For architects and interior designers starting out, there is nothing quite so daunting as their first few projects. Yet when Michael and Alexandra Misczynski of Atelier AM met the owner of a villa in Rancho Santa Fe, California, a journey of trust, travel and discovery unfolded. It meant a seminal project for the fledgling firm (founded in 2002), and one that would dictate the shape of things to come. ‘Our client had no idea who we were but he put his faith in us,’ says Michael.

The client, an industrious businessman from Chicago, had bought the house rather on impulse. ‘He acquired the property really for its 30 acres of land,’ says Michael. ‘It’s in horse country and it has stables and an orange grove.’

The villa itself, now one of the

worlds best homes

, was a spec house built in a Mediterranean style about 30 years ago and while the client had considered rebuilding it, Michael and Alexandra soon realised they should preserve its cavernous internal volumes.

对于刚起步的建筑师和室内设计师来说，没有什么比他们的前几个项目更令人生畏的了。然而，当 Atelier AM 的 Michael 和 Alexandra Misczynski 遇到加利福尼亚州 Rancho Santa Fe 的别墅主人时，一场充满信任、旅行和探索的旅程就此展开。对于这家刚刚起步的公司（成立于 2002 年）来说，这意味着一个开创性的项目，并且将决定未来的发展方向。“我们的客户不知道我们是谁，但他对我们充满信心，”Michael 说。

客户是一位来自芝加哥的勤劳商人，他买下这栋房子是出于一时冲动。“他买下这栋房子的真正原因是它有 30 英亩的土地，”迈克尔说。“它位于马场，有马厩和橘园。”

这座别墅本身现在是世界上最好的住宅

之一，它是一座大约 30 年前建造的地中海风格的样板房，虽然客户曾考虑重建它，但迈克尔和亚历山德拉很快意识到他们应该保留其宽敞的内部空间。

For architects and interior designers starting out, there is nothing quite so daunting as their first few projects. Yet when Michael and Alexandra Misczynski of Atelier AM met the owner of a villa in Rancho Santa Fe, California, a journey of trust, travel and discovery unfolded. It meant a seminal project for the fledgling firm (founded in 2002), and one that would dictate the shape of things to come. ‘Our client had no idea who we were but he put his faith in us,’ says Michael.

The client, an industrious businessman from Chicago, had bought the house rather on impulse. ‘He acquired the property really for its 30 acres of land,’ says Michael. ‘It’s in horse country and it has stables and an orange grove.’

The villa itself, now one of the

worlds best homes

, was a spec house built in a Mediterranean style about 30 years ago and while the client had considered rebuilding it, Michael and Alexandra soon realised they should preserve its cavernous internal volumes.

迈克尔和亚历山德拉渴望让这所房子充满历史感，以掩盖其相对较短的历史，于是他们带着客户去了欧洲采购。迈克尔说：“我们最初的想法是让室内装饰采用非常传统的设计语言，所以我们在巴黎买了很多古董壁炉架和门，然后把它们运过来。”

然而，在他芝加哥公寓完工后不久，两人就改变了主意。迈克尔承认：“他是一位当代艺术品收藏家，几乎在半夜时，我们意识到我们犯了一个错误，我们为他设计了错误的房屋。”“我们决定将其拆除，并采用更简约的设计。但我们保留了第一次旅行时买的一些东西，因为它们看起来很重要，是旅程的一部分。”

迈克尔和亚历山德拉与艺术品经销商阿克塞尔·维沃特的友谊也启发了别墅的最终基调。“我们明显受到阿克塞尔和他的妻子梅的影响，并带我们的客户去他们家吃了几次午餐和晚餐，”迈克尔说。通过其巨大的原始石膏墙和简单的弧形拱门，别墅仿佛对周围的景观充满敬畏。

每件精心挑选的艺术品和家具周围都环绕着大片空间，巨大的钢框窗户透出的光线让它们显得格外耀眼。石灰石地板是

走廊的设计理念

之一，也增添了古色古香的气息。

走廊里有一种美丽的画廊般的感觉，每件展品都有充足的空间

Eager to imbue the house with a sense of history that would belie its relatively short existence, Michael and Alexandra took their client on a buying trip to Europe. ‘Our original approach was to give the interior a very traditional design language so we bought lots of antique mantelpieces and doors in Paris, which we then shipped over,’ says Michael.

Yet soon after the completion of his Chicago apartment, the pair had a change of heart. ‘He’s a big collector of contemporary art and almost in the middle of the night we realized we had made a mistake and we were designing the wrong house for him,’ admits Michael. ‘We decided to strip it down and take a more minimalistic approach. But we kept some of the things we bought on that first trip because they seemed important and part of the journey.’

Michael and Alexandra’s friendship with the art dealer Axel Vervoordt also inspired the resulting tone of the villa. ‘We were clearly influenced by Axel and his wife May, and took our client to their house for several lunches and dinners,’ says Michael. Through its vast raw plaster walls and simple curved arches, the villa breathes as if in reverence for the landscape surrounding it.

Acres of space surround each carefully chosen piece of art and furniture, the light from the huge steel-framed windows showing them to best advantage. Limestone flooring was among the

hallway ideas

that also add an antique character.

There’s a beautiful gallery-like feel in the hallway with every piece given space to breathe.

迈克尔和亚历山德拉渴望让这所房子充满历史感，以掩盖其相对较短的历史，于是他们带着客户去了欧洲采购。迈克尔说：“我们最初的想法是让室内装饰采用非常传统的设计语言，所以我们在巴黎买了很多古董壁炉架和门，然后把它们运过来。”

然而，在他芝加哥公寓完工后不久，两人就改变了主意。迈克尔承认：“他是一位当代艺术品收藏家，几乎在半夜时，我们意识到我们犯了一个错误，我们为他设计了错误的房屋。”“我们决定将其拆除，并采用更简约的设计。但我们保留了第一次旅行时买的一些东西，因为它们看起来很重要，是旅程的一部分。”

迈克尔和亚历山德拉与艺术品经销商阿克塞尔·维沃特的友谊也启发了别墅的最终基调。“我们明显受到阿克塞尔和他的妻子梅的影响，并带我们的客户去他们家吃了几次午餐和晚餐，”迈克尔说。通过其巨大的原始石膏墙和简单的弧形拱门，别墅仿佛对周围的景观充满敬畏。

每件精心挑选的艺术品和家具周围都环绕着大片空间，巨大的钢框窗户透出的光线让它们显得格外耀眼。石灰石地板是

走廊的设计理念

之一，也增添了古色古香的气息。

走廊里有一种美丽的画廊般的感觉，每件展品都有充足的空间。

‘It’s meant to be a casual home so it was important for us to use fabrics and carpets that don’t feel too precious. We wanted guests to feel comfortable and relaxed, not like they’re in a museum. You’re surrounded by very special things here but you can touch them,’ Michael notes.

Practical linen seat covers are one of the

living room

ideas.

“这应该是一间休闲之家，因此对我们来说，使用不会让人感觉太过珍贵的布料和地毯很重要。我们希望客人感到舒适和放松，而不是像在博物馆一样。你在这里被非常特别的东西包围着，但你可以触摸它们，”迈克尔说。

实用的亚麻座套是

客厅的

设计创意之一。

Raw plaster walls and ceiling strike a simple, mellow note.

原始的灰泥墙壁和天花板给人一种简单、柔和的感觉。

‘We pushed out the family/dining room, which had been dark due to the overshadowing of a loggia despite facing south, and gave it large new windows. The previous windows had been square or rectangular and smaller with wooden frames. The project was a study in how to bring in all that Southern Californian light,’ says Michael.

Among his

dining room ideas

to imbue the 30-year-old home with a sense of history was to put in reclaimed French oak flooring. Antique pieces were sourced for every space.

“我们拆除了家庭/餐厅，虽然朝南，但由于凉廊的遮挡，这里很暗，我们给它装上了大窗户。以前的窗户都是方形或矩形的，而且尺寸较小，带有木制框架。这个项目是一项研究，旨在研究如何将所有南加州的阳光引入室内，”迈克尔说。

为了让这栋 30 年历史的房屋充满历史感，他在

餐厅的设计

中采用了回收的法国橡木地板。餐厅的每个空间都摆放了古董。

Deep wood-clad walls bring warmth to the library. One of Michaels

home office ideas

was to create a recess for a work space.

深色木质墙壁给图书馆带来温暖。迈克尔的

家庭办公室创意

之一是打造一个凹陷的工作空间。

Bedroom ideas

include using two thicknesses of curtains ensure light from the huge windows can be moderated.

卧室的设计

包括使用两层厚度的窗帘，以确保能够调节来自大窗户的光线。

A minimalistic approach was taken throughout to ensure the outside landscape stars in every scheme.

自始至终我们都采取了简约的风格，以确保室外景观在每个方案中都显得格外突出。

One of Michaels

bathroom ideas

was to introduce a limestone tub to bring a feeling of continuity to the floor slabs.

A house resilient enough to cope with plenty of grandchildren was another requisite of the client. ‘He sometimes just puts them on a plane and flies them out,’ adds Michael. A dreamlike world far from Chicago, the villa envelopes its guests in a calming embrace. ‘Our client told us the first thing he does when he walks in is just to exhale. That, for us, is the best reward.

迈克尔的浴室创意

之一是引入石灰石浴缸，给地板带来一种连续感。

房子要足够坚固，能容纳许多孙辈，这是客户的另一个要求。“他有时干脆把他们送上飞机，然后飞走，”迈克尔补充道。别墅是一个远离芝加哥的梦幻世界，让客人沉浸在平静的怀抱中。“我们的客户告诉我们，他走进来做的第一件事就是呼气。对我们来说，这是最好的回报。”