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"Cincinnati Synthesis\nTurning Disparate Design Elements Into A Unified Whole\nFor a married couple in suburban Cincinnati, architect and designer Michael Graves built a house that blends vernacular rusticism with decidedly modern touches. Timber salvaged from an old barn that was standing on the site was used to make window surrounds.\nA blue board-and-batten stairwell is framed by a cylindrical stone chimney and the stucco exterior of the main living spaces. The many shifts in tone and texture &amp;quot;articulate the various parts of the program through form, material and color,&amp;quot; says Graves.\nThe &amp;quot;apse-shaped&amp;quot; dining room also functions as a library. &amp;quot;The semicircular portion of the room and the continuity of the shelving vocabulary resolve the intersection of axes,&amp;quot; says Graves. He designed the table, as well as the Steuben glass vase atop it.\nGraves designed nearly all of the furnishings in the barrel-vaulted living room, including the sofa, the chairs, the maple pieces, the metal table lamps and even the glass fruit bowl, from Target. The room &amp;quot;conveys the broad range of work we do,&amp;quot; he says.\n&amp;quot;The master bedroom&amp;#39;s scale and proportions seem greater than they are because of accents like the high wainscot on the wall and the barrel-vaulted ceiling.&amp;quot; Graves designed the alarm clock, from Target. J. Robert Scott coverlet fabric; Decorators Walk slipper chair fabric.\nThroughout the house, Graves employed a variety of geometrically distinct designs for window types. Within the interior of the curved stairwell, &amp;quot;the spiraling, repetitive window element implies a sense of internal movement,&amp;quot; says the architect.\nAt the rear of the house, says Graves, &amp;quot;the formalism of the front elevation breaks down and becomes looser, with different windows and a more dynamic roofline.&amp;quot;\nThe angular bracing at the base of a potting shed &amp;quot;symbolically plants roots&amp;quot; for it.\nThe view from the garden, designed by Eric Doepke Associates, underscores Graves&amp;#39;s attention to emphasizing contrasts by juxtaposing colors and materials. Above the solarium, at left, is a terrace. The exterior of the living room&amp;#39;s vault is clad in copper."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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