SEEING DOUBLE 3.

Welcome to the third and final installment of “Seeing Double.” After two months of conceptual illustrations and theoretical mood boards, we’re ready for some concrete application. This month we bring that idea to life through a current project. In order to do that, we turn our attention to the best place on earth: home.

We’ve encountered a lot of homes in our time. Big and small, formal and chill, we’ve seen it all. Take our team for instance. When asked what a dream home would look like to each of them, we got everything from “a giant closet, no kitchen” to “a tiny pastry kitchen in the middle of an art gallery” to “a pottery studio with a bed.” Honestly, we love that. We love that this space is so deeply personal that no two individuals, couples, or families have the same vision. Even more than that, we love that people trust us with seeing their unique vision and translating that into a tangible space.

At the end of the day, everyone just wants to be reflected in and served by their home. It is a place to feel understood, supported, and free, no questions asked. In fact, we’re pretty sure that’s all everyone wants in every aspect of life. It is what people ask of their partners, colleagues, parents and children: to be seen. If every relationship is seeking that on some level, it only makes sense to expect that from the spaces we spend time in as well.

If we know that to be true, then why are we as designers so often putting their own style and signature before the needs of our clients? Why can’t we step aside, forgo our stamp or fingerprint or whatever we like to call it, and make the space a complete reflection of the client? A spatial twin with you will?

That goal is at the core of every project we take on. We spend an extraordinary amount of time getting to know our clients so that they don’t have to change to be comfortable in a home, we change the home to make them feel comfortable and seen. We want someone to walk in a space and see themselves, not Goesling Group. In order to do that, we have to really know them. Often this comes with the added challenge that two (three, five, ten) people living under the same roof are not the same. They might differ in their styles (clean, crisp modern versus vintage all the way). They could differ in how they use the space (the dining table is for Michelin quality meals versus an ongoing jigsaw puzzle area). Or perhaps they differ in who they imagine using the space (holiday host extraordinaire versus homebody).

Our project today is no exception. In fact, those differences are more exaggerated than most. In this home we are merging a mechanic’s dream workshop with a host’s ideal guest house. We are facing one pillar of ultra masculinity and another of hyper femininity. How do we find their middle ground, or a hybrid, that allows them both to claim this space as their own while also feeling at home together?

Enter “Seeing Double” in action by way of our “Fast Lane” project. Below we break down the many ways this project embraces doubles, dichotomy, balance, and duplication in the home.

COUNTER BALANCE.

First and foremost, this home is dedicated to celebrating the unification of two distinct yet complementary personalities. Those opposing forces inspired an approach to the home that feels like fraternal twins: connected in their communication yet confident in their individual passions. With that in mind we explore the two most extreme expressions on personal passions, both of which effortlessly weave in femininity and masculinity throughout.

AUTO MOTION.

The car workshop most obviously celebrates machinery. The tools are quietly tucked away behind a sea of polished concrete, raw steel, powder coated finishes and gleaming stainless steel. These materials are also home to integrated lighting that gets tucked into sharp ceilings. Each of these straightforward, functional choices help to bring attention to the main focal point: our client’s carefully crafted creations. The soft curves of the cars and fluid lines of the motorcycles contrast the flat, masculine surfaces in a highly dimensional way.

FEMININE NATURE.

The primary bedroom is a retreat inside a retreat. It celebrates softness and tonal textures, highlighting femininity in an oversized hand cut silk rug, pebbled leather surfaces, and embroidered bedding. That delicate nature is juxtaposed by the strict angles of a custom headboard and dynamic seating. Integrated auto-inspired lighting is balanced with twin pendants that produce a soft light for early bedtimes looking out onto nature.

DOUBLE DUTY.

Duality comes in many forms. From multipurpose materials to duplicated objects, the idea of doubles came through in a variety of ways throughout the home.

TWO IN ONE.

A large scale mirror acts as a backdrop to this natural finished oak coffee bar. That same mirror acts to conceal a TV living immediately behind it, that acts as a central point in the home for guests gathering around watching F1 races on a Sunday morning, only to then disappear when not in use.

TWO BY TWO.

As this bathroom proves, sometimes more is more. Two sconces, two floor to ceiling mirrors and two faucets turn a singular space into a celebration of partnership.

DISTANT REFLECTIONS.

A key component to “Seeing Double” is literal reflectivity. Mirrored surfaces and metallic finishes turn simple spaces into never ending environments.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS.

The bunk room is one of the smaller rooms of the house. Not only do these six bunks create a repetitive expanse, but the custom wardrobe embraces smoked mirrored fronts to trick the space into feeling larger than it truly is.

METAL MIMICRY.

The kitchen is a series of reflections. Reflection in the high-polished stainless hood vent cover, reflection in the mirrored glass fronts on the double upper cabinets hugging the vent hood, and finally reflection in the extruded metal shelving flanking the window.

WHAT NEXT?

Our hope is that this adventure expands your horizons while we expand ours. As we continue “Seeing Double,” we turn our attention to next quarter’s focus. Any guesses? What are you seeing in the world around you? What motif do you find coming up time and time again? What influences you? We want to know what you’re obsessed with. Let’s see if our paths align…