Interior Designs of the Year 2008

Wichita magazine presents the year's top commercial and residential interior designs.

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Inspiring interior design stretches far beyond frames and drapes. It combines form and function to reflect an individual’s lifestyle. Wichita’s  top creative minds realize this important principle, which is one reason they are among the winners of Wichita magazine’s Interior Designs of the Year. More than 25 interior designers, decorators and architects submitted residential and commercial projects, and our esteemed panel of judges—interior designers Ludwig Villasi and Sheryl Pasquini of Kansas City and Michael Dudek of Kansas State University—selected the cream of the design crop. We hope you’ll find inspiration and new design ideas while perusing this year’s top interior designs.

A Bachelor’s Abode

Josh Jackson has a noticeable advantage over the typical bachelor in putting together a pad to impress. He and his father, Bill, own Abode Home, the trendy downtown furniture store. The Jacksons’ two-bedroom loft is a hip space with swanky furniture, bold-colored walls and a prime location—in other words, the ultimate bachelor pad.

The first time we saw the loft, we knew it was something special. Back in September, we received a large envelope with photos. The sleek interior was unlike anything else in a stack of worthy entries. We mailed off the entries to our judges in October and, to no one’s surprise, they agreed—the loft received the highest score of any entry. There was just one problem: It defied categorization. Every room, from the kitchen to the bedroom, was an impressive display of modern design. Our solution? We created a category for Best of Show.

Months later, we toured the loft with Josh and the project’s architect, Mike Seiwert. In person, the space was even more striking. In only a matter of months, during the fall of 2005, Jackson and WDM Architects had gutted a second-floor space once filled by a run-down office and kitchenette and transformed it into a trendy condo for two. To add privacy, the architecture firm put the two bedrooms at opposite ends of a “shotgun footprint,” with a shared living room and kitchen in between.

One of the biggest challenges was maximizing the space. Guthridge Nighswonger installed a 5-by-20-foot cylindrical skylight above the living room to draw in natural light and to open up the area. Track lighting enhances the skylight’s presence and has a dramatic presence after the sun sets. “The loft takes on an entirely different light at night,” says Josh. A set of stairs provides access to a rooftop deck that overlooks the downtown skyline. “In the summer, I’ll invite friends over, and we’ll sit up there and watch fireworks,” says Josh. "It's amazing.”

Floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the living room’s south wall create the appearance of a larger space. The room’s sitting areas, a white couch and two black chairs, provide cozy seating without cluttering the area. Lora Leonard of WDM Architects worked with Josh to pick out the loft’s color scheme. The room’s base colors are neutral, with gray slate tiles, black cabinets and a gray ceiling. These neutrals juxtapose nicely with a bright blue wall behind the television and colorful paintings by local artist Bob Burdette. “We wanted to keep it dark, with pops of color here and there,” says Josh.

A bold China berry-colored soffit above the kitchen is another striking feature. “We dropped the soffit to define the kitchen space and bar,” says Seiwert. Five large pendant lights, shaped like small flying saucers, hang above the granite-covered bar. The result makes the kitchen seem like a separate space.

Each of the two bedrooms has an exposed brick wall that contrasts with bright red and yellow walls. Low-lying beds from Environment, an eco-friendly company that uses wood from Brazil, rest in the middle of the bedrooms. The bathrooms include walk-in showers with river-rock floors and large closets.

The finished loft is a modern masterpiece and a bachelor’s dream. As one judge wrote, “This is what interior design is all about!” — J.M.