next. Not the complexity behind it.

  7. The living room at 1061 Loma Vista, Beverly Hills, installed: sculptural seating, art and a pendant light under the timber ceiling.

    07

    Install

    Architecture does not stop at the walls. Furniture, art, objects, lighting and textiles are considered as part of the finished environment. This is where The House meets The Interior.

  8. 1061 Loma Vista, Beverly Hills, completed: the long low house behind its garden wall.

    08

    Handover

    The house leaves with its memory intact. At completion, the project is organized into a permanent Residence Archive: drawings, materials, suppliers, important pieces, provenance, warranties and project records. Not simply a finished residence. A house with a record.

    The Residence Archive

    Final drawings • materials • finishes • suppliers • warranties • equipment • provenance • photography • maintenance references

Chapter II

The interior

Eight steps, from the first reading of the rooms to the Collection Ledger. This is The Interior, run inside the same commission.

  1. The living room at 1061 Loma Vista under its walnut ceiling: the plan, the light and the proportions read before any piece is chosen.

    01

    Read the house

    Architecture before furniture. The plan, the light and the proportions of each room decide what can live in it.

  2. A wingback chair beside a rosewood credenza at 1061 Loma Vista, one of the pieces assessed and kept.

    02

    Edit what exists

    The client's existing collection is photographed, catalogued and understood, piece by piece.

    Each piece

    • Keep
    • Restore
    • Move
    • Store
    • Sell
    • Add
  3. A layout plan of the house, the rooms set out with their pieces.

    03

    Build the collection map

    Anchor pieces, supporting pieces, art, objects and custom work are set out before buying begins.

    Collection map

    • Anchor pieces, around which rooms are composed
    • Supporting pieces, quieter, completing the composition
    • Art and objects: ceramics, sculpture, lighting and books
    • Custom work, where the architecture demands something unique
  4. Four Gio Ponti Superleggera chairs on a dealer's floor.

    04

    Search

    Galleries. Specialist dealers. Auctions. Private collections. Estates. Makers. The search can happen anywhere: Los Angeles, New York, Paris, London, Milan, Copenhagen, Brussels, Brazil.

  5. Poul Kjærholm PK71 nesting tables, photographed for review.

    05

    Verify

    Every significant acquisition is reviewed before commitment.

    Reviewed

    • authorship
    • date and edition
    • provenance
    • condition
    • restoration history
    • dimensions
    • price
  6. An Alvar Aalto 403 armchair, its birch worn to a patina that restoration will keep.

    06

    Restore

    Patina is not a defect. Original materials and finishes are preserved wherever possible. Restoration should recover integrity without removing history.

  7. The sitting room at 1061 Loma Vista: a striped armchair placed beside a sculpture on its plinth.

    07

    Install

    Every piece is positioned in relationship to the architecture, the light and the objects around it. Placement, art, textiles and lighting are composed together.

  8. A Charlotte Perriand Cansado bench, a documented piece with its record.

    08

    Record

    Each important acquisition enters the Collection Ledger, the permanent record of the collection.

    The record

    Designer • Piece • Date • Edition • Provenance • Source • Condition • Restoration • Invoice • Photography • Location

Where the two meet

Read separately, decided together.

The chapters are told apart so each can be understood. In the commission they run at once, and at every phase one decision serves both.

  1. 01The architectureRead the propertyThe interiorRead the houseThe property is read once, for both: the light that sets the plan is the light the collection will live in.
  2. 02The architectureEstablish the ideaThe interiorEdit what existsThe idea for the house and the edit of what you already own are settled in the same conversation.
  3. 03The architectureDrawThe interiorBuild the collection mapThe first sketches already hold the anchor pieces; the plan is drawn around them, not furnished after.
  4. 04The architectureArchitectureThe interiorSearchWalls, openings and ceiling heights are fixed with the collection in view, so the search knows what it is looking for.
  5. 05The architectureResolveThe interiorVerifyStructure, glazing and lighting are resolved against verified pieces: real dimensions, not placeholders.
  6. 06The architectureBuildThe interiorRestoreAs the house goes up, the pieces are restored to meet it. Neither track waits for the other.
  7. 07The architectureInstallThe interiorInstallOne installation. The pieces arrive into rooms that were drawn for them.
  8. 08The architectureHandoverThe interiorRecordThe Residence Archive and the Collection Ledger are handed over together, as one record of the house.

One finished environment

Fewer handoffs. Fewer contradictions. Better decisions.

The value is not that the studio offers more services. It is that the entire residence is authored as one environment.

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The Studio / other services

  1. 01The HouseThe architecture, from the first line to the first night home.
  2. 02The InteriorCollected, not decorated.
  3. 04The Maison StudyBefore committing, understand what the property can become.