09/16/2025
It’s Heather, back with an appreciation post for !
Rayburn House’s petite size is lessened by its high ceilings, allowing for tall windows. Thanks to a southern exposure, the living and dining rooms receive spectacular light - the kind that enters in warm, embracing, room-soaking rays (when the sun is not ensconced in fog).
The original dining room wore a tall, paneled wainscot topped with a coffered ceiling, whose stout Craftsmen detailing felt overpowering. A pivot seemed necessary to rebalance the rooms, particularly on this floor where the plan is quite open.
We re-thought the space, designing paneling with profiles that were visually lightweight and extending it to meet a coved crown that would echo the graceful curves in the adjacent living room. With its new interior architecture, the room was beginning to feel like a Victorian conservatory, so we floated the idea of introducing decorative plasterwork.
We had visions of vines that would wind around the astragals, abundant with blossoms, more wild than cultivated. A new ceiling medallion in the living room would share this new language. We gathered imagery (see slide no. 5) that communicated the delicate detailing we were imagining, and took it to Emily at Foster Reeve for discussion.
Amongst other flowers, Emily suggested clematis - a fragrant climbing vine, some varietals of which are native to Northern California. That got us all humming - sketching began and we were off to the races! See the video on slide no. 6, showing the progression of design leading to the final site installation. We’re thrilled with how it’s all coming together, with enthusiastic credit to the *many* talented folks at Foster Reeve.
Next up, paint!
(For more of our adventures in plasterwork, I encourage you to check out the room and team put together for the 2024 Brooklyn Showhouse. 🌾)
Interior Architecture and Design:
Project Team: , , Tiffany Kim, and Luna Sibai
Construction:
Photography: and
Honorable Mentions:
