Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/141340
CASA FEARLESS CONVERSATION PIT: Surrounding a low pedestal with built-in fire element are deep, woven chairs by Zuo Modern, and pillows covered in Sunbrella fabric. The pool fountain is crafted of limestone and stainless steel. Eight Vazon planters by KuL Designs from Positive Space line the deck. O INTERIOR DESIGNER ANA SEYFFERT LIVES IN A VIBRANT WORLD WHERE THE INDOORS FLOW SEAMLESSLY WITH THE OUT, AND WHERE TREPIDATION ISN'T AN OPTION. BY BROOKE HORTENSTINE AND RACHAEL ABRAMS. PHOTOGRAPHY KA YEUNG. n a block in Preston Hollow, where original '50s-style ranches coexist with looming new builder manses, the only commonality Ana Seyffert's dwelling shares with the adjacent homes is a street name. You may recognize her corner lot — the frontage is a conspicuous one: The jutting green-hued contemporary structure boasts screaming red aluminum bicycles by Mexican artist Ariel Rojo on the left of the lawn; a water focal point similar to a wading pool runs along the entire length of the home; and the eight-foot-tall electric yellow Cellocia Borunda sculpture by Sebastian blooms to the right of the mammoth glass front door. "It's about choosing things you can live with," says Seyffert, "and not being afraid to try new things." Fear is a word that is noticeably absent from this Mexico City transplant's creative lexicon. As an interior designer who is co-owner of Spun Creative Group, a company she started with her graphic-designing daughters Natalia Saenz-Duran and Tatiana Saenz-Camu, Seyffert tests the most unusual products found on the design market in her own home first — envision white faux-crocodile leather tiles as flooring in her master bath or the powder room's three-foot faucet that extends from the center of the mirror down into the basin. "How do you tell your clients to do something you haven't tried?" she questions. Her risk-taking theory is evident in her remodeled 5,589 square-foot house that has 22-foot-tall kitchen ceilings, Danby marble-encased cooking surfaces, a two-ton steel central staircase and a MAY | PAGE 30 | 2012 steel-and-wood cantilevered poolside grill canopy that weighs more than a GMC Denali. With 33 windows and an exterior as well-hewn as her living areas, Seyffert's affinity for natural light and concentration on outdoor spaces have won her copious national awards, such as the Spark Modern Fires Design Competition. "She likes to push engineering boundaries," says her contractor, Joe Shannon of Veritas Developers, who oversaw the twoyear renovation of what once upon a colorless time was one of those original and inconspicuous '50s ranches.