This showy New York home designed by Stamberg Aferiat + Associates looks more like an art installation than a house. The illuminated abode is a contemporary cubist sculpture boasting twisted skewed roofs and translucent walls that glow eerily from within. It’s certainly an unexpected sight among the grassy grounds and leafy trees surrounding it. Visible from afar, the lighted angles and vibrant colors rank the Shelter Island House tops among one-of-a-kind homes. If you’re a lover of the weird, the wacky, the wonderful, then this home is definitely a must see!
According to the architects, “Let the line that divides art from architecture be transparent. This project gave us an opportunity to bring our influences, inspirations, aspirations and years of architectural design to bear in one place with only ourselves and our budget to define the boundaries.”
The 1,100 sq. ft. summer home is a cool combination of open and closed all at once. Incorporating open areas with walls, this structure offers enough living space for the R&R purposes for which it was designed, while maintaining an intimate scale. The smart and trendy color-blocking technique breaks up the walls that offer privacy without completely closing the home off from the outside world.
The skewed rubber roof topping the home is inverted, angled upward rather than down like in typical homes. Alas, nothing about this is typical, from shape and layout to materials and colors.
“Architecture coupled with color can bring joy while providing the basic necessities. Building our own house gave us the leeway to be as bold with our color choices as the work would allow and to push boundaries that few dare, but our choices were always based in serious color theory,” explain the architects.
The amazing use of color gives this home so many different layers, overlapping and luring you to explore what’s behind each one. Behind the bold privacy walls, the home’s facade of frosted glass hides interiors from prying eyes while allowing the free flow of light – natural light comes in, and indoor illumination permeates out!
This cool color treatment has an almost industrial feel, with corrugated steel walls that reek of art gallery meets studio space meets creative corner, concealed in its mix of hues and layers.
Once you get past the solid exterior, a private courtyard reveals a sweet retreat – a refreshing pool flanked by the two volumes and sharing in the shade of their massive overhanging roofs. Sit by the pool and enjoy some warm sunshine or cool shade.
This colorful getaway has a whimsical look and feel to it that makes you feel like you’re a million miles away or in another world even. The underside of the roofs is a vibrant yellow hue that evokes eternal sunshine, even when it’s raining. At the far end of the outdoor patio area, a clear glass wall reveals an interior that’s every bit as colorful as the exterior.
This quirky color palette continues inside, where a citrus ceiling hangs over this vibrant space, enclosed in translucent exterior walls that are ultra-modern, funky and fabulous. Interior walls carry the home’s signature color blocking finish, with a corrugated orange wall extending from outdoors in, and a bubblegum pink feature wall displaying a sleek, suspended steel fireplace. Cozy furnishings are a nice contrast to the cool decor elements, like the fireplace and contemporary-style lighting.
A walkout to the outdoors reveals an unusual industrial sculpture that seems a little out of place in this cartoonish courtyard.
This bedroom is a vision of luscious lime. A bank of yellow cabinets complements this vibrant theme. A feature wall boasts a collage of pink and purple flowers, towering above a pink and purple bedspread.
The translucent walls and clerestory windows add natural light and a neutral element to this screaming space.
From the architects, “Sir Isaac Newton observed the different behavior of color created with pigment and color created with light. The Impressionists and Fauves experimented with Newtonian principles to create light effects with pigment. These experiments have redefined thoughts on how colors relate to one another. Guided by Newtonian color theory, the intense palette of the house allows richly-colored reflected light to pass through translucent walls, suffusing spaces with a delighting glow.”
The next bedroom is a sorbet dream. Peach walls and a yellow ceiling encircle a curved translucent wall with a rectangular window peeking into the outdoors.
Here are some outdoor angles that reveal how this complex, multi-layer home came together:
Site plan:
Stamberg Aferiat + Associates
via Contemporist
