Fall 2021 Edition
As the green in the leaves fade to a potpourri of orange, yellow, and red, and the warm air dips to cooler temperatures, we welcome the comfort and coziness the fall season has to offer. With an enviable art collection echoing its environment, kids’ rooms curated to perfection, and a new rug collection destined to transport your thoughts to faraway lands, our fall issue is sure to inspire and awaken your senses. As always, thanks for reading.
– Shea & Martin
Our longtime, Chicago-based clients found a home away from home in the Rocky Mountains. They loved it so much that they decided to plant some of their roots in Jackson Hole. Keeping geography in mind, the vast art collection curated for the home reflects the locale. Shea Soucie and her team worked closely with the clients and art consultant and gallerist Thomas Masters to deliver a seamless collection to the home. Read more about the process in Big Sky Journal’s Arts Issue.
Feature Story
How Do Vacation Homes Differ from Primary Residences?
Whether we’re designing a primary residence or a vacation home, our philosophy that good design defines lifestyle rings true for both. We create homes that are lovely, livable, and unique to each client, regardless of location.
Design Inspiration
Designing for Kids
Our youngest clients are perhaps our most discerning clients. Learning about their interests and creating spaces that grow with them are key elements for designing kid-friendly, kid-approved interiors.
Project Profile
Artfully Scenic
With its art collection front and center, this sprawling Jackson Hole vacation home’s interior design and architecture focused its planning early on with art as the main star. Showcasing a continuity of materials inside and out, each space was intentionally designed with the scenery in mind. Join us for a house tour of this magnificent, mountain retreat.
Like every design firm – and many companies across a multitude of industries – we’re facing supply chain issues wrought by the pandemic. Longer-than-usual lead times, shipping delays, and product shortages are business as usual right now. But so is our commitment to our clients, their projects, and their timelines. While we can’t control the external forces impacting our business, we can – and we are! – addressing them head on by moving our timelines up to meet our clients’ needs. That means ordering product months earlier than we typically do, and tracking it every step of the way to ensure timely arrival.
An insightful segment on the differences and similarities between vacation homes and primary residences.
In the wake of the pandemic, our team asked us, “What is Soucie Horner doing to give back and how can we help?” The question was valid and necessary. As decades-long donors to educational organizations in the city of Chicago, such as The Noble Schools and One Million Degrees, we’ve witnessed the impact of giving. By partnering with A Better Chicago, a non-profit fighting poverty by investing in bold ideas to create opportunities for Chicago’s youth, we were able to educate our team about the various ways Soucie Horner gives back to underserved communities in Chicago. Recently, we hosted like-minded business owners to discuss ways in which they can expand the scale of their charitable giving through their companies to make a bigger impact. With crime, violence and poverty on the rise in a city that we love so dearly, sitting idly is not an option. Through We Care and our partnership with A Better Chicago, our mission is to create a ripple of change to make a difference within our city.
What is the Difference Between Residential and Commercial Design?
The design process between residential and commercial design is more similar than different. For both, we value the same three priorities; design, cost, and schedule. What differs is the order in which our clients rank these priorities. Find out what climbs to the top of a priority list for a commercial project designed by our SH Studio design team versus a residential project.
Lineage: New Collection Launch!
Our Lineage Collection rugs are inspired interpretations of the world’s finest antiques, reimagined in forward-thinking style to meet contemporary needs. The designs summon thoughts of distant lands where spice-fragranced souks are abundant, medieval imperial palaces are dwellings and the steep topography of the Caucasus Mountains are passageways. While the Lineage Collection is reminiscent of the Old World, it is modern and of the moment.
Shea’s Collection Over the Years
Drawing heavily from her personal experience as an Asian American living in Hawaii, artist Esther Shimazu’s signature sculptures consist of round-shaped, nude Asian women using hand-building techniques. Admiring the artistry and humor of her work, Shea has amassed a collection of Shimazu’s sculptures over the years.
Martin’s Lifelong Passion
For Martin, collecting art has been a lifelong passion. Starting from his freshman year in college when he’d save ten dollars a week for a piece he fell in love with at a gallery to now, Martin’s love for art has never wavered. Whether it’s artwork sitting on the mantle by the Haas brothers, the wooden leaping deer sculptures acquired from a Tibetan temple, or the vibrant large scale oil painting in his living room by Chicago artist Jackie Kazarian, each piece Martin has in his home, has a story to tell.
Behind-The-Scenes
Inimitable lakefront views, private beaches, and a penthouse refuge high in the sky, we’re sensing an unmistakable theme. Though the world is emerging more and more every day, we have learned more than ever, our home is a sanctuary. View some progress shots of our newest projects.
Director
As an architect, Michael ran his own firm for nearly two decades. He’s done design-build work, acted as an owner’s rep, and been a carpenter. He understands project nuances from every angle. “I get everyone’s perspective,” he says, “because I’ve been just about everyone, at one time or another.”