When interior designer Keira Schultz was tasked with designing a new build in Sedona’s Thunder Mountain neighborhood, the homeowner wanted her home to be modern and organic with a Northern Arizona feel. To achieve this look, Keira used plenty of natural materials throughout the space. “The house is modern home, and the client definitely was vintage, organic,” says Keira, owner and principal designer of Flagstaff-based KSDesigns LLC. “It was marrying the two together. Her personality is one. The shell of the home was another.” When you first step inside the three-bedroom and threeand-a-half bathroom home, the kitchen is to the left behind the living room. Keira added hanging glass/old bronze light pendants above the island to draw your eye to the kitchen. She describes the kitchen as having a warm, inviting feel to it. The kitchen floors are made of engineered wood, and the cabinets have a natural wood finish – in keeping with the natural feel of the home.
The kitchen of a Thunder Mountain home designed by Flagstaff-based interior designer Keira Schultz. Keira used wood cabinets to achieve a natural, organic feel the homeowner wanted.
“We really tried not mess with or alter any of the materials that we brought in just to have that more organic feel,” she says. “It helps bring the outdoors in. Sedona has a certain feel about it, and I think it stays true to that.” Keira chose quartz for the countertops and island. The quartz, she said, added movement to the space, and the colors in the veining ultimately united all of the elements – the cabinetry, the hardware in dark bronze and the Zellige tile in tarnished silver on the backsplash – together. She says the space had a lot going on without being overwhelming.
The home’s entrance features a wood door and a Nelson pear bubble pendant from Design Within Reach.
The key to pulling this off? The highly curated details. “The specific elements had details to them that elevated the space,” she says. To the left of the home’s entrance is the great room, which was mostly filled with the owner’s belongings. Sofas and tables were the owner’s existing pieces. The couch is topped with pillows the owner made. The ceramics on the tables were also part of the owner’s art collection. “Her personal collection of ceramics and sculptures just really added that personal, homemade touch,” says Keira. Keira added a dark-colored, vintage dressed leather chair into the mix. She felt that the durable chair in the color camel from Four Hands matched the vintage tables.
The home’s living room was outfitted with most of the owner’s furniture. Keira added a leather chair.
She described the great room as being light-filled, airy but also very bright and warm. “Even though it was a big open space, we were still trying to have that cozy feel,” she says. The gray tiled bathroom located in the home’s third bedroom featured three different types of tiles. Find hexagon Zellige handmade tiles and rectangular concrete look ceramic tiles on the wall and penny round tiles on the floor. The bathroom features brushed nickel fixtures. What tied all the tiles together? “The palette. I think the concrete look has those lighter tones in it and pulled from that. It’s a really nice contrast,” she says.
The home’s main bathroom features a mix of elements including aged brass, Fireclay tile, quartz counters, concrete look tile and black matte fixtures.
When designing the main bathroom, Keira started with the tile. The same concrete look ceramic tile used on the floor of the main bathroom was also used in the third bedroom’s bathroom. The room was already outfitted with the matte black plumbing fixtures. Many of the design decisions ultimately complemented the black. She added antique brass in the mirror frames and a mixed metal wall sconce with the antique brass and black to pull the two metals together. The tiered Made Goods Patricia Chandelier made out of shells hanging over the freestanding tub had an organic, yet vintage look and softened the space overall. The tile behind the vanity on the wall is a fire clay tile in a soft green color dubbed salt and sea. Color was key to giving this space a cohesive look. “The artwork and the bathmat, they add color and pulled all the colors in the space, the tile, the wood, the black, the brass all together,” she says. One critical aspect of mixing so many elements is careful planning. “Taking all these different elements and meshing them together and making it seem natural. Nothing was an afterthought. Everything’s very thought out, and it just gives a cohesive overall feel,” she says. “It all came together because it was natural.”
DESIGN TIPS YOU CAN USE
• Don’t get caught up in design trends. “Trends are great, but there’s something to be said for personalized spaces and using things that you have to add something special,” says Keira. “Not everything needs to be new.”
• If you want to mix metals, find one piece that ties them both together. “Having some element that kind of marries the two finishes together, whether it’s a mirror frame or a light fixture,” she says.
• Consider what can easily be changed and what can’t be before you make a final decision. “Lighting and mirrors and hardware, those are things that can be swapped out, that you’re not married to forever. Tile’s different,” she says.
• If you’re designing a space, try putting all the pieces on one board to find one design that will work overall. “Put them together, and then see how you feel.”
