Houston, Texas Uptown Penthouse

Working with clients who fully trusted in the design process allowed Jennifer and her team to work their magic overcoming obstacles with creative solutions in the overall design of their clients’ penthouse giving them the luxurious, gallery style living they desired, with a harmonious view from almost every room in the home, allowing the outdoors in, and expanding the walls of their living space by taking advantage of their 360-degree view from the 29th floor. Burgess Loh was charged with creating an elegant living space with a calm monochromatic interior that would serve as a backdrop for their art collection.  With a background in fashion, as well as design, Jennifer and her team created an exquisite, lush scheme with emphasis placed on bringing in textures through textiles, material surfaces, metals and glass adding variety and interest throughout the home.  These beautiful reflective components were chosen to highlight the abundance of light that permeates the space.  Almost all surfaces selected have a relation to metal whether in hue or form, from Lurex and silk yarns in the custom rugs to the pyrite in the fireplace. This home design includes many semi-precious materials including exotic woods, white rose quartz, and custom beaded walls, all adding to the pattern and play on light, meant to create a sophisticated backdrop for the art. 

A luxurious, detailed rich design always comes with its challenges. The clients wanted to create a grand, very dramatic and glamorous powder room harmonious with the rest of the house, yet very different, and within the confines of a very small footprint of the room. Burgess Loh transformed the very small water closet into a “jewel box” powder room that has become a centerpiece of the home by using a very special Antolini marble with gold glitter inlay, which was carried through the entire design. The faux finished mural on the walls was inspired by a mirror purchased from a company in London, that has a rippled frame and is covered in 24 karat gold. Working with a company in the Netherlands, Jennifer and her team were able to custom design sconces made of small organic metals to echo the rhythm of the ripple pattern found in the mirror and the design of the wall murals. To emphasize the marble, it was wrapped down the wall and all the way across the front apron of the sink cabinet. Storage under the apron was finished in shiny black lacquer making it disappear, almost acting like a mirror to not distract the eye from the movement in the design. The ceiling covered in gold leaf adds the wow factor and disguises air vents. Movement was designed into everything in the space to increase the drama and keep the eye in motion; the ripple in the mirror, the slab veining, the motion in the faux finish and the rhythm of the sconces, all work together to create an interesting, engaging space.  

A primary goal was to achieve maximum wall space for art without sacrificing the views while designing the optimal flow of the unit. Presenting a special challenge in the primary suite. As a solution, a private entry for the master bedroom was designed and constructed behind the master bed, creating an intimate space that faces the skyline, while providing overflow storage and a dramatic headboard. A paneled system and custom grill, posing as architectural elements, disguise the unit’s mechanicals and one of the three different elevators coming into the home, and providing hidden storage at the entry.