“We’ve known each other for more than 20 years, so there’s this unspoken understanding,” says Ross. “I’ll show her an image or throw out half an idea, and she just gets it; she can translate it into something far better than what I imagined.”
Brasier, who later brought her design sensibility outdoors and cofounded the exterior design studio Manscapers, was more than happy to reimagine the space for her old friend. “He’s a very upbeat, positive person who loves to entertain and built his whole career around that,” she says. “He was a very good client in the sense that every suggestion was: ‘Go for it! Let’s be creative.’ You rarely get that kind of freedom.”
The peninsula in the U-shaped kitchen has an arabesco marble countertop with a demilune wood extension; walls were covered in Clé handmade zellige tiles glazed in Secret Lagoon.
The designer took cues from Ross’s easygoing, gregarious nature, expressing it through tactile materials like wood and ceramics and a palette of saturated but unforced colors, including forest green, terra-cotta, and dark rose.
Although he gave her carte blanche, Ross did have a few requests: The main level on the ground floor had to be wide open, and for his personal hangout on the second floor, he wanted a cozier, cabin-like vibe. “I got obsessed with these ’70s log cabin images—lots of cedar, a fireplace, a loungy vibe,” he says.