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Los Angeles Times Magazine Los Angeles Times Sunday May 22, 2005 |
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| playing with elegance Fabric and dramatic lighting create an outdoor dining room in a small backyard When Antonia Hutt bought her West Hollywood home 2 1/2 years ago, her least favorite part was the backyard English garden created by the previous owners. An interior designer originally from London, Hutt favors a more modern look. Moreover, she wanted a lap pool that would serve as an extension of the master bedroom, so that she could just “step out of bed into the water.” To that end, Hutt moved the rose bushes to her office a few blocks away and transformed the quaint flower beds into an elegant Modernist outdoor spa. Large floor-to-ceiling doors line the rear of the house and open onto the yard, which has become one more room, though without walls or ceiling. Surrounded by tall bamboo, the space has an intimate other-worldliness made fragrant and inviting by flowering vines, tall potted palms and a rose apple tree. Hutt says she uses the space at all hours of the day, but nighttime is the prime time. Then the outdoors becomes magical with the glow of the changing fiber-optic pool lighting, a flowing fountain and the blue-green and white LED lighting from a dragonfly chandelier above the dining table. “My garden is a little surreal and a little Vegas,” she says with a laugh. There’s also a living room space with vintage lounges and a dining area with an artist-designed table and Verner Panton chairs. The raised pool – on the same level as the bedroom – is surrounded by concrete coping that serves as a sideboard or informal seating. Folds of orange fabric cover a trellis that provides protection from the harsh afternoon sun and, when lighted from above, adds a warm glow to the night. Striped draperies set off the dining area with a playful elegance. All this finery is not just for show, Hutt says. Her small indoor dining room has been overtaken by an extensive design library, so when her staff members want to brainstorm or do research they come for lunch on the patio. Most dinner parties also are outdoors, and the radiant-heated floor warms guests in cooler months. Best of all, Hutt has made her small home feel expansive. – SUSAN FREUDENHEIM LOS ANGELES TIMES MAGAZINE, May 22, 2005 |
inset: Antonia Hutt, at right, and her design associates gather for a working lunch beneath a dragonfly LED light by artist Sean Sobczak. The light adds a bit of whimsy to the tent-like dining area, which features Verner Panton chairs and a hand-painted dining table by Dilmos. Left: Tarts from Sweet Lady Jane sit atop the pool’s coping next to the table, which often serves as a buffet when Hutt entertains. |
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