ANY home with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Aberdeen harbour is going to impress visitors - you could decorate it with cheap plastic furniture and still leave a favourable impression. But guests at this Peak residence find there is competition for their attention.
The airy, modern townhouse, decorated by architect Alexander Stuart and his Canadian client who does not want to be named, is an uncluttered mix of modernist furniture, art and Asian antiques, drawn together with a velvet hand.
The view is a spectacular diversion. Most rooms have big windows overlooking the harbour and, as the client admits, there was no point even trying to detract from it. Instead, they decided to soften the high ceilings and big views with rich fabrics and rounded edges. 'The basic intention was to make it as simple as possible,' Mr Stuart said.
The living room - reached by an unimpressive flight of stairs from the front door - is the centrepiece of their efforts. Emerging from the dark staircase, the eye is drawn not to the view but to the calm comfort of the room.
The tones are cool and muted - faint greens and purples with the odd splash of colour - and the fabrics have a soft, satiny sheen. Two abstract paintings by Hong Kong-based American artist Janis Provisor face each other, hanging fairly low on the five-metre-high wall, so there is a feeling of wide, open space.
The curvy furniture - two cushion-covered sofas designed by Mr Stuart, a chaise lounge, a purple velvet armchair and a red-and-gold half-moon chair from Dialogica in New York - is obviously comfortable. The client's young daughter jumps on it eagerly, then does a dance on the plush wild-silk carpet designed in bold graphics also by Provisor.
'I wanted something soft, a lot of curves, a lot of luscious fabrics,' the client said. 'And because I have two young kids and a cat, and a lot of guests, I wanted something that looks lovely but that you can use and it won't get worn or spoiled or ruined.' One thing she did not want was for her home to look 'like another expat living in Hong Kong', filled with dark Asian antiques and furniture. In the living room, the only prominent piece is a 136-kilogram head of a 17th-century Burmese Buddha, while a chest is tucked in a corner and a table placed behind one of the sofas.
