1913
Luxury by the Sea
INTERVIEW WITH JAMIE BUSH
The Butterfly’s Metamorphosis
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cclaimed for its extraordinary design and positioning, anchored on Carmel Point’s prominent granite outcrop, it’s no wonder that the world-famous Butterfly House has been featured in Architectural Digest 100, A Century of Style; and that the great room, pictured here, is also honored in Architectural Digest: The Most Beautiful Rooms in the World. Whilst the house is immediately recognizable to so many for its undeniable exterior architectural beauty, what most people don’t know is how elegantly and sensitively the current owners transformed the living space of this mid-century masterpiece. By engaging a world-renowned designer, Jamie Bush, they were able to integrate
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The Butterfly's Transformation
the living experience of this home with its incomparable natural setting. This project was a combination of exceptional vision by the owners, in collaboration and partnership with Jamie Bush and his outstanding creative team in Los Angeles. We talked to Jamie about the historic transformation that went into creating the modern organic masterpiece that is today's Carmel Butterfly House. The magnitude of the restoration was substantial. “The house they bought is not
the house they ended up with.” Bush says. Walls, windows, ceilings, floors, and many structural beams were all reinforced, removed or replaced. “Not only did we restore the building with integrity, but also with innovation for a modern lifestyle.” “We worked from the outside in,” Bush explains. The structural integrity of the house was addressed, and the west wall was completely rebuilt with reinforced steel beams, which support the winged roof, and a wall of commercial grade View
1913 Luxury by the Sea
Smart Glass. Each pane is a parallelogram and contains artificial intelligence technology between the glass, which senses and responds to heat and glare and automatically adjusts the level of tinting for complete customization and personal preference; a very modern, innovative and pricey solution deployed to enhance the experience of being in one of the world’s most beautiful rooms. “It took brave vision for the owners,” Bush says, “coming from a big European
city to step into this project, and trust us to recreate this iconic place.” In the reenvisioning of the design, it was essential to the owners that the property live and feel like a family home. In early discussions, Bush recognized the importance of how this extraordinary environment would shape the lives of the owner's children. “So few times in life do you have the chance to bestow on your children this kind of experience with nature,” he recalls the owners expressing.
The planning was so incredibly detailed; it was like designing a ship, with a team of expert craftsmen and artisans who oversaw every detail, from the wirebrushed teak and hand-troweled plaster, to the painstaking craft required to install the sapele mahogany ceiling. “The team was literally restoring a piece of history that will live beyond them. The next owner will be a custodian of that piece of history,” says Bush.
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“When we started taking back the walls, it felt like we were on an archaeological dig,” Bush recalls. Throughout the house they uncovered original brick and glass block windows which were reclaimed and integrated into the design in different areas. Craftsmen masterfully handmolded new bricks to match the originals and to create a seamless new experience in the interior galleries, entry and lanai. The hand-troweled plaster walls are etched with a vertical laser; the hammered granite and quartzite flagstone flooring extends into the driveway and the courtyard, intentionally blurring the interior and exterior landscapes. “The interiors are intentionally varied in materiality and tone combined with a brutalist element that reflects the rugged coastline, whilst still achieving a warm, harmonious and organic feeling in the house.” “It was important to create intimacy of spaces and warmth, so that when you close the doors and windows you have a cocooning effect,” Bush says. He often felt like a time-traveler going from the 1950s mid-century to the innovation of this project in the twenty-first century, adapting the house to suit a modern-day family.
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The Butterfly's Transformation
The sculptural firewall, commissioned by renowned ceramist, Stan Bitters, is intended to mirror the colors of the ocean and the drama of the surrounding rocky landscape. Tactile and organic modern textures were selected, including the primary dressing room, which is clad in pale gray and mauve cork, with crystalline elemental highlights similar to those seen when the sun touches the rocks along the coastline. Rugs made of hemp and silk, bleached white oak, and wire-brushed teak all evoke a connection to nature. “It feels like it was already there, and the scale is intended to be perfectly imperfect,” Bush explains. It was essential the furnishings melded into the house. “Light, airy and organic. In the living room, there is a Tibetan round rug in an eroded beach seashore texture and a sofa by de Sede, which is serpentine and sculptural, and can be viewed from many angles. We fell in love with Brazilian designer Sergio Rodrigues, and his rosewood mid-century chairs with Mongolian bolsters and their exaggerative forms and gestures have elemental weight and heft that can hold their own and compliment the architecture.” There is a
vintage Brazilian root coffee table that is a contextual nod to bohemian Big Sur. The one-of-a kind custom turquoise lamp was crafted by Brooklyn ceramist Peter Lane, who also sculpted the free-standing ceramic totems, “Sylphion,” in the motor court. The unique driftwood handle to the front door was one that Jamie found in his personal collection. The vibe of the house is carefree organic modernism. A spiritual connection to nature was promontory. You feel a calmness surrounded by beautiful undulating kelp, playful otters, dolphins, sunsets and moonsets, and rugged rocky outcroppings. Like a National Geographic special, day to day you witness pods of whales or orcas from your living room; ever-changing nature is on display as an art form. Jamie spent many days alone at the Butterfly House and says he fell in love with the harmony and felt embraced by nature, a rare experience in today’s world. “You can’t help but be affected. It’s a profound experience that brings deep contentment and happiness to whoever spends their days in the Butterfly House.” ■
1913 Luxury by the Sea