Roberto Leao says there are three responses to the ultra-contemporary home he and his architect wife, Rejane, designed and built in Franklin, Mich.
"The first is `Wow,' the second is `Oh,' and the third is `Different,'" says Leao, who acted as general contractor on the enormous home.
"One person said, `There's a place for a home like this,' implying that the place isn't in a Midwestern suburb," adds Leao, 49, a Ford Motor Co supplier.
PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
But why not a contemporary home in a Midwestern suburb, especially one designed by an international architect such as Rejane Leao, 44, who has designed hundreds of contemporary residences in Brazil? She's also designed retail establishments, even a fire station.
Married for 14 years, the Leaos have two sons, Carlos, 11, and Ricardo, nine. Before building their current home, the family lived in a nearby traditional Colonial. When they decided to move, they found a 1950s ranch on a heavily wooded 1.8-acre parcel in Franklin. Rather than remodel the nondescript ranch, however, they demolished it and built a new home.
"We felled only two healthy trees," says Roberto, who claims his wife was the brains and he was the hands of the project. For her part, Rejane says it was a challenge working with her regular clients, in addition to her husband on their home.
"He wanted everything open -- the living room, dining room, kitchen -- with lots and lots of windows," says Rejane, who has a second-floor office at home, which is private from the rest of the house.
Roberto got everything he wanted, plus a lot more, including a marble foyer and marble floors in the bathrooms, a floating walnut staircase, onyx vanities and a bamboo floor in the combination living/dining areas.
Although many people think a contemporary house is sterile and not family-friendly, this one proves them wrong. Thanks to a mix of warm and cold materials (mahogany, stainless steel, tinted glass) and the generous use of primary colors (cobalt, red, yellow, green), not to mention Rejane's powerful and colorful paintings, the house is welcoming and personal. And it is evenly warm throughout due to cost-efficient radiant heat in the floors.
It takes Rejane two to three months to develop a blueprint for a house because she insists on visualizing the structure in its setting from a variety of angles and perspectives. The process for her family's home was no different.
The result is a poured concrete, hard-panel white structure with a cobalt accent color on the outside that's repeated inside. The interior and exterior merge seamlessly, and one can practically see through the house, front to back. Sleek white Hunter Douglas shades on the windows ensure privacy is maintained.
Curved glass panels echo the curve of the driveway for continuity.
The main floor of the house contains the living/dining areas, kitchen, a glass-walled library, four bedrooms and three baths. Its lower level contains a family/media room with a billiards table and plasma TV, kitchenette, spare room/office and four-car garage. There's a balcony/deck off the living room and a terrace off the family room.
"The house has a flat roof," says Rejane, because technology can do it now. "Builders don't need to construct pitched roofs anymore."
This is very much an international house, too. The furnishings range from Italian chandeliers and seating to Brazilian light fixtures to vintage German upholstered easy chairs. Bamboo for the floor came from China.
Considering a kitchen remodel? Check out the Leaos' Berloni, Italy, open kitchen with its blue lacquer cabinets, man-made Zodiac quartz countertops, walnut bar area, clear acrylic backsplash and General Electric appliances.
The couple's master bedroom suite overlooks a fragrant sassafras forest. A window over the Jacuzzi tub never freezes thanks to a heated ceiling overhead.
Semi-transparent glass encloses the shower.
Floating vanities are made of Brazilian mahogany. A room is devoted to his and her closets with a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall mirror.
There are inexpensive but savvy materials in this house, too. The lower level's kitchenette counters are made of white Corian from Lowe's. It is the cheapest Corian, although the Leaos chose it not because of its low cost, but because it looks pure and complements the white barstools Rejane designed.
If you think you can't live cozily without chintz, flowing drapes and Oriental rugs, think again.
"This is a joyful home, a house for kids and entertaining," Roberto says. "We use every inch of it."
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