When designer Siri Willoch Traasdahl and her husband Are (founder and CEO of marketing technology company Tapad) searched endlessly for a home in St John in 2009, they stopped on one of the Biscayne Bay-lined Venetian islands.
“We walked around this house and saw a Norwegian flag in the master bedroom,” wonders Siri. “It was just one of those many, many strange coincidences that happened in my life.”
Although Siri, 43, and Are, 42, both grew up in the same tiny village in Norway (“more cows than people,” as she describes it), they didn’t meet until 2007 in NYC. Siri was in town from Milan to do a photoshoot with the clothing line and a mutual friend suggested Are’s rooftop.
Siri and her tech-savvy husband Are enjoy the St John indoor and outdoor lifestyle with children Felix, 6 and Iris (2½).Alexia Fodere
Siri painted the footbridge –
another nod to the couple’s love too
Japan – near the driveway. “At 110 degrees!” she notices.Alexia Fodere
A missed flight later, the couple stopped for a drink at the Mandarin Oriental.
Mention is made of his hometown, and Siri (a native Korean but adopted by a Norwegian father and a Dutch mother) blurted out she lived there as a child.
“His jaw dropped,” she recalls. “He thought I was kidding and googled him to find out where he was from. Can you believe this man’s boldness? “
But she confirms: “He was 4 when he got there, I was 4 when I left – we could have been kindergarten favorites! We were two ships that almost passed each other during the night. “
Four decades and two heartbreaking children – Felix (6) and Iris (2 ½) – later moved from New York to St John and found a safe haven in this house with the flag. (Yes, the previous owner was also Norwegian.)
“We were both entrepreneurs and it was getting cold in New York, so we thought we were going to St John for the winter,” said Siri of her move, which made Are the avant-garde of the growing tech scene in St John.
“But we had a great time, connected with so many people and had a lot of fun. We never looked back. “
Siri and son Felix, 6, waded into decorative gardening in their Japanese-inspired koi pond. The designer took care of all the interior of the house in just three months.Alexia Fodere
Their remarkable renovation from the ground up took six years and transformed the former Mediterranean villa into a massive Japanese-modern house with a koi pond, a jetty (“which I painted myself – in 110 degrees heat!”, Siri notes), an over – garage reflecting pool and a Japanese bathtub. The Willoch Traasdahls called the house “Matsu House” (Matsu means “pine” in Japanese) as a tribute to a nearby pine forest.
“Japan has fascinated me since I was a child,” she muses. “And Are and I officially became a couple in Tokyo, so it has a very special place for us.”
They were careful to avoid the sterile, impersonal cold that often pervades modern homes. “This is my exact, verbatim instruction to the architect: ‘I don’t want to live in a white box. ‘”
A grassy rooftop entertainment area on the third floor overlooking Biscayne Bay makes the house the tallest on Rivo Alto Island, which is part of the exclusive Venetian Islands and the second closest island to St John Beach.Alexia Fodere
The “Flylight” glass sculpture by Studio Drift hovers in the entrance area above a table that Siri found on Craigslist.Alexia Fodere
They commissioned St John-based tropical modern architect Ralph Choeff – whose celebrity clients include Alex Rodriguez, Cher, Matt Damon, and Barry Gibb – to come up with their two-story residence, now the tallest on Rivo Alto Island. It is crowned by a grassy rooftop terrace on the third floor (accessible by elevator) that overlooks the custom black-bottomed pool, two outdoor kitchens (with draft beer and a pizza oven) and a private dock: “We don’t have a boat , but people come pick us up and we fish with it – it’s fun. “
Indeed, the focus is on fun in Willoch Traasdahl’s house, where a fairytale play area for the kids – complete with 6-foot tall, house-shaped Dutch cabinets – sits in the entrance area under a floating staircase.
“You know how kids want to be wherever you are?” Asks Siri knowingly. These inappropriately charming children speak English, Norwegian, and Spanish – and are clearly trying to keep up with their mother, who knows all of those, plus Italian, French, Swedish, Danish, and “and a little German and Dutch”.
In addition to managing her Sirissima jewelry line and jointly managing her fashion label Clement Willoch, she also managed to decorate the entire 7,000 square meter house with seven bedrooms herself. In just three months.
“It’s a pretty big house – I’m used to living in an apartment – so I thought it would take forever,” she says. “But my theory was that I would start with all the necessities. We needed sofas, we needed a table, we needed chairs, we needed beds – as long as we had them, everything else was the icing on the cake. “
Siri, who previously worked for fashion powerhouses Bottega Veneta and Marc Jacobs, took a high-low approach to decor. She searched eBay and Craigslist for treasures and combined them with impressive modern art – like Studio Drift’s delicate glass installation “Flylight” that floats in the foyer – or Hermès litters.
Using a high-low approach to the decor, Siri mixed up a $ 50 tripod end table from JCPenney (to the left of the couch) with luxurious throws from Hermès. She also experimented with unusual materials – like a custom bast front on the fireplace.Alexia Fodere
“These are JCPenney tables,” she enthuses, pointing to the round tripod side tables made of cast iron and oak in the living room between the kitchen and living room. “They were about $ 50 a piece – I’ve seen [British designer] Terence Conran made a capsule collection with JCPenney and I immediately went in and bought them. The price of a product says nothing about its aesthetics. “
The designer found architectural drawers for her office / design studio on Craigslist; They originally stored engineering sketches at a GE factory in Gary, Ind.Alexia Fodere
The wooden architectural drawers in her office were from eBay and were filled with hand-drawn engineering sketches from her previous life at a GE factory in Gary, Indiana. She found the round foyer table on Craigslist, made decades ago in New York’s Little Italy for $ 700.
Color and surprising materials also abound. The coffee table in the living room is a bold eggplant, while the Mastercraft cabinets in Are’s office have been dyed teal to match a bundle of yarn from Buenos Aires. Siri hired a craftsman to create a one-of-a-kind bast face for the fireplace while an upside-down globe in the nursery spins mischievously with Australia on top.
The master suite and terrace (with an outdoor Japanese bathtub) overlook the black-bottomed pool and an outdoor kitchen equipped with a pizza oven and beer tap.Alexia Fodere
“I’m not doing anything to impress anyone,” says Siri. “When it’s warm, when it’s inviting, when it makes you feel good, it affects me a lot more.”
The children’s play area, adorned with 6-foot tall house-shaped cabinets from the Netherlands, is located under a floating staircase in the foyer.Alexia Fodere
While the family did not move into the house until May, they already hosted a cocktail party for 115 guests, which benefited St John’s Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
“We love to chat, and the bigger the better,” says Siri. “I like to entertain too, but I’m more of ‘Let’s have four people for dinner.’ He says, “Let’s 150 people come to a party!” ”
This month they cook a lot (Siri specializes in Italian, although Norwegian, Japanese and Thai are also on the menu) and both host mothers for Christmas (“Norway is cold so everyone wants to come home”) and explore The art piles that are on offer in Basel.
“I find it much more exciting to find and curate young talent than more established artists,” she says. “This is the exciting part of St John – it finds its own style.”
In the meantime, Siri will continue to style and brand Willoch Traasdahl’s home. She has already designed the logo of the house (a representation of four interwoven strands), which she would like to emboss on napkins and party invitations.
“I want to create a fragrance for the house too, but my time is limited,” she admits. On the second thought, she adds, “I think I can still do that.”
Siri’s tips
The designer shares some of her favorite stove and home items – including elegant spheres from her own line.
“I designed this piece in collaboration with the Quin Hotel in New York. It bears my daughter’s middle name and also the middle names of my mother and grandmother. A true tribute to the women in my family.” “Catharina” necklace, available on special order from sirissima.com
Courtesy of the designer
“Definitely a boon, but it’s worth it. Giorgetti is one of my favorite furniture designers. In 50 years, this cabinet will be as functional and stylish as it is today.” Giorgetti “Aei” glass cabinet, $ 13,533 at mayfairdesignstudio.com
Courtesy of the designer
“These are my favorite earrings. A true passe-partout [go with anything] with the gold-silver combination. Each sheet is attached by hand. “” Mille Feuille “pearl earrings, $ 198 at sirissima.com
Courtesy of the designer
“A friend gave me one as a housewarming present and I’ve loved it ever since.” Pomegranate Noir diffuser, $ 85 at jomalone.com
Courtesy of the designer
“I have these coasters and I love them. Buy enough and you can even make your own wall installation. Truly sculptural at an affordable price.” Oji Masanori coasters, $ 81 to $ 105 each at store.mjolk.approx
Courtesy of the designer
“Add one of these somewhere and you’ll classify the joint exponentially.” “Avalon” cashmere blanket, $ 3,500 at usa.hermes.com
Courtesy of the designer
Next
For office millennials, vacation would be without …
Prop Stylist: Holli Kinsgbury / abtp.com
Comments are closed.