From House To Home

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Interior designers Janet Rodriguez and Judy Stallcop like to play backward games. As owners of Innovative Interiors Inc. in Nampa, the women have been perfecting these backward games since they began working together in 1995. Naturally, they finish each other’s sentences.

A backward game, according to the creative designers, involves reviewing each decision to judge it against the whole. They begin outside with the façade, and they carry the palette through the architecture and into the smallest detail.

Sometimes, backward games can take on wild proportions, as is the case with these Nampa home-owners, who needed to incorporate their personal collection of trophy mounts into a classic backdrop of custom woods and clean lines. The home’s beautiful locale on a nearly 2-acre parcel offers panoramic views from the Owyhee Mountains to the Bogus Basin with a glimpse of Lake Lowell as well. With Mother Nature’s grandeur and life-size stuffed animals as "accessories," the home rests at the intersection where art and architecture meet the natural world.

Builder Robert "Butch" Myers used architect Phillip Reitz’s blueprint as a jump-off point. Reitz had already taken careful measurements to site the home on the lot, but from here, the builder and the "backward gamers" began to relocate windows, rethink the lighting specs, and integrate the new roofline. They carefully infused each room with a sophisticated, casual ambiance that showcases the talents of everybody involved.

Crediting their clients with the spirit of adventure, Rodriguez and Stallcop convinced them to scrap the Brazilian cherrywood that they intended for the hardwood floors and to replace it with a brown-toned walnut, which better supports the palette. Strong, natural elements such as a stacked-stone, wood-framed hearth; double-edged bullnose granite countertops in the kitchen; and porcelain and tumbled marble in the bathrooms will age as gracefully as they’ve begun. "You can change a lot of little things, but for the lines of the project, we encourage timelessness," says Stallcop.

High ceilings and open circulation utilize arched passageways for transition from room to room, and because Myers does his own woodwork, he finished each one in custom trim as well as thick moldings above and below. Some woods are painted, and some are stained, so the designers united the two finishes by combining paint and stain on the risers, steps, and banister of the centrally located staircase.

They carefully infused each room with a sophisticated, casual ambiance that showcases the talents of everybody involved.

The design creates a catwalk above the great room, but the kitchen is a focal point of the main level. Here, the owners got their cherrywood. The cherry cabinets are arranged around a pair of islands, one of which acts as an eating area. The other completes the work triangle. Santa Cecilia granite, amber pendant lights, and detailed lines lend sensibility. The full scope of the room is judged from the perspective beyond the arched entry. Standing in the great room, it’s as if the space is captured in an elaborate wooden picture frame.

Despite its "wow factor," defining the kitchen as the focal point may be misleading—the rest of the home offers the same precision and attention to detail. And the pristine views are captivating, so the home’s best feature may actually be the changing palette of the endless sky just outside the glass. Shuttered blinds and silhouette shades add just enough intrigue without covering the glass.

The façade relies on stone and stucco to create what the owners describe as a European aesthetic. But the real trick of Reitz’s design was the way the back of the home has as much detail and movement as the front. Balconies off the children’s bedrooms create shaded alcoves below. The owners have put the space to good use by finishing them as patio areas. From the balconies, it’s all about the view.

Given this home’s excellent location, strong foundation, and complete integration, the owners may just develop a habit of backward glancing all their own.