Party walls: homes fit to host a superlative soirée
Wallpaper* has teamed up with the Design Museum in London to curate a series of houses that we feel are the hosts with the most. Our December issue (W*225) is all about entertaining – whose calendar isn’t fattening up with festive soirées? So, we’re here to show you how it’s done.
Vault House, Johnston Marklee
California
Making an entrance first is Johnston Marklee’s beachside Vault House just north of Malibu which ticks off two party essentials: a sunset over the Pacific, and considerable drama.
Photography: Eric Staudenmaier
Vault House, Johnston Marklee
California
Vault House became the site of a surreal story devised by Torbjørn Rødland, in which stilettos, spaghetti and a chainsaw each played their role… The asymmetric house, enclosed within a white box dotted with curves and cut-out windows certainly inspires a mystery – and every party needs some theatrics.
Photography: Torbjørn Rødland
As originally featured in the November 2014 issue of Wallpaper* magazine
Vault House, Johnston Marklee
California
Set on sturdy low stilts, Vault House brings its guests down to the level of the sandy beach, barefoot with a Sea Breeze, and facing west, a terrace sheltered beneath a broad arch looks out to the ocean, where you can just sit back and enjoy the show.
Photography: Torbjørn Rødland
As originally featured in the November 2014 issue of Wallpaper* magazine
Eppich House, Arthur Erickson
Canada
Step this way into a modernist time capsule of 1970s glamour… Eppich House in West Vancouver brings some bold dynamics to the party – and not just platform shoes and disco.
Photography: Grant Harder
As originally featured in the April 2017 issue of Wallpaper* magazine
Eppich House, Arthur Erickson
Canada
Toast of the town: designed by Arthur Erickson with his long-time collaborator Nick Milkovich, Eppich House is set across three levels, each defined by curves, glass blocks and polished steel. Rest your Old Fashioned on a curved glass coffee table that follows the same smooth curves of the architecture – designed bespoke by the architect and his design partner Francisco Kripacz.
Photography: Grant Harder
As originally featured in the April 2017 issue of Wallpaper* magazine
Eppich House, Arthur Erickson
Canada
Eppich House is a translucent cocoon of warmth immersed in nature, curving through a thick garden of evergreens designed by Cornelia Oberlander. From dusk until dawn the house becomes a beacon – attracting all the night owls.
Photography: Grant Harder
As originally featured in the April 2017 issue of Wallpaper* magazine
Life House, John Pawson
Wales
Staying in is the new going out at John Pawson’s Life House where everyone in attendance is probably staying the night. Why? Because this secluded haven in Wales, with its wholesome, neutral interior design, is where you want to spend the morning after the night before.
Photography: Henry Bourne
As originally featured in the December 2017 issue of Wallpaper* magazine
Life House, John Pawson
Wales
Hole up for the winter: the Life House designed by John Pawson is embedded into the Welsh heathland, where its dark exterior brickwork absorbs the colours of the surrounding blackened gorse.
Photography: Henry Bourne
As originally featured in the December 2017 issue of Wallpaper* magazine
Life House, John Pawson
Wales
Inside the Life House, muted oatmeal-coloured bricks, light biscuit stone floors, and fawn-coloured timber create a serene environment. Corner windows overlooking the Welsh countryside bring nature inside, while you can stay cosy with a detox tea.
Photography: Henry Bourne
As originally featured in the December 2017 issue of Wallpaper* magazine
Greja House, Park and Associates
Singapore
This sleek and minimal glass house is layered with a white powder coated metal mesh shell, tempering the relationship between indoor and out. Set within a garden of green foliage, with views to the Sungei Bedok River, the house hosts external covered walkways and open patios – ideal for outdoor entertaining and party-guest over-spill.
Greja House, Park and Associates
Singapore
Let loose: here at Greja House, the internal circulation flows smoothly from space to space. The architects left the ground floor spaces open plan to allow for more interactions – or schmoozing.
Greja House, Park and Associates
Singapore
The statement staircase: the best house party moments happen on the stairway, the place for close encounters and surprise collisions. This sculptural helix – which sinks into a pool of water at its base – bisects the open plan living spaces and is the social heart of Greja House.