MAY 2008

floridainternationalmag.com0 74470 01218 4

0 5

$3.95US $6.95CAN

DESIGN SECRETS

S TAT E W I D E E N T E R TA I N M E N T C A L E N D A R A N D D I N I N G G U I D E

GET HEALTHYWhen To Fire Your Doctor &The Deadly Effects Of Salt

MOTHER’S DAY GIFT GUIDEHOT SUMMER SWIMWEARFINANCE BULL OR BEAR:WHICH ONE ARE YOU?

HOROSCOPEPAGE 152

INT

ER

NA

TIO

NA

L M

AG

AZ

INE

A GULF COAST SHOWHOUSEUPS THE ANTE WITH NEWIDEAS AND CONCEPTS

11

SOURCESREVEALED!Top Design Professionals Give The Inside Scoop On Their Favorites

DESTINATION NIRVANAINTERNATIONAL SPASTO PAMPER BODY & SOUL

May Cover1 4/8/08 11:19 AM Page 1

For the most part, two design headsare always better than one. AndBrett Sugerman and Giselle Loor,who head up the boutique firmB+G in Hollywood, are living proof of that. He’s the offspring of Floridadesign royalty, architect BarrySugerman and late interior designerPenny Sugerman. She’s a tastemak-er through and through who hasbeen in the industry since 1995. Bothhave been part of South Florida’sdesign community for more than adecade as heads of their own studios, but it was Home of FineDecorators (now Fine Design) thatbrought them together for the firsttime in 2001. Years later, after team-ing up for numerous projects for Fine,they decided to take a chance withtheir own firm in 2006 and openedB+G to focus on high-end residentialwork and executive class commer-cial projects. Just seven monthsago they took another plunge andgot married.

“We certainly mean it when wesay relationship is a key word at ourfirm,” says Sugerman. “Not only areGiselle and I a couple, but our firm islike a small family, and every projectis a team effort.”

That approach has served B+Gwell. In just over a year and a half, thefirm has amassed an impressiveportfolio of projects in Florida,California, North Carolina andColorado. One such recent case isthe California home of a developerwith whom Sugerman and Loor hadpreviously collaborated (both for hisbusiness and personal properties). �

Right: In the dining room, a Macassarebony table is topped with an ebonizedbranch sculpture from JF Chen. On theleft, a selection of the homeowner’s signif-icant art collection, which Sugerman andLoor helped to add on to during thedesign process. Above: Giselle Loor andBrett Sugerman.

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE | MAY 2008104

Cool WarmthSophistication and texture take over in a

Los Angeles pied-à-terre DESIGN BY BRETT SUGERMAN & GISELLE LOOR

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERHARD PFEIFFER TEXT BY LUIS R. RIGUAL

Installation_B&G 4/7/08 5:58 PM Page 104

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE | MAY 2008 105

Installation_B&G 4/7/08 5:58 PM Page 105

“Our approach was to treat the interior envelope as a sculpture.” — Brett Sugerman

Installation_B&G 4/7/08 5:59 PM Page 106

The residence, a 6,000-square-foot California Mediterranean in the tonyenclave of Westwood in Los Angeles, seemed tailor made for B+G’s brandof cozy, cool and contemporary.

Sugerman and Loor, along with Janet Patterson, were involved fromthe get-go, which allowed them to make importantdecisions about space planning, lighting designand material selection with the project architect,Amy Shock. That collaboration proved crucial inthe end as it gave the designers the leeway theyneeded to fully execute their vision, an esthetic dic-tated by the homeowner’s personality and his loveof art and sculpture.

“We wanted it to be contemporary but notcold,” says Loor. “Nothing austere, but inviting. Abalance, really.”

Setting the tone for warmth is the palette thatpermeates the residence — various tones of creamand soft yellow that seem to glow ethereally — andthe dark walnut slabs used for flooring. The home-owner insisted the design esthetic not betray thehouse’s distinctly Mediterranean style and thatthere be continuity in terms of palette, materialsand finishes inside and out. Sugerman and Loorcreated an interior punctuated by surprises in theform of architectural detailing. The living room is aperfect example. Here, the wow factor comes froman elevated fireplace reconfigured to read like aninstallation without a traditional mantle, but rather aseries of overlapping planes that incorporate cedarlimestone, painted plaster and bands of chocolatewalnut. A B+G hallmark in this room is the ceiling,which was outfitted with a geometric pattern integrated into the lighting configuration, a featurethat doesn’t sacrifice height for detail but insteadprovides both.

To a large extent, the adjoining dining room isa continuation of the living room and thereforemaintains the same temperament as it relates tomaterials and finishes. A square Macassar ebonytable with eight leather armchairs envelops dinersmore organically than would a traditional rectangu-lar setup. A Parisian pendant chandelier by Boydwas chosen for its jewel-like qualities.

The approach to art selection was an interest-ing one. Besides incorporating much of the home-owner’s own collection, Loor and Sugermanborrowed more than half a million dollars worth ofpaintings, photographs and sculpture from LaLouver Gallery in Santa Monica simply for presen-tation purposes. Their choices were so right on, theclient ended up purchasing a large percentage ofthe art. The resulting collection is a dynamic mix ofphotography, sculptural objects and paintings thatfurther solidifies the mission of the design. Every space in the house tells astory with color and texture and the artwork is the exclamation point.

“All in all our approach was to treat the interior envelope as a sculp-ture,” says Sugerman, “and to provide surprises along the way.” Adds Loor:“It’s like putting on a great outfit and then adding some red lipstick. It makesall the difference.” �

Above: A hallway vignette on the home’s second floor with a console by Bill Soffieldfrom Baker, a carved stone sculpture, a two-leg floor lamp by Holly Hunt and a canvas in black and white. Opposite: The focal point of the living room is an elevat-ed fireplace that incorporates a series of overlapping planes made with cedar lime-stone, painted plaster and walnut. The carved teak spheres at the forefront providea sculptural anchor in the room.

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE | MAY 2008 107

Installation_B&G 4/7/08 5:59 PM Page 107