Light and Airy

Author:Lindsey Shook

Georgia Tapert Howe swiftly curates a forever home for a party of five

“Our goal was to design spaces that incorporated classical lines and shapes but that didn’t feel fussy and over designed,” says designer Georgia Tapert Howe about her firm’s design direction inside this 8,000-square-foot Cape Code style home in Santa Monica. “The client was very pregnant with their third child when they hired us so we expected a sort of mad rush to get it done but they were so patient and willing to wait for the right things.”

The clients wanted to enlist a designer that understood how three small children use and abuse a home while still providing spaces that inspire. “We needed to be mindful of the realities of life,” she notes. “They also wanted a house that reflected their tastes and wanted a designer who could find the middle ground between traditional and modern.”

Luckily the home’s layout worked for the young, active family which allowed the team to work quickly. “Everything we did was cosmetic,” Howe recalls. “The living room is quite small for such a big house and the clients love to entertain, so we had to make sure other areas felt formal enough for parties. On the ground floor there is a second family room off the screening room so we also had to make sure the programing for each room was different.”

Comfort of course was key when devising the family-centric spaces. The open-plan, first-floor family room is connected to the kitchen so the design needed to be cohesive and formal enough when the family hosted parties. “The clients didn’t want anything to feel overrun by toys, so the ground-floor family room—located next to the screening and wine rooms—serves as the kids’ main play space on daily basis,” she notes.

When Howe and her team got to the finish line for the big reveal, she remarks, “They were thrilled! This has been one of the most delightful projects because the clients were trusting and patient and wanted to do it properly.”