Through the looking glass

The first decision to make when devising an interior scheme for a residence with a great view is whether to let the outlook take center stage, or to create a decor that is equally eye-catching.

For interior designer Billy Beson ASID, CEO of Beson Kading Interior Design Group, the view was of paramount importance when he purchased his own condominium in downtown Minneapolis.

"The view is the primary reason I bought the space, which I did before construction began."

Beson engaged architect Randall Buffie to redraw the space two adjacent two-bedroom units as a single, one-bedroom apartment.

"The master suite was a significant part of the overall design, taking up 80% of one of the original apartments," says Buffie.

The suite comprises three distinct zones: a sitting area, bedroom and master suite with dressing area. Each zone has been given its own visual treatment, which Beson says reflects his desire to design the apartment so that the spaces themselves are vignettes that mirror the view.

"The apartment has been designed as spaces within spaces and I wanted each of them to be distinct, yet relevant to the whole," he says. "This has been achieved through the careful use of texture," says Beson.

The end wall of the sitting area provides a good example. A plane of granite is broken up by a backlit panel with a Venetian plaster finish, which is in turn tempered by a concrete fire surround. Together, the three planes become a textural interpretation of the building forms visible from the adjacent window.

The mix of materials continues in the master bathroom, where the palette is augmented with frosted glass, marble and granite.

"At night, lit from the inside, the frosted glass emits a soft glow, adding an entirely new visual texture," the designer says.

There is a rhythm to the spaces and a sense of interconnectedness with the architecture of the whole apartment, says Buffie.

"A curved wall here gently propels you in one direction, and a visual cue there makes a link to the overall symmetry, giving a softness to the movement within the space.

"It may be a cliche, but the apartment truly is a retreat from the stresses encountered every day something we all strive to create for our clients," the architect says.

Story by: Justin Foote