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FeedMetropolitan Motif
If life were a Gershwin tune, this penthouse would be a hit.
Arriving early for a dusk cocktail party at the penthouse atop the south tower of Park Laurel in Bankers Hill, I hear the sounds of soft piano music. When I enter the exquisitely composed, two-level home remodeled by San Diego designers Alvin Morrison and Chad Halsey, I realize the young man at the grand piano is playing something unmistakably Gershwin. But which composition is it? The melody lingers almost like curling cigarette smoke in an Erte print, circling up into the rotunda’s chandelier. I ask and learn it is “Blues Lullaby (Prelude #2).”
My eyes wander to the rest of the impeccably designed suite. Homeowners Richard and Barbara Rosebrock had numerous reasons for selecting Halsey and Morrison to remodel their 4,700-square-foot penthouse. Among them were the facts that the designers are former art gallery owners, and the Rosebrocks collect art.
Art is everywhere, placed tastefully by the two designers. Even the master bathroom serves as gallery space for two sculptures by David Goldberg; each wire-formed torso hangs above the Jacuzzi tub. Emperador marble was used for the surround. And on an acrylic base is another piece of art: a large fossil clamshell.
In the main living space, the chandelier is the showstopper. Set in the rotunda, which alone is a dramatic feature, the custom-designed chandelier is an inverted glass cone from Murano, Italy. It is outfitted with an elevator—common on chandeliers in Las Vegas casinos, so they can be easily accessed to clean and to change the bulbs.
The penthouse originally came with wrought-iron banisters. “We designed the wood balusters to create a more sophisticated look,” says Morrison, who formerly owned the Ramsden Morrison Gallery in San Diego. He has 25 years of experience in designing fine homes in resort areas, including Newport, Rhode Island, Palm Springs and Laguna Beach. In addition to his art gallery, Morrison founded Mythos, a home-construction company, and also owned Morrison, Lee & Stevens, an advertising/marketing firm—both in Orange County.
At the top of the rotunda stairway, an indoor observation area was designed with wine storage and bookcases, so the homeowners could choose to either get lost in a book or take in the view of downtown, the airport and the harbor beyond. “The wall coverings are done in a foil, giving the space a definite 1930s, early-’40s feel,” says Halsey, a graduate in architecture and design from Cal Poly—San Luis Obispo. He has worked in Manhattan and Paris haute couture circles, parlaying his eye for fabric trends into home design. For the past several years, he and Morrison have teamed as Halsey/Morrison Design, based in Bankers Hill.
The main living space echoes the rotunda with a radius rug and sofa custom-designed to follow the same lines. The large pillar was built out with shelving and molding to make it disappear and become part of the room. More than 230 halogen lights were placed above, highlighting each seating area and art placement.
The original plan had a closet, bathroom and elevator door lined up together. “We removed the closet and replaced it with a hand-painted European cabinet, which serves as a bar,” Morrison says. They also replaced the original bathroom door with a seamless one they covered in paper so it would disappear into the wall.
Flooring throughout the suite is 24-by-24-inch slabs of travertine with an Emperador marble border that extends around the whole living area. A large marble medallion marks the entry. The fireboxes were outfitted with custom mantels and bookcases. To block daytime and sunset glare, solar shades go up with the touch of a button and disappear behind crown molding valances.
In the dining room, recessed lighting is composed of one bulb for each place setting. A massive structural corner pillar was also built out with molding and then hidden by wall coverings. Lalique vases and other art pieces dress the tables, which mimic the swooping lines of the custom sofa. Designed for extensive entertaining, the residence has several outside terraces that serve as extensions of the lower-level great room. Polished aluminum and travertine slabs create an environment that can easily transition from a relaxing space for coffee and the morning paper to an evening cocktail party. But enough of the tour, as other guests are beginning to arrive. The pianist is fashioning life as a Gershwin tune by playing “Nice Work if You Can Get It.” And on this dusky San Diego evening, who could ask for anything more?
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