All the Right Ingredients

One of the first purchases homeowners Mary McDonald made for the house was a medallion that she commissioned sculptor Stan Bitters to create for the front entrance.

- Paige Porter Fischer

"I put it by the front door so that you could see it through the window," she says. "It's double-sided, so it can be enjoyed walking up to the house or from inside."

Raili Clasen is a natural matchmaker. "I love unpredictable pairings," says the Newport Beach-based designer. "So many people are terrified of mixing two different woods in the same space, but I love nothing more. It's organic. It feels lived in and layered when it's unexpected. To me, the element of surprise in a house is what makes it sing."

So, when Mary McDonald hired Clasen to design her family's brand new, modern-eclectic house in Laguna Beach, California, the designer knew she would need to prove her theory that opposites do, in fact, attract. "The structure itself was very contemporary-think fixed steel beams, board-formed concrete walls, terrazzo floors, and metal windows," she says. "But Mary is a potter, a talented artist with eclectic taste, a lively personality. [She] has a real sense of nostalgia for the 1970s. So I suggested we take all the warm elements of that erathe wood grains, the earthy tones, the playful patterns and textures and have a little fun. Mary smiled and said, 'Don't hold back. Let's do it. Nothing is too wild or crazy for me.""

Clasen was inspired. She knew that the antidote to all the structure's industrial elements would be adding plenty of hand-formed elements, from handmade tile to one-of-akind ceramic pieces-including ones from Mary's own "Double M" collection, as well as works of art by noted sculptor Stan Bitters. She would soften the hard edges with organic shapes, a warm color palette, and nostalgic patterns. And, of course, she would bring in as much wood as possible.