28 DIGS.NET
| 10.21.22
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P R O F I L E | W I S E M A N G R O U P
walls, which are utterly spectacular. Lines
are sharp, forms are soft, and light is
welcomed.
Exterior and interior alike is a credit to the
influence of Japanese architecture and
culture. Yet despite its strong sense of
uniformity, the space is also strikingly orig-
inal. In keeping with the clients' interest in
age-old Japanese elements, decorative
touches include a collection of Japanese
bronzes and pillows based on the tradi-
tion of obi embroidery. These are subtle
gestures of an aesthetic, filtered through
a contemporary lens for a fresh take on
tradition. More overt examples include
upholstered origami panels in one of the
powder rooms as well as origami-formed
walls in the luxurious home theater. Mean-
while, found objects previously lost to time,
such as the 80-million-year-old fish fossils
worked into in the home's spa powder
room, were given new life in a modern
context.
Art throughout the house is vibrant and
animates calm corridors and quiet walls.
The works were not chosen at randomly,
but picked and purchased by the client,
with Wiseman and TWG's design director,
Brenda Mickel, at Art Basel Miami. "The
clients chose the art," says Wiseman, "but
we provided editorial guidance as to what
worked with the house and what didn't, so
it was very personal to them."
All pieces in the house, from the found
objects to the personally curated, add a
layer of depth and interest to the interi-
ors. Hand-woven wool-and-silk carpets,
for example, as well as linens allied with
features in the architecture, all serve to
harmonize the interior. As a material, cast-
glass is used widely, taking bold shape in
sinks and shelving in the powder rooms.
It is also used, oh-so-memorably, for the
staircase that descends over the pool in
truly magnificent fashion.
For a house of such exquisite elan,
perhaps the highest compliment one can
pay Nouveau Modern is the unforced
nature of its decoration. Make no mistake—
this is a highly stylized house. And yet,
Wiseman's words of "appropriateness"
ring elegantly and unambiguously true.
Nothing is out of place, zealously picked
or proven wrong as a decorative solution.
The spaces, and the scale, are theater;
dramatics are in the details. The fine
pointed legs of a chair. The showstopping
chandeliers. The custom door hardware
and window treatments.
If every element of the design tells a story,
and Wiseman assures that it does, then
Nouveau Modern is not unlike a lot of
high-end Southern California residences.
Perched on a hill. Enthralled to a dynamic
view. Spacious and open to its outlook.
But if Paul Vincent Wiseman were telling
the story, that narrative is, like his interiors,
refreshingly different: "LA, but not cliché."
wisemangroup.com
