Welcome Home
Used with Permission of Houston House & Home
December 2001, Vol. 8 No. 12
written by Donna Mosher
When attorney Mike Mallia moved from a high-rise into his inner-loop town house, he called on interior designer Kelly Gale Amen, ASID, to create a calm oasis, a refuge from the daily pressures of a successful law practice. He also asked Amen to fit his furnishings into the new environment, adding whatever was necessary to complete the space. “I wanted a calm house,” Mike says, “something comfortable that would give me the feeling of home.” The setting was ideal. The town house, in a peaceful neighborhood tucked into a bend of Memorial Park, boasts a clean-lined, contemporary façade. But inside, the environment is a fresh combination of traditional details with splashes of contemporary furnishings that lend a lively spark. “There are three basic stages in my design process,” Amen says. “First we create the shell, which includes the walls, the ceiling and the floor. Step two is the furniture placement. The third is the arrangement of art and accessories. “In Mike’s home I flipped the second with the third stage. He has so much wonderful art that we hung the pieces and then arranged the furniture to make the most of his collection. We kept moving it, massaging the arrangement, until we got it right.”
INCREDIBLE COLOR
But perhaps the most remarkable, albeit subtle, aspect of this project was, in fact, what Amen calls the shell. Amen has directed a tour de force of faux, applying an incredible 40 colors to the walls and ceilings throughout the home. The masterful blending of the paint, topped with various glazes, imparts an intriguing sense of a lovely texture and richness, a suede-like flow as the hues transition imperceptibly from one room to the next. In the living room, for example, a soothing chocolate coats the walls, accented by rich mouldings in a crisp ivory. The effect is just what Mike wanted: a cozy space evoking the comforting sense of a chunky mug of cocoa topped with luscious whipped cream. Ceilings are never forgotten in Amen’s projects. “We’re told if the ceiling is white, it will look larger,” he says. “I disagree. When you have a room like this, with its gracious height, painting the ceiling can bring out the rich crown mouldings. The ceiling is one-sixth of a room. We should address it”
ALTERNATIVE DESIGN
Kelly Amen’s interior designs are noted for the unexpected, a touch that borders on daring. His most important tools are paint and mirror. Even in this predominantly traditional environment, Amen has wielded these tools in a surprisingly eclectic manner. On the landing of the second floor, an angled wall is mirrored, cleverly inviting one up the next flight to the master suite. Sheets of mirror frame the transom windows in the living room and enlarge an alcove in the bedroom. The effect is to dissolve the limits that walls create, enlarging a space, accenting an obscure architectural feature or blurring the indoors with out. And the paint. This house demonstrates Amen’s passion for an unconventional use of color and texture in a conventional format. First, faux artist Theo Ostler applied dozens of colors to the walls, blending them into a velvety texture that calls to be touched. Warm glazes further soften the effect. Amen then brought in contemporary artist John Palmer to cover the ceilings in the halls with a mural of swirling energy and movement in eight dynamic colors.
FUN FURNISHINGS
The furnishings continue the blending of unconventional with conventional, contemporary with traditional. Traditional columns flank the fireplace, which is topped with a gracious but substantial mantel. A contemporary work of art brings in a vigorous splash of red. Among the comfy, monochromatic pillows piled on the tapestry-covered sofa in the living room, Amen has tucked two cushions of his own color-splashed design. Before the dignified wingback rattan armchair, a vibrant Amen-signature pouf serves as a footrest. The dining room table from Alyson Jon continues the traditional ambiance, in a deep mahogany stain and surrounded by six comfortable chairs that invite after-dinner lingering over a glass of wine. But just steps away in the kitchen, a spunky breakfast set from Cantoni adds a modern sparkle of metal, encouraging a quick bite of breakfast before a dash out the door. In the master bedroom, a Cantoni chaise sits opposite the bed covered with lush bedding and piled with pillows. Another footrest from Amen’s KGA Compound furniture line adds color to the space. 
The deeply stained wood armoire keeps the room rooted in a traditional feel. The result is an embracing home designed around a traditional palette. But the peppering of unexpected accents offers an ongoing sense of motion and life. Mike applauds the success of the design. “I wasn’t going to sacrifice function for form,” he says, reiterating his request to Amen for a home that would be comfortable, quiet and easy to live in. “But this house has both. It is very comfortable and nice to come home to.” “It was a fun project,” Amen agrees. “It was fun to use all of Mike’s furniture and surround it with a palette of color and texture that makes the space visually stimulating. The result is an inclusive, livable environment that Mike loves to spend time in.”
