In the earlier part of the 2000’s, the Chicago Art Institute featured a special exhibit called Revealing Picasso Conservation Project, which showcased rarely seen or talked about pencil drawings from Pablo Picasso. Picasso is known for his oil paintings but even he pre-sketched his paintings, now-famous works of art. The exhibit let folks in on the process that Picasso (and other painters) took to envision the final masterpiece. Think blueprints to architecture or storyboards to final movies.

What we’re getting at here isn’t sketchy. But, in a sense, it is. We recently introduced you to this process that Jeff takes to get his visions from start to finish in our modern and contemporary new homes in Oklahoma City that we build, and now we’ll kick off the first part of our “Sketched” series with the a few rooms and their respective design processes of the home that we featured in the 2008 Parade of Homes. Keep that eye open…we’ll unveil the rest of the house a few days later.

How does Jeff work out design problems?  He puts a pencil to it.

The Great Escape Room:
Remember the Numbers Plan? This home was the inaugural bang of this floor plan. What makes this home so “great” is the quintessential great room. It’s open and visible from the moment you walk in, and was rightfully the space Jeff spent the most time and forethought about its design elements. The cozy fireplace, the openness, the use of built-in cabinetry and lighting. Take a look here at the preliminary sketch then move your eyes to the finished product.

K, now look at the sketch, now back at finished product. Look at the sketch and back at the finished product.
Pretty cool, huh?

Feelin’ Gentry at the Entry:
The Great Room may have been the focal point in this house, but to get to the Great Room, you have to walk through the entry, (unless you’re Houdini). The entry’s first big-impression points can’t be lost. Jeff turned it into a nice “WOW” factor by utilizing the out-set coat closet (which in most homes is just a door hangin’ out when you walk into a home, and usually nothing fancy) and turned it into an opportunity for a high-impact visual display by creating staggered “floating” shelves, under-lit with low-voltage LED lighting. Gah, it’s awesome.

Win, lose, or draw.

Literally one drawing worth entering.

Because the formal dining room is part of the “gentry entry” we’ll talk about this, too. It’s surrounded by four columns, which Jeff used for interesting opportunities to play along with the ceiling and back wall. If you take a look-see, the lower half of the columns are wrapped with stone, and bricked the first 42” of the back wall.

A little touch of urban and graphite.

This left a perfect spot for some artful color lit so exquisitely with the above, recessed lighting. Another rare and daring choice?  Using flat black on the wall to provide an untainted backdrop for a color blast in hanging art.  It’s like a utopia for the life of your favorite piece of art.

From sketched to etched…in stone.

Letting this sink in a little, and we’ll come back at ya in a couple of days with a few more rooms and their sketches. Until then, enjoy the process, and be sure to check out our VR tour or photo tour of this home.