We partnered with Houston-based interior designer Marie Flanigan to dream up spaces that highlight designer-favorite collection, Vir Stil
Our Dreamscape series explores Kallista collections featured in spaces imagined by our favorite design experts. With the recent reissue of our fan-favorite Vir Stil by Laura Kirar, we partnered with Houston-based interior designer Marie Flanigan to concoct rooms that highlight the collection’s luxurious materials, rich finishes and elevated details like vertical fluting and stepped accents. Marie is known for timeless interiors designed with elevated, comfortable living in mind and she brings a balanced eye to every space she creates. Here she expertly finishes five rooms with a variety of kitchen and bath pieces from the collection. Read on for her dreamscape design notes.
Multifunctional Bar
“From the rift cut white oak cabinetry to a leathered quartzite countertop and backsplash that almost looks like scenic wallpaper, I imagined a streamlined, elevated built-in bar area designed to serve many purposes. There’s such a need among my clients for entertaining spaces that don’t necessarily feel cluttered or utilitarian. I can see this bar being part a social space like a living area or lounge, of course – the table I’ve placed in front could host everything from game nights to homework sessions to Zoom calls to family meals. Also feels like it could be tucked away in a corner of a primary suite, or even a corridor to maximize the function in a floorplan. Aesthetically, the fixtures I chose reflect my love of mixed metals. The polished nickel faucet has so much warmth, and it coexists beautifully with the brass trim on the glass shelves and the movement and texture in the quartzite. I imagined a touch latch on the cabinetry so that it reads as part of the paneled wall … that way the plumbing and details really get to shine! The Vir Stil collection has such incredible versatility, and I love being able to demonstrate that you don’t need a bathroom or kitchen to use these fixtures well.”
Classic Kitchen
“This kitchen incorporates many tried-and-true pages from my playbook: limestone floors, no upper cabinetry, and a separate paneled refrigerator and freezer to bring some height into the room. Here, stained cabinets tie into warmth of the ceiling, and I imagined the space with a high-impact marble to tie everything together: the wood cabinetry, the brass lighting fixtures and polished nickel Vir Stil Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet. This kitchen layout was inspired by a personal favorite project where the whole house was wrapped around a courtyard, and in general I love to incorporate secondary countertops beyond the island serving, staging and styling. The peninsula is a great place to spread out food or drinks when you’re entertaining, and the countertop between the fridge and freezer is perfect for showcasing everything from collections and display pieces, to fruits and veggies in a gorgeous basket, to a fabulous vessel full of fresh flowers.”
“I know it’s trendy to have multiple sinks in a space, but I’m single sink, as long as it’s a big one. When the placement is right and the plumbing fixtures are beautiful, less is more! An Amuneal-inspired steel island plays off the color of the range and keeps it sleek with integrated pulls, while a second peninsula countertop separates the kitchen from a living area.”
Rich Powder Room
“For this powder room, I imagined stained paneling combined with a beautiful and outspoken piece of stone, so I went with viola marble. We’re really loving fluted countertop details, so I thought, why not do entire face of sink? With the warmth of the reclaimed wood on the ceiling, this room almost feels like a study, and the plaster walls and contemporary mirror brings in that balance and considered mix we always love. The Vir Stil Wall Mount Sink Faucet reads as a piece of jewelry against the stained paneling, and its fluted details relate to the fluting on the sink. While a deck-mounted faucet requires 24” counter depth, with a wall-mounted faucet, the sky’s the limit in terms of sink design. Here, I imagined a slender graduated basin allowing for both high function and beautiful styling moments. The finishing details – a metal stool with boucle upholstery and highly textured plaster sconces – are a great way to bring in even more warmth and texture to a relatively small space.”
Serene Primary Bath
“I imagined this primary bath as the ultimate retreat. With massive windows, the room is wrapped in natural light, and a reclaimed French floor running right into the shower helps to extend the airy feel of the room with no breaks. The drop edge on the floating double vanity ties into the aesthetic and materials of the guest bath, and there’s such a visually clean quality when a vanity is built into the wall as it is here.”
“I love the sculptural feel of the egg-shaped Laura Kirar Freestanding Bathtub, and the transitional lines and historic references of the polished nickel Vir Stil brassware pieces bring a shine to the space. The entire scene is grounded by the textured simplicity of slubby linen sheers at the windows, and the travertine table I’ve placed next to the tub is another moment of warmth and gravitas.”
“An antique chest adds an unexpected bit of age and weight to balance out the floating vanity and if we found a piece like this early on in a project, I’d love to have it outfitted with warming drawers for towels and linens. Starting with the Vir Stil Widespread faucets, Kallista and Kohler products are the quiet heroes of this room.”
Belgian-Inspired Guest Bath
“This project evolved as an ode to Belgian modernism, and in the bathroom this inspiration is quite evident. The plaster applied continuously from the walls to the vanity, the way the unadorned glass walls cut directly into the floor and wall – there’s a monolithic simplicity in the details here. You don’t see a lot of connection points, which is key. It allows for an uninterrupted sense of warmth and texture, a departure from the cold and uninviting qualities of many bathrooms. Since this bathroom was imagined to serve guests, it’s great not to need a bulky vanity to hide all your daily essentials. Something I love to do in guest and powder baths is to add a cabinet over the toilet area for storage – you can see this reflected in the mirror. I imagined layering in some contemporary lighting warmed up by bubble glass and an antique mirror to bring a sense of history and context. Of course, this quiet backdrop allows us to create impact with the Vir Stil Minimal Faucet and bring in some pattern with the waterproof floor tiles, Parefeuille, which I’ve imagined running throughout the space and right into the shower. Ironically, the small scale and high texture of this flooring helps to expand the space, and even though it has so much personality, it brings a cohesive simplicity that makes a bathroom like this really special.”
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