A Touch of Glass

    
Janet Bilotti, of Janet Bilotti Interiors in Naples, has more than 20 years of design experience, has garnered numerous design awards, and has nerves of steel. It only stands to reason that anyone who undertakes the assignment of designing the concept for a penthouse residence cum showcase for art pieces belonging to one of the premier collectors in the world must have such nerves.

Though Bilotti had previously worked with several clients who owned internationally recognized collections of contemporary and traditional art, Gerard L. Cafesjian, the homeowner on this project, is founder of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art, both located in Yerevan, Armenia. This collection of more than 1,200 works includes one of the most comprehensive collections of modern glass in the world. It is particularly rich in the work of the Czech couple Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, whose work revolutionized the use of glass as an artistic medium. Other important glass artists featured include Dale Chihuly, Bohumil Elias, Pavel Hlava, Jaromír Rybák, Ivana Šrámkova, Bertil Vallien, Lino Tagliapietra, Mark Peiser, and Hiroshi Yamano. The collection also has substantial holdings in drawing, painting and sculpture by such influential artists as Fernando Botero, Arshile Gorky, Jennifer Bartlett, and Andy Warhol.

  
  The museums aside, Cafesjian also personally collects art with a passion and enjoys living with and varying the displays of the pieces he owns. With this aim in mind, Cafesjian hired a Miami area designer to redesign his residence. When the job was nearing completion, Cafesjian saw a project completed by Bilotti in a unit on the floor above his in the same building. He became dissatisfied with his own designer, insisting that Bilotti’s work was a “ten,” while his unit was only a “two” at best. The fact that Cafesjian and Bilotti, though from different generations, grew up within five blocks of each other in Brooklyn may also have influenced Cafesjian’s decision to scrap his design plans and start anew.
     
Compounding the quandary of how to balance private living areas with display space worthy of such a collection, Bilotti knew instinctively that the space had to be expanded to include areas where one could sit and appreciate both the views and collections. Providing display elements was also tricky, as the collection was destined to be ever-changing, with pieces from the private collection constantly being placed on loan to museums throughout the world.

Bilotti set about removing the sculpted carpeting installed by the former designer and replacing it with the simple elegance of Italian marble floors that have a reflective quality that doesn’t distract from the main focus of the space — the art collection. Balconies were enclosed, enlarging the living space from 6,900 square feet to 9,000 square feet. Located on the 30th floor, the homeowners didn’t miss the open-air balconies, which were often too windy to enjoy. The dining room was doubled in size and the grand salon grew to a well-proportioned 40 x 50 square feet.

In the foyer, Bilotti commissioned Tommy Riley’s Artisans’ Guild of Bonita Springs to create and install lighted quarter round shelving to maximize display space on a stair step wall. The shelves are perfect for displaying smaller pieces that make a statement when grouped together. The tray ceiling boasts a Dale Chihuly chandelier illuminated by 40 lights around the perimeter of the interior. A piece by Chihuly, whose fantastic, often gravity-defying, chandeliers are on display in public places from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum to the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, (as well as Cafesjian’s own museum,) makes the perfect choice for illumination in the home of a glass connoisseur.
 
 
Marc Chagall’s La Fete a St. Paul hangs to the right of the entrance to the living room, while two prints by Expressionist Helen Frankenthaler hang between bay windows offering views to the Gulf of Mexico beyond. As in the rest of the home, Bilotti gave the living room a neutral palette of oatmeal, wheat, and lemon and incorporated texture into the space via the upholstery, soft furnishings, and wallpaper. The over-stuffed furniture has been arranged in groupings of varying size throughout the room and is exceedingly comfortable. A sense of whimsy was injected into the space with a coffee table shaped as an artist’s palette. Bilotti also placed antique tables throughout the space, and a table comprised of a tall glass cube filled with sand and glass shells in various shapes and colors created by Chihuly.

In the dining room, Bilotti installed a table of two carved stone bases topped with glass and surrounded it with eight armchairs upholstered in soft oatmeal leather. Above is a second chandelier by Chihuly, incorporating two tons of steel, that casts an ambient glow upon the diners below. On the rear wall stand three inverted triangle Italian etageres offering further display space.

At the end of the dining room is a hallway offering a westward view of the Gulf. Here Bilotti created more opportunity for display by adding laminated multi-sided pedestals. Depending on the size and shape of the art pieces they are meant to display at any given time, the pedestals can stand tall or be laid on their sides. During the day, the hallway receives natural light via large windows, while in the evening it is lit by track lighting. A blue plate created by internationally celebrated Swedish glass artist and designer Bertil Vallien is lit from within.

Any successful collaboration is often a compromise. Where Bilotti advised that less is sometimes more, her client maintained that more is not enough. When furniture shopping, Bilotti often found herself forced to prevent the collector from collecting. In the end, harmony reigned supreme, both in the relationship between designer and client, and in the blend of sophisticated living space with dazzling artistic display.
 
     
     
By Kristine Hughes
Photo Credit: Dan Forer Photography

Janet Bilotti Interiors, Inc.
1786 Trade Center Way Ste 5
Naples, Florida 34109
Phone: 239-597-3636
www.JanetBilotti.com
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