From Jewelry to Interiors, Marion Cage McCollam Redefines Modern Craftsmanship
Small Batch Series
The exacting work of New Orleans-based designer and architect Marion Cage McCollam encompasses projects both tiny and massive — from delicate stud earrings to full-scale residential buildings. “The way I look at it is: it’s all design — [but with] different scales and different applications,” McCollam told Alexander Marchant during a recent Zoom conversation.
This wide-open approach to design has afforded McCollam a multifaceted career. Outside of her architecture practice, McCollam operates a Magazine Street gallery and showroom that displays her contemporary jewelry and cabinetry hardware — the latter of which is made to order — along with a curated assortment of works by other artists and designers.
After studying at Parsons School of Design in New York and the École Supérieure des Arts Graphiques in Paris, McCollam earned a master’s in architecture from Columbia University. She cut her teeth working in Europe for starchitects — including the late Iraqi-British icon Zaha Hadid and Swiss deconstructivist Bernard Tschumi.
“I’m very sad she’s no longer with us,” McCollam said of Hadid. Intriguingly, her pre-digital duties in that studio included creating drawings and large-scale watercolors designed to convey Hadid’s vision for prospective buildings.
“When you worked for her, you had to get it. She would scribble something on a cocktail napkin and say, ‘Here.’ If you didn’t get that, you didn’t last long. So you really had to learn her language.”
From left: McCollam’s Camille collection; a home bar outfitted with Camille large oval pulls.
By the mid-2000s, McCollam had branched out on her own and was practicing architecture in New York City. A pivotal moment arrived while she was working on a retail space for a jewelry designer who wanted to outfit her display cases with truly special cabinetry hardware. Serendipitously, McCollam had been taking casting classes at the 92nd Street Y and felt up to the challenge.
I was like, “Well, I could probably just make some. It’s just like jewelry — only bigger. So that’s kind of how I started [designing cabinetry hardware]. And then I went on to do her loft and she wanted me to do more hardware. So it got bigger. It’s a really nice melding of the art and architecture worlds.”
That project laid the groundwork for McCollam’s first collection of cabinetry hardware, Camille. Distinguished by subtle curves and surface details, Camille is minimalist and modern but also warm and tactile — thanks in part to the nuances of lost wax casting. Fittingly, this fusion of old and new sensibilities works equally well in the industrial New York spaces it was originally designed for and the historic buildings of New Orleans. “It does a nice job of tying together traditional architecture with contemporary interiors,” McCollam explained.
From left: cabinetry hardware from McCollam’s Peak collection; an installation view of Peak’s small Shard pulls.
Homage to Zaha
Highlighted by elongated, shard-like forms, McCollam’s Peak series began as a jewelry collection that she later scaled up into a suite of cabinetry hardware. “One of the advantages of working across multiple disciplines is that it sets up the possibility for designs to be adapted or translated from one discipline to another,” McCollam explained in a blog about her creative process. Referencing Hadid’s geometry-driven architecture, McCollam named the collection after the Peak Leisure Club — a would-be landmark Hadid proposed to carve into the Hong Kong hills and punctuate with cantilevered beams and manmade cliffs.
Shakti pulls and Uma knobs (left) and Tara pendant pulls (right) from McCollam’s Narmada collection.
Sacred Stones
Although wildly different from a stylistic perspective, McCollam’s Narmada collection parallels Peak in that its creative spark sprang from personal experience. While visiting India to attend a wedding in Jaipur, she set off on a three-week trip through Rajastan and was especially inspired by Shiva Lingam stones — striated river rocks believed to symbolize the Hindu god Shiva. Composed of cryptocrystalline quartz with iron oxide deposits, the sacred stones get tumbled smooth by the currents of the Narmada River and then polished to accentuate their earthy stripes. Although it wasn’t immediately clear how these organic forms would factor into her work, McCollam eventually drew a connection between Shiva Lingams and sinker cypress — fallen logs that absorb rich colors after lying in lakes and rivers for upward of 100 years. Simultaneously earthy and elegant, the resulting collection of cabinet knobs and pulls showcases the unique juxtaposition of cast metal and reclaimed wood.
From left: a mirrored pair of Shard sconces; a credenza designed by McCollam featuring hardware from her Camille collection.
Expanding Collections
While Cage McCollam admits she’s had to “pivot during the pandemic,” she’s also seen a flurry of orders as clients from near and far invest in home improvements. The inevitable retail downtime has allowed her to take on more architectural work and even branch out into furniture and lighting design. Her very first light fixture — a spectacular pair of sconces that mirror one another — fits neatly within the geometric confines of her still-growing Peak collection. She’s also been sourcing stones to incorporate into her Narmada designs and developing door hardware to complement each of her collections. Musing about her interdisciplinary endeavors, McCollam offered, “If you talk to most architects, we just have this love of getting our hands dirty and making things. … That’s why I was so drawn to making jewelry — and then hardware — because there’s craft to it. .. As long as I can make something beautiful, it doesn’t matter to me if it’s a building or a piece of jewelry.”
Sun Valley Bronze founder and owner Robert Commons still works in the Idaho-based company’s machine shop.
Eco-friendly. Family-run. Award-winning. All too often these claims amount to mere marketing terms without much supporting evidence. But on the flip side, there are honest-to-goodness businesses that can back up all the above without exaggerating. One shining example is Sun Valley Bronze, known familiarly in design circles as simply SVB.
As one might gather from its name, SVB champions the ancient alloy of bronze from a picturesque post in the Sun Valley region of Idaho — a destination arguably known best for alpine skiing. Founded in 1992 by master craftsman Robert Commons, the company has evolved from a one-man operation into a boutique manufacturer offering a comprehensive line of decorative bronze door, window, kitchen and bath hardware along with plumbing, lighting and accessories. Encompassing a wide range of styles — from rustic and traditional to contemporary and minimal — SVB hardware is something of a gold standard in the realm of architectural hardware. Created from art-quality bronze, it boasts unparalleled quality, functionality and lifespan.
Examples of SVB’s Minimalist Collection (left) and barn door hardware (right) — both Alexander Marchant favorites.
Nearly three decades into the game, founder/owner Robert Commons still works in the machine shop while his wife Debbie runs the business. Their children Josh and Aimee serve as lead design engineer and creative director, respectively. Working together as a family, they’ve managed to grow SVB responsibly while making sustainability an utmost priority. In addition to working exclusively with pre-consumer bronze and green sand technology, SVB recycles its scrap metal and follows Lean manufacturing principles — a super-efficient production model that results in zero waste.
Rightfully, these efforts have not gone unnoticed. In 2018, SVB was named a Pollution Prevention Champion by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for demonstrating “tremendous leadership in reducing its environmental footprint.”
In hopes of learning more about the inner workings of one of Alexander Marchant’s favorite brands, we caught up with Aimee Commons, whose role as SVB’s creative director involves everything from brand identity to photography and design.
Sun Valley Bronze Creative Director Aimee Commons.
What can you tell us about the formation of Sun Valley Bronze and how the company has evolved?
It’s been steady, and very organic. We’ve just grown over the years — increasing in square footage and adding tools, improving technology and promoting innovation. It’s a family business my father started. He’s a really talented craftsman. He started out hand-carving these beautiful designs — just kind of doing it by feel — and that’s how a lot of our original designs came about. Then it really started to take on a life of its own. … We got really into innovation and the technical aspects of the products. That’s been a huge focus for us. We put a ton of time into testing the hardware and improving the functionality. My brother Josh is our lead design engineer, so he’s really focused on making the hardware work well and ensuring its lifetime. These are not products you replace — and that’s a big part of our sustainability. We add new designs organically based on jobs. We’ll fill voids in our collection based on what’s needed for a job, sometimes we’ll develop a whole new line, it kind of depends. A lot of it is client-driven.
So the design process is happening in-house as well?
It’s all happening in-house and it happens in a bunch of different ways. Sometimes a concept will come to us from a client and we’ll help design and engineer it — or the concept is coming from an architect and they’re trying to carry a specific look through their project. Sometimes we will do an actual collaboration with an architecture firm or designer. We’re doing that with several different architects right now. … And then sometimes we design new products completely in-house, when we want to try something or we have a concept and we’ll design a single product or a whole collection — maybe it’s cabinet hardware or a line of door hardware or lighting.
SVB collaborated with de Reus Architects on the Kyoto Collection.
Which architects has Sun Valley Bronze worked with on those types of projects?
We created The Lift Series with CLB Architects, which is more of a contemporary style of hardware. CLB is a great firm based in Jackson, Wyoming and Bozeman, Montana. And we’ve also worked with de Reus Architects, which is based in Hawaii and Sun Valley, Idaho. Mark de Reus has an eye for Hawaiian, island-style architecture. We created a collection with him called the Kyoto Collection that’s pretty unique.
The bronze production process can be difficult to wrap one’s head around. Are you able to break it down into terms almost anyone would understand?
It all starts with the design process. Designs can either be made by hand or machine. We have a 3D printing lab where we can prototype samples from a CAD model. We also build patterns on CNC machines. Our tech is pretty sophisticated for development. It’s kind of mesmerizing actually because you see this pattern come to life in the machine. After the approval process, we’ll create something called a match plate, which allows us to take a single product and replicate it over and over again. That two-sided match plate gets pressed into a sand mold. Then the match plate is removed and leaves a void in the sand — and that’s what we pour the bronze into. We heat the bronze up to about 2,200 degrees. Once the bronze has cooled, we break it out of the sand, and it goes to cutoff, grinding, and then the machine shop — which is another super-high-tech part of the process. And then it goes to our finishing shop, then assembly and then it’s sent out.
Bronze ingots (left) and molten bronze being poured in the SVB foundry (right).
The sand mold, is that where the green sand comes into play? And does Sun Valley Bronze always work with that?
Always. And we have a lot of special practices around that process. Back in the day, sand used to be oil-based — it was really unhealthy and not good for the environment. We use a green sand, which is water-based. We have systems where we can recondition the sand, so it gets used over and over again. Any moisture that’s in it gets collected and filtered and reused. Our whole casting process is extremely green — especially for this kind of manufacturing.
And you also reuse scrap metal, correct?
We source high-quality art-grade bronze that is 85% pre-consumer bronze — so the majority of the alloy is recycled. Once it goes into our system, the sprues, or channels, that connect all the parts during the casting process get cut off and remelted. And as it goes through the process in machining, little shavings come off and all of that’s collected and recycled. So, every single bit of cutoff is recycled. It comes recycled, and then it’s recycled afterwards — so there’s no waste at all.
A selection of cabinet hardware illustrates the stylistic breadth of SVB’s collections.
There’s a strong sense of continuity within the Sun Valley Bronze look. What can you tell us about maintaining brand identity?
The casting informs the design because it has certain limitations and qualities — and it definitely has a certain character. Then our finishes, the quality of our metal, the surface texture and the honest, natural look of it applies to everything. Anything that is Sun Valley Bronze has that same look — the same finishes or same texture. I think that’s definitely the connection between all these different designs. But we have a range of styles — we have designs that are really traditional, designs that are more rustic, and some that are very contemporary and minimal. We have this minimalist hardware that we’ve been selling a ton of and it has the tiniest escutcheon, where it almost looks like the knob or lever connects directly to the door. This look is really popular right now. And then we have some more eclectic, transitional collections. The hardware range encompasses all design styles. But it’s definitely connected by quality, texture and finish.
You mentioned that there are certain limitations with bronze casting. Are we talking about intricate embellishments and tiny little parts?
We can make tiny parts. It’s just that casting has an organic, natural feel. So it’s not that highly machined, super-tiny detail type of a product. We have the capability to do that, it’s just not really our look. The metal actually gets this gentle pitting in it and every piece is slightly different because of that. Our casting is really good, so you don’t get a ton of it, but it still has a little bit of natural character.
Gentle pitting adds to the organic character of cast bronze hardware.
Is it fair to describe Sun Valley Bronze as a boutique manufacturer?
We really are a family business, and a bunch of artists and makers. We’re not trying to be everything to everybody. We’re focused on making a super high-quality product. And we haven’t had a goal of being enormous. We’re committed to growing at a sustainable rate and making a luxury brand. So yeah, I would say that’s intentional.
Do you see a common thread between the people who choose Sun Valley Bronze hardware for their homes or businesses?
We work on hospitality projects and island projects and city apartments and ranches all over the world. I think the people that are buying our hardware are looking for quality, timeless design and products that are going to last. Sun Valley Bronze hardware is serviceable and field reversible. The functionality makes it super high-quality, so if anything ever does happen, we can send you parts — the hardware doesn’t have to be sent back.
Claybrook’s Ellipse bath and basin with tapered rims.
A relative newcomer to our family of brands, Claybrook is a British-owned, Hong Kong-based company with a rich history in the stone industry. Originally dubbed “Stone Experts” and now named in honor of a family home built by the proprietor’s great-grandmother, the company specializes in “combining the finest materials with an innovative approach to design” while maintaining a “truly British understanding of quality and craftsmanship.” This marriage of sensibilities takes shape in elegant stone tile, mosaics and luxury bathroom fixtures — from contemporary tubs and basins to vanities and accessories — all of which are hand-crafted and hand-polished.
Mosaic tile from Claybrook’s Glimmer, Art Deco and Texture collections.
Admirably, the company champions sustainability and favors eco-friendly materials and production practices. Exemplifying their commitment to the environment, the company developed MarbleForm as a means to “reimagine the possibilities of stonecraft.” Composed of upcycled marble dust (smartly salvaged from the floor of their mosaic factory), top-quality Japanese resin and pigment, the patented material is incredibly durable and remarkably resistant to stains and scratches.
Claybrook’s Luna single vanity in Blush Terrazzo MarbleForm.
Over the last decade, the company has found considerable success in the realm of high-end hospitality — thanks in part to partnerships with major players such as the Ritz-Carlton and Mandarin Oriental hotel groups. Although arguably better known in Europe and Asia, the brand is set for some stateside buzz due to a two-year-old program that placed it in select U.S. locations — including Alexander Marchant, which is one of only two Texas showrooms representing Claybrook.
Claybrook’s Orbit bath (left), Serenity bath and Quadro freestanding basins.
Collaboration has long been a top priority for Fern Santini, an Austin design icon whose distinct work has been spotlighted by Architectural Digest, Luxe, Milieu, House Beautiful and Objekt International, among other publications. Known for ground-up projects, Santini works closely with clients and architects to create highly personalized spaces that fuse unexpected styles and even defy categorization. Building on nearly three decades of design experience, Santini opened her latest chapter by establishing Fern Santini Collaborative — an endeavor that unites architects, builders and landscape architects in the creation of fully furnished and decorated homes that benefit area nonprofits through fundraising events.
Bringing together the talents of Santini, Paul Lamb Architects, Escobedo Group, Shademaker Studio and more than a dozen project partners (Alexander Marchant among them), the collaborative’s highly anticipated flagship project 3705 Meadowbank is set for a big reveal in March with a series of events benefiting the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM). We caught up with Santini via Zoom to quiz her about all things Meadowbank — a “house with an attitude” befitting its prime location in the Live Music Capital of the World.
A rendering of Fern Santini Collective’s flagship project 3705 Meadowbank
What can you tell us about where the project is, when you’ll be wrapping it up and what we can expect from the opening events?
We actually have dates! I’ve only been asking for a damn schedule for a year and a half, and I finally got one — after I scared the hooey out of them about all these events that are planned. There are big people involved that have schedules. So I think we’re all finally on the same page.
There’s about an army over there. There are people swarming all over the site, inside and out. It’s exciting to see, it’s really taking shape. They will be finished on March 1. My install starts March 2 and goes through the 10th. Douglas Friedman, who is the hottest architectural photographer on the planet, is coming in from either Marfa or New York on the 11th and 12th. This is a different kind of a business model … [so] we’re going to pay for [the project partners] to have great photographs of their contributions. So the house will get shot like it would for a magazine. It may or may not get submitted down the road, but that was not the intent. It’s more an intent to document what we’ve done for the collaborative and for all of our project partners … So there’s going to be a deliberate intent made with Douglas to take some extra time to shoot certain things for our project partners.
We hope this is the inaugural project that’s one of many — unless I lose my ass, which is possible [laughs]. I believe in it so much that I think there’s a demand for this. I’ve had 11 clients now sell their houses fully furnished. Some people love the process, some people don’t like the process, some people don’t want to spend four years on the process — finding a lot, putting a team together, making three million decisions. So, we did it for them. This is a different model from a normal spec. It is a spec for sale and we’re not showing it — so that’s even weirder. The real estate community does not know what to think.
But so much of the value is in the house. I mean, the vintage barware, I’ve spent two years accumulating. And the rock-and-roll photographs that are up in the bar, that is a huge collection. The last two I bought are Baron Wolman, who just died. He was the preeminent Woodstock photographer and shot everybody of that era. There are big photographs up there [by] big photographers and I have their books up there [too]. It’s a house with an attitude — it’s not vanilla. It’s not trying to hit the broad mainstream, it’s trying to hit a target audience that’s sophisticated, loves music [and] loves Austin. It has a sense of place, it’s quirky, it’s cheeky. It’s the best of things that I love about Austin — that quirkiness.
Volker Hermes, Hidden Ziesenis, from the series Hidden Portraits
I was telling somebody a story the other day [about] a photograph upstairs. It was taken in 1970, which is the first year the Armadillo World Headquarters opened. That’s where it all started. And it was just fly by the seat of your pants. There was never a place like that, where Frank Zappa shows up a day early to work the concession stand — just for the hell of it [laughs]. Eddie Wilson asked him later if anyone recognized him and he said, “I don’t think so, but I think I sold nachos to Bob Dylan.” That attitude is still here in Austin — that celebration of diversity of all kinds. As big as we get, as long as we hold onto that, I think we’ll still attract young, creative people to this town. It doesn’t exist anywhere else in Texas, I don’t think. So we’re trying to celebrate that.
We’ve asked several of my favorite Austin artists, plus there’s actually art in here from all over the world. There’s a crazy piece from Volker Hermes in the entry. [That] guy has so much swagger, it’s crazy. He’s a young guy out of Düsseldorf. He has this series called Hidden Portraits, where he takes these baroque paintings and takes an element that’s already in the painting and uses it in a way that covers part of the face. It’s hysterical.
So the business model for the collaborative is really three things: to put something out there that has integrity, that’s built the way we build a house for a client. We’re not trying to cut corners, cover things up and maximize profit. Obviously, it’s a business, we want to make money. But we gambled that people will be willing to pay for positive energy, to engineer the HVAC system, because we all want to breathe clean air. We gambled on expensive windows, expensive steel in the structure, we did it right. So it was an attempt to put something out there that has long legs — built well and designed by an award-winning architect.
The second part is to promote our project partners and hopefully change the dialog about the way that we do business. In my industry, we hide everyone that does work for us. And nobody wants to give away their resources. Nobody wants to tell anyone who they went to that makes them look good. I just want to turn that upside down. I hope that people will realize that there’s good karma in having the generosity of spirit. We all do better when we all do better … So that’s a big part of the message. And I have gotten huge resistance to that from the design community. I’ve been shocked … It doesn’t take much for you to just plug somebody on Instagram, you know?
Professor, author and podcaster Brené Brown photographed by Maile Wilson
The third part is, I don’t ever want to do another gala where the nonprofit gets 10% of the proceeds at the end of the day. So we’re trying to use each house as a vehicle to hold events [that] raise money for a nonprofit that’s picked at the beginning of the project. This one’s HAAM, which is near and dear to my heart. If we ever needed money for HAAM, it’s right now. It’s the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, and they’ve been here in Austin for 15 years. Robin Shivers started it. And it’s the only way most [local] working musicians have any access to health insurance. So HAAM’s going to sell all the tickets to these events. We don’t touch the money — they keep 100% of it. Our job is to figure out how to pay for it, and who can help us by being generous and not charging us — such as Brené Brown. She’s a client and she epitomizes generosity of spirit. And she is a music nut just like me. She’s doing a talk the last night for 50 people — outside — and the tickets are $2,500 apiece. HAAM’s going to sell those — [but] I could sell all 50 of those right now. We’re buying tickets! If we show up, we have to buy tickets. And there are four events and the first one is March 23rd. The Austin Luxury Network will have the realtors through and we’re going to charge a nominal admission — $25 or $30 — and all that money goes to HAAM.
But you’re not listing the house with a realtor?
We’re not. I know too many realtors. I would get in so much trouble. I don’t have the money in my budget for that commission. I have money in my budget for a title policy and a 3% realtor commission for whoever sells it. So my message to them was, here’s a product you’re asking for. You don’t have to spend a dime advertising it. You don’t have to spend any time promoting it. Just show up with a buyer and you get your 3%. I’ve talked to so many of them and they all seem to be fine with that. They get it.
So [the Austin Luxury Network event] is an opportunity for everyone to see the house. But it’s also an opportunity for the real estate community to see what we hope to do again and again. The second event is the design event that The Urban Electric Company from Charleston, South Carolina, is hosting. Dave Dawson, who owns that company, is coming down for it. They have seven warehouses and 260 employees and he knows every single person’s name. I walked through that whole facility with him last year. They make the most beautiful lights that they sell all over the world. They’re designed by high-end designers and architects, it’s a family-owned business and I promote his vision, his product, his mission and his philosophy. He’s an amazing guy.
This is the event that will help the project partners the most. It’s where everyone gets maximum visibility to a target audience of architects and designers from across the state. Invitations are going out [and] everyone will have to do the same thing — book time and pay a small admission fee that goes to HAAM. This is the way that everyone can see, for instance, that I hung two custom pendants from Marie Christophe in Paris in the master bath with Dave’s sconces … It’s all about the mix that’s in there.
So the project partners will be there, the press will be there and the artists will be there, people that have art in the house — Karen Hawkins, Lance Letscher. Francine Turk is coming in from Chicago. She’s doing a yearlong project with Bob Dylan right now and she’s doing a piece for the entry. She’s very music-centric and a badass girl from Chicago who’s going to do a custom piece for Meadowbank and then do prints off of it. She hand-finishes all the prints and a portion of every print she sells will go to HAAM. So that’s a big day for all of the project partners. Hopefully everybody gets business off of it, that’s the idea.
The next evening is the McIntosh DJ Dinner Party, which is [inspired by] Tokyo Record Bar’s model. Before COVID, we had talked to them about [coming to Austin] … but I don’t think that’s feasible anymore. Their business model is they sell vinyl upstairs and serve dinner downstairs. And apparently they have the playlist to beat all. It’s from the ’50s to now. So 70 years worth of music — everybody gets to pick songs and everybody gets a copy of it. Everyone sits there all night going, “Whose song is this?” It’s so much fun. We forgot how to be interactive with our music — we gave it up for convenience. And I love the idea of people having a dinner party like that.
The whole house is based on something that’s part hip and part historic. McIntosh fits that bill. There’s nothing like it. It’s still made in Binghamton, New York. It’s the equipment Willie Nelson had — his old McIntosh equipment is now in the bar at the W [Hotel in Austin]. It’s the equipment Jimmy Page has. It’s been the grandaddy forever. They still make vacuum tubes. We never duplicated that sound. It sounds like Bob’s right in front of you. But now, you can do something you couldn’t do with Willie’s old equipment. You can play vinyl and it’s analog, so it goes through the vacuum tubes, and it goes all over the house. Or you can stream to it. It converts the digital signal to analog and runs it through the vacuum tubes. So we’re going backwards [laughs]. And it’s beautiful. All my A/V equipment, I’ve hidden forever, it’s still in the closet. But not the McIntosh stuff. It is jewelry … and it’s front and center in this house. I want people to see it — I want people to see that it’s sexy and hip. And you can have it in the big fat middle of your life.
Interiors from the Austin home Santini designed for Jensen and Daneel Ackles. Architecture by Paul Lamb Architects. Photos by Douglas Friedman.
It sounds challenging to design a home without knowing who’s going to live there. But it seems like you just went on intuition and used music as a unifying concept. Is that fair to say?
That’s totally fair to say. And I [also] went on [previous projects]. We did a house for Jensen and Danneel Ackles a few years ago that was in Architectural Digest. And we did a fabulous, really arty, edgy house in Boulder, that was on the cover of Luxe Colorado. [The] Ackles house sold quickly and it sold furnished. I know there’s a demand for that … This house has an attitude and a sense of humor. I’m betting that somebody’s going to get it — that they’ll understand it. There’s not a house in Austin like it. So many people move to Austin … And everyone brags about the music scene … This is a way to educate people … It’s fun to live with music in your life and not go into the media room. To maybe show people how it can be interactive. I grew up with vinyl. And then it went away. It was convenient … but we gave up part of the sound. And we gave up part of our own visceral connection to it — and the interaction [of] people coming over for dinner and bringing an album. A lot of people nowadays have never had that experience. So this being the Live Music Capital of the World, and people coming into Austin for that, with HAAM as the benefactor of these events, it all kind of came full circle. I think people will embrace it if they know about it.
Interiors from an artsy home Santini designed in Boulder, Colorado. Architecture by Annette Martin. Photos by Nick Johnson.
Did the site itself influence your design process?
Definitely. [It’s] the corner lot, or the peninsula lot, it’s all a curve, all the way around. There’s really no backyard. So we knew that all the great real estate was in the front. But we wanted all of those big doors to open up to an entertaining area, so the front door actually moved to the side. And we just developed it from there. From the beginning, we knew that would be where the pool would be. There’s a bocce ball court on the side and a small putting green. The front is all terraced landscaping, the lawn and the pool. There are tent pole [housings] buried in the lawn so that you can easily erect a tent. It was set up for entertaining.
From what I gather, Fern Santini Collaborative will be an evolving team?
Yes, different builders, different architects, different landscape architects.
So you’ve got a mental list of folks you might want to work with?
Definitely — I’m already thinking about number two. And we may do some things that are smaller scale. These one-offs take time. This has been [in the works for] two years. Hopefully it won’t take that long next time. We might do some smaller things that we can do with a shorter turnaround … It’s been a learning experience — even after almost 30 years of doing this.
The Effe Perfect Wellness BodyLove H is a Turkish-inspired hammam that combines steam, chromotherapy and a shower.
Over the last several years, wellness has emerged as an undeniable influence in the realm of interior design. Just last year, health and wellness landed at the top of the American Society of Interior Designers’ 2023 Trend Outlook report, which specifically cited the rising demand for “spa-like bathrooms and retreat spaces for exercise and meditation.”
While Alexander Marchant is a longtime advocate for bringing wellness into the home, not all homeowners and designers are aware of the transformative fixtures available — or specifically how they function or promote wellness.
A 19th-century Olof Sörling engraving depicting Finnish steam bathers.
From the prehistoric cave saunas of Finland to the Ancient Roman baths, the concept of heat bathing has informed human existence for thousands of years. Thanks to the presence of modern-day saunas and steam rooms in gyms and spas all over the world, many have learned first-hand about the diverse benefits of heat therapy.
In addition to soothing sore muscles and flushing toxins from the body, heat therapy has been shown to improve cardiovascular and circulatory function. While not all wellness-related research is definitive, proponents posit that steam therapy in particular can help loosen stiff joints, clear congestion, rejuvenate skin, reduce stress, encourage mindfulness and balance mental health.
Although less understood, chromotherapy (also known as color therapy) has also fascinated humans since ancient times. Ancient Egyptians worshipped the sun, filtering its rays through colored crystals to alleviate ailments and even constructing therapeutic rooms dedicated to specific colors. Thousands of years old, the holistic concept of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) translates worldly elements — earth, fire, water, metal, wood — into a color system tied to organs and moods. And in Ancient Greece, the pioneering physician Hippocrates believed strongly in the healing power of colored light.
Thousands of years later, chromotherapy remains a debated topic. Naysayers file it under pseudoscience, but there’s plenty of convincing evidence to back it up.
The most common application of chromotherapy, red light therapy was first championed by Danish physician Dr. Niels Ryberg Finsen, who used it to treat smallpox and won a Nobel Prize in 1903 for “his contribution to the treatment of diseases, especially lupus vulgaris, with concentrated light radiation.” Since red light stimulates the production of collagen and elastin, it’s also been used to fight inflammation and reduce the appearance of wrinkles, stretch marks, scars and acne.
Chromotherapy is but one function of ThermaSol’s Serenity Advanced rainhead.
Since the 1950s, blue light therapy has been used to treat jaundice in newborns. And by the 1980s, it was being used to treat early cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). That factoid is in keeping with the notion that chromotherapy is primally ingrained in humans. As personal trainer Ryan Fritz points out on a chromotherapy-themed episode of his podcast Science of Cardio, early humans awoke outside under a blue sky that illuminated green grass and trees. At night, they cooked over a fire glowing red and orange. As such, blue and green light therapy might stimulate our minds and bodies, while red and orange may offer calming effects.
In hopes of learning more about real-world — and design-world — applications of chromotherapy, we reached out to California-based color psychology and color therapy expert Constance Hart. Through her multifaceted wellness company Conscious Colors, Hart offers color therapy certification to a wide range of professionals including interior designers.
“Colors have inherent effects on our body, our nervous system, mind and emotions,” Hart explained. “When you learn about these effects, you can begin to utilize them consciously as co-partners throughout your day. … As far as real-world examples, those of us who have worked with color professionally have long lists of positive testimonials from our students and clients about how color therapy has changed their lives for the better. In my own professional experience, I’ve seen clients reverse high blood pressure, shift out of panic and high-anxiety, change liver disease, cure insomnia — all through the application of therapeutic colors.”
Expanding on her work with design creatives, Hart offered, “[My students] learn how each color can influence the body, mind and emotions. … For installations and projects that include products that include chromotherapy lights or lighting design, they can better inform which colors to program to match the intended emotional effect.”
With those nuggets of wisdom in mind, here are five wellness-minded companies within the Alexander Marchant family of brands that are manufacturing fixtures designed to transform your primary bath into a spa-quality sanctuary.
BainUltra brings spa technology home with Vedana — a care unit combining thermotherapy, chromotherapy, aromatherapy and sound therapy.
BainUltra
Since 1977, Quebec City-based BainUltra has been dedicated to transforming the bath experience “into a moment of pure, unadulterated bliss.” Innovators from the get-go, the company made its first big splash by inventing the air-jet bath, a game-changing design that paved the way for many other cutting-edge models. Nearly half a century later, BainUltra now boasts 23 Canadian and American patents and 114 active trademarks — including its revered Hydro-Thermo Massage system.
In 2008, the company introduced Vedana, a multitasking care system designed to transform showers or entire rooms into spa-like retreats outfitted with five distinctive therapies: thermotherapy, chromotherapy, light therapy, aromatherapy and sound therapy.
A sleek update of the ThermaSens tub BainUltra released in 2013, the new Illuzio tub delivers a soothing, chromotherapy experience with hidden LED lights in six colors: blue, violet, red, orange, yellow and green. As the company sees it, “Chromatherapy is not merely a decorative element. Rather it has a direct effect on one’s physical and psychological condition.”
From left to right: Dornbracht’s Horizontal Shower, Aquamoon Embrace, and Sensory Sky.
Dornbracht
Founded in 1950 by Aloys F. Dornbracht and his son Helmut, the German manufacturer Dornbracht also started patenting designs straight away, releasing an industrial-inspired extendable spout before moving into luxury fittings in 1969.
In 1995, Dornbracht set its sights on luxury fixtures designed to elevate bathrooms into “emotional retreats.” Exploring “the effect of hydrotherapy on the body, mind and soul” since 2010, the company’s interest in wellness has taken shape in incredibly innovative bath designs. Billed as a “hydrotherapy massage bed,” Dornbracht’s signature Horizontal Shower invites the bather to lie down while being massaged by water cascading from six shower heads. The ultra-modern Aquamoon Embrace is a luxury shower with four unique flow settings and chromotherapy integrated into a recessed dome. And Sensory Sky is an expansive rain shower experience with 345 water jets, various flow modes, body spray, chromotherapy, aromatherapy and a mist feature.
Effe delivers the best of both worlds with BodyLove SH — a side-by-side dry sauna and shower-equipped hammam.
Effe Perfect Wellness
Headquartered in Cesena in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, Effe Perfect Wellness boasts 30 years of experience specializing in saunas, Turkish baths, sensory showers and complete custom spas. Infinitely adaptable, Effe systems are designed to fit any space, and the company prides itself on the capability to transform any ordinary shower into a Turkish-style hammam with the addition of a steam generator.
Working with esteemed Italian designers and architects such as Rodolfo Dordoni and Michele Angelini, Effe has developed free-standing saunas and hammans marketed as “cubicles” and designed to mesh harmoniously with an array of interior settings.
Among Effe’s dry-heat standouts: the minimalist Aladdin seeks to conjure the feeling of weightlessness with clean lines, strategic lighting and reflective surfaces such as the anodized aluminum encasing the unit’s stone heater; earthier but no less elegant, Effe’s BodyLove S celebrates the beauty of natural wood and features a discreet, five-color chromotherapy system and a stone heater cased in glazed ceramic tile.
Humid heat comes into play with modular systems such as BodyLove H — a compact hammam equipped with a steam generator, a bench, a shower, chromotherapy and a handy basin for a refreshing splash of cold water.
Offering the best of both worlds, Effe’s BodyLove SH is an integrated unit combining a dry sauna and a shower-equipped hammam with “countless customization options.”
Fantini’s Acquafit Dream rain shower incorporates four calming shades of chromotherapy.
Fantini
Due in no small part to its location near the shores of Lake Orta in the Piedmont region of Italy, water is both an inspiration and guiding principal for Fantini. Established in 1947 by brothers Giovanni and Ersilio Fantini, the company arrived on the forefront of Italian design in the 1970s with the launch of I Balocchi — a groundbreaking series that reimagined the metal tap as “the protagonist of the bathroom environment” in a rainbow of poppy colors.
Admirably, Fanitni has used profits from its iconic I Balocchi series toward the humanitarian effort 100 Fountains for Africa — a project that entailed building a water main that feeds more than 100 fountains and water collection points in an impoverished area of Burundi.
While Fantini has designed many award-winning fixtures, the family-owned company’s interest in wellness is exemplified by Acquafit Dream. Introduced in 2019, the “multifunction and multisensory” rain shower delivers a waterfall effect enhanced with chromotherapy in four calming hues: Dawn, Leaves, Sunset and Night.
ThermaSol
ThermaSol’s Total Wellness package combines a fast-acting steamhead, a high-tech rainhead, bluetooth speakers and chromotherapy.
Launched in California and now based in Round Rock, Texas, ThermaSol has steam in its very DNA. In 1958, ThermaSol founder David Altman designed and patented the very first electric steam shower as part of a commission for a French diplomat wishing to add a home spa to his Manhattan apartment. In 1970, Murray Altman followed in his father’s innovative footsteps, patenting the first aroma-enhanced steamhead and ushering ThermaSol into a pivotal era marked by placement in high-end hotels and spas. Currently under the direction of Murray’s son Mitch, the family-owned business remains committed to its roots in home spa innovation — albeit with an increased focus on “intelligent wellness technology.”
ThermaSol’s outdoor Kuuma sauna includes a back window option.
In addition to individual fixtures for smart showers and steam showers — from rainheads to steamheads — ThermaSol offers complete packages, with Total Wellness being the most comprehensive. Customizable in a broad range of finishes — matte black, antique brass and polished chrome among them – the touchscreen-controlled package combines a fast-acting steamhead and a high-tech rainhead outfitted with 300 adjustable jets, bluetooth-compatible speakers and full-spectrum chromotherapy.
With a nod to “the brilliance of Finnish sauna technology and design,” ThermaSol’s indoor sauna units are crafted from clear Western red cedar and Nordic spruce and feature authentic Finnish rock heaters and full-spectrum LED chromotherapy. While the boxy shape of the indoor units makes them an easy fit for myriad interiors, we’re partial to the barrel-shaped Kuuma, an outdoor unit that seats six and features an optional back wall window.
As Adream Decor founder Dan Fingerhut reminds, adding spa fixtures represents an investment in the home as well as an investment in personal wellness. “People building homes currently are taking wellness design into consideration now more than ever,” said Fingerhut, whose agency represents ThermaSol and BainUltra, among other wellness-focused brands. “In a fast-paced world, people are realizing that they can have all the benefits of a spa or wellness retreat in their homes — and it’s easier than ever.”
