WHAT STAYS, WHAT CHANGES WITH STEPHANIE WIOTT DESIGNS
curated, livable luxury
by Carie McMichael | photos by Sarah Shields Photography
Every remodel begins with the scrutiny of a designer’s gaze. Not to impose a new identity, but to open a dialogue between past and present that preserves its character while reimagining it for modern living.
The Reigner home was already a winsome hearth of curated living. Designer Stephanie Wiott, who describes the home holding an “artsand-crafts kind of vibe,” worked closely with the homeowners to elevate their beautiful space to its full potential.
For the past 25 years, Wiott has been helping Indiana homeowners realize their homes’ potential. “We do remodels, but we also do a ton of full-on new-construction homes,” Wiott says. “As far as our aesthetic goes, I think we’ve been called a little bit on the whimsical side, but with livable luxury. We really focus on the family and their needs. Make sure that it’s not only beautiful, but very functional.”
For the Reigner remodel, Wiott set out to do just that, bringing the space into the 2020s with an aesthetic that balances her enchanting style with the family’s functionality. The home already sported large windows that bathed the interiors in natural light and possessed a wealth of inherent, albeit dated, utility: a practical mudroom, a spacious laundry room, and modest office space. The striking fireplace in the living room remained untouched, with the contractor crafting custom built-ins on site, adding storage to the space.
The kitchen, however, was no longer meeting the homeowners’ needs. Before the remodel, the kitchen was a blend of an island and an L-shaped layout, which had started feeling disjointed. In addition to changing the island itself, the homeowners also wanted to add a scullery pantry, which is a popular solution for concealing counter clutter.
“We moved some walls, and changed some openings and things like that to make it more of a symmetrical, higher level design that’s very functional,” Wiott says. “It was just such a big, beautiful space with so much natural light that wasn’t taken advantage of in the way it could have been.”
In one of the most dramatic transformations of the remodel, Wiott gave the front hall entrance a full facelift to anchor expectations from the first step over the threshold. The solid entry doors were replaced by a pair of French doors, inviting natural light to bathe the front hall. Dark, moody flooring was replaced by light oak flooring. The Craftsman-inspired staircase became a more organic contemporary-modern style with cleaner lines and lighter wood. The neutral palette sets the mood for the rest of the remodel with warm whites, oak, brass, and muted taupe textiles, creating a serene, high-end atmosphere.
Wiott’s remodel heightens the style of an already beautiful home, transforming inherent opulence into livable luxury. True luxury isn’t about chasing every new trend; it’s about creating a home that supports the way you live while reflecting your unique point of view. When thoughtful craftsmanship, enduring materials, and meaningful details take precedence over fleeting fads, the result is an interior that feels as relevant years from now as it does today.
“I think it’s hard sometimes to stay focused, given all the things that are out there, and all the places there are to look for inspiration,” Wiott says. “Whether it be Instagram, or Pinterest, or someone else’s home. Mood boards are good, but it comes down to what works for you and your family, and not getting pulled into whatever is trending, resulting in something timeless and trustworthy.”
THE PRETENDER: THE SOUND OF THEN
by Darcie Duranceau | photos by The Addison Group
NOBLESVILLE, INDIANA, MAY BE THE LAST PLACE YOU’D EXPECT TO FIND THE FUTURE OF LISTENING. THAT’S EXACTLY WHY IT WORKS.
Before the drink arrives, before anyone says a word, the room does something to you. The bass finds your chest. The midrange saturates the air. And somewhere in the back of your brain, a door opens onto a decade you may have never actually lived through—but somehow remember anyway.
That’s the whole idea.
Blake Fogelsong has been chasing that feeling across listening bars from the Washington D.C. to San Diego, cataloguing it the way a record collector catalogs first pressings—obsessively, reverently, with the quiet certainty that it matters. Now he’s building it from scratch in a 130-yearold building two blocks from his father’s front door, and they’re calling it The Pretender, after the Jackson Browne song that today’s nostalgic generation would happily claim as their own.
“The sound… the feeling of the sound hits you in a different way,” says Fogelsong. He doesn’t elaborate. He doesn’t need to.
The Pretender is a hi-fi cocktail lounge—the kind of place the ’60s and ’70s invented and the algorithm forgot. Fogelsong, third-generation steward of Clancy’s Hospitality, brought in Uncanned Music, Chicago’s foremost architects of sound-as-experience, and Loree O. Everette of PHANOMEN/ design, the interior design team that has been translating the Fogelsong family’s instincts into rooms for a decade. They’ve each been tasked to answer the question: How do we meld old and new to create a space that has a life of its own?
The design team’s answer lives in the details. Earthy textures. Electric hues. Warm wood and bold pattern and with that particular amber glow of a bygone, beloved era. Everette wanted guests to feel as though they’d left the world behind and “walked into a whole new thing.”
The showstopper of the room is a custom concrete bar top fabricated by Matt Vieck of VIECK Concrete Studio. Designed in tandem with PHANOMEN/ design, the unique bar top features an integrated fiber-optic effect, a labor of love that required months of meticulous mockups and fine-tuning to perfect.
The millwork, executed by Fine Line Millwork, wraps around a sound system that Uncanned Music specified with the precision of a studio engineer—Tannoy Cheviot and Eaton speakers, McIntosh amplifiers, Void Acoustics subwoofers encased in custom cabinetry and finished in granite, invisible as infrastructure but impossible to ignore. A refurbished Akai GX-series reel-to-reel runs on a continuous loop. Two Technics SL-1200 turntables anchor the DJ booth, where local talent will spin vinyl Wednesday through Saturday. The room is the instrument.
What The Pretender refuses to be is precious about any of it. This isn’t a shrine. It isn’t a museum. While the design is influenced by the decade of disco, the concept reaches back past the hushed, audiophile listening rooms of the ’60s to the original kissa lounges of 1920s Japan. This is based on the communal spaces, alive with shared discovery, built on the radical notion that music is something you experience together. Yet, this isn’t a 1920s kissa lounge. It’s more than that. “It’s not for the audiophiles,” says Everette. “This is a communal, human-centric environment with hand-selected music where guests experience nostalgia combined with new discoveries.”
In 2026, that reads less like a concept and more like a correction. Put your phone down. Feel something. Do it in a room full of other people feeling it too.
BEHIND THE WALLS OF A WELL BUILT HOME
by Darcie Duranceau | photos by 360 Tour Designs
WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE IN A G&G CUSTOM HOME IS OFTEN WHAT MATTERS MOST
The true measure of a home lies in the quiet victories of its invisible work—the meticulous engineering hidden right behind the drywall.
For Joe Garcia, owner of G&G Custom Homes, the structure of the home ranks as highly as its aesthetic design. “People always want the pretty homes,” says Garcia. “What’s most important to me is what’s behind the walls that people can’t really see.”
Long before framing begins, the invisible architecture starts at the earth. Interior and exterior perimeter drainpipes are meticulously laid to redirect water entirely away from the footings and into a sump pump, establishing a dry, rock-solid foundation that sets the tone for everything built above it.
From there, the team constructs a highly advanced building envelope. Every single exterior penetration—from wiring and plumbing to HVAC lines—is sealed tight before installing a specialized, shredded fiberglass “bib” insulation system that presses flush around every surface. The result is a house that completely eliminates drafts and breathes on its own terms.
Because a tightly sealed home needs fresh air, G&G custom-engineers the HVAC and ductwork configuration for each specific floor plan to actively draw in outside air and keep interiors from going stale—a detail most homeowners never think about until they’ve lived without it. Multi-zone climate control is standard: at minimum, separate systems for the main floor, upper level, and basement, each on its own thermostat. In larger homes, that number of separate zones can climb to five.
“There’s never one room that’s too cold or too hot,” says Garcia—a sentence that sounds simple yet represents years of intentional engineering.
Tankless water heaters with recirculating lines, sound-mitigating insulation between floors and rooms, and low-E windows round out what Garcia calls “the non-negotiables.” These features are not optional additions; they’re included in every home G&G builds.
“That’s just what we do,” says Garcia. “If you’re coming to me, this is how we’re building your house. And then we put in all the pretty stuff.” Budget conversations at G&G are reserved for the visible choices: countertops, cabinetry, audio-video systems.
Not all invisible luxuries are for today’s immediate enjoyment. Some are designed knowing that life has unexpected events and homes evolve with the owners. G&G integrates elements like pre-run audio wires, hidden flush-mounted phone chargers, pre-run wiring for potential solar installations, and whole-house backup generators to address potential future needs. This obsessive attention to detail stems from Garcia’s core motivation; he refuses to build to the average luxury standards, which prioritize temporary cosmetic trends over long-term functionality. For G&G, raising the standard is about anticipation— ensuring the home performs flawlessly not just on move-in day, but for every decade that follows.
The measure of all of it, Garcia says, isn’t felt on move-in day. It’s felt across years—in the absence of hot spots and cold corners, in the utility bill that doesn’t sting, in the quiet upstairs where a book gets read or a show gets watched while rambunctious life carries on in the basement below.
“In a home that’s not properly built,” says Garcia, “you’re seeing deficiencies in how it was built over time.” G&G builds to make sure that there truly are invisible luxuries.
get in touch
15530 Shining Spring Drive
Westfield, Indiana 46074
ACTIVATION
by Bailey Shelton | photos by Adam Grubb Media
A COMMUNITY SPACE BUILT TO LAST ALONG THE NICKEL PLATE TRAIL
Craftsmanship connects a space directly to the culture of a community, and often only a skilled hand is up to the task.
Ben Driskell, owner of FLATMADE Concrete Co., is particularly connected to Delaware Township, the area off of IN-37 between Fishers and Noblesville. This is a hometown for Driskell, and his family has been involved with the township for over 20 years. This close tie to the community, combined with FLATMADE’s reputation for excellence, made the decision easy for Meyer Najem as they awarded contracts for a new park development attached to the Delaware Township Community Center.
“In working with Ben, I noticed he’s very passionate about what he does,” says Micah Reid, job superintendent of Meyer Najem. Reid oversaw the day-to-day of the community center project.
The park surrounding the community center acts as a gateway to the Nickel Plate trailhead, a heritage trail leading into Fishers’ Nickel Plate district, marking the former path of a rail line by the same name. The vision for this area included permanent installation of concrete Ping-Pong tables, permanent swing sets that mimic wood but are far more durable to Indiana’s changing weather, and custom stamped sidewalks to resemble railroad tracks.
“Every time FLATMADE would come onto the project, their people were very professional,” says Reid. “Sometimes we needed to get some things done that weren’t necessarily on their list, and Ben did a good job of stepping up and filling in the gaps where we needed.”
“The biggest part that stands out to me personally is the railroad tracks that lead you into the space. Ben and his team have done a great job designing that, working with our architects, making sure that we can see that vision come to reality,” says Jordan Webber, senior project manager at Meyer Najem.
For other concrete companies, this would be a tall order. The skill required to craft unique pieces like the ping-pong tables from concrete include patience, a steady hand, and an eye for detail. FLATMADE employed a customized stamp process for this project— a mixture of finish and textures transform concrete into the wooden railroad ties, smooth metal rails, and the gravel ballast underneath.
“The actual stamps were handcrafted in our shop for a true one-of-a-kind pattern you won’t find anywhere else,” says Driskell.
“What it took to get those ping-pong tables done was a very large undertaking,” says Reid. “As far as how it blends in with the landscape, I think once people start to experience it and use it, it’ll be a very good asset to the park.”
The space officially opened to the public this spring, and already is a mainstay of the community. What was once undeveloped land is now a gateway to the trailhead, and a durable gathering ground for locals to enjoy.
get in touch
15290 Allisonville Road
Noblesville, Indiana 46060
THE ART OF PERSONALIZATION
photos by The Home Aesthetic
WHY TODAY’S MOST DESIRABLE HOMES BEGIN NOT WITH A FLOOR PLAN, BUT WITH THE PEOPLE WHO WILL LIVE THERE.
LUXURY HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY PERSONAL
For years, exceptional homes were measured by their size, their finishes, or the prestige of their address. Today, those qualities are simply the expectation. What distinguishes a remarkable home is something less tangible: the feeling that every space was designed with intention, that every room reflects the people who live there, and that the architecture responds as thoughtfully to everyday routines as it does to special occasions.
THAT PHILOSOPHY HAS DEFINED ESTRIDGE HOMES FOR DECADES
Founded on the belief that no two homeowners should have to settle for the same home, Estridge pioneered an approach to semi-custom building that places individuality at the center of the design process. Their philosophy—Different by Design—extends beyond architecture. It reflects a commitment to creating homes that are tailored to the lives unfolding within them while also developing neighborhoods where people genuinely want to live. Over the years, that approach has resulted in more than 8,000 homes throughout Central Indiana, each shaped by thoughtful planning, enduring craftsmanship, and a focus on community.
Unlike production building, where personalization often means selecting from a limited menu of finishes, Estridge approaches design as a collaborative process. Floor plans evolve around family routines. The result is a home that feels less like a collection of rooms and more like a reflection of the people who inhabit it.
THAT PHILOSOPHY COMES TO LIFE INSIDE THE MIDDLETON MODEL HOME
Rather than serving as a showcase of fleeting trends, the home demonstrates the power of timeless design. Warm natural materials, carefully layered textures, generous sightlines, and abundant natural light create spaces that feel sophisticated yet approachable. Every architectural detail, from the scale of the rooms to the transitions between living spaces, reinforces a sense of comfort without sacrificing refinement.
THE EXPERIENCE EXTENDS BEYOND THE ARCHITECTURE ITSELF
Every Estridge neighborhood is planned with the same level of intention found inside the homes. Walkable streets, parks, trails, and amenity-rich environments are carefully considered to encourage connection long after move-in day. Their neighborhoods are designed to balance architectural diversity with a shared sense of place that gives each community its own identity.
Personalization continues at Studio E, Estridge’s dedicated design studio, where homeowners work alongside experienced design consultants to curate the finishes, materials, fixtures, and details that transform a well-designed house into a deeply personal home.
The finest homes aren’t defined by the finishes selected or the square footage achieved. They’re remembered for something much more enduring. They feel as though they could only have been built for the people who call them home.
DESIGNED FOR PEOPLE
by Melanie Brewer | photos by Tess Lawyer-Smith, and courtesy of realtor Dawn Pollard & Rob Reed
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AFTER ITS FIRST HOMES WERE BUILT, THE VILLAGE OF WESTCLAY OFFERS A CHANCE TO MEASURE AN AMBITIOUS DESIGN IDEA AGAINST TIME.
On a summer evening, the Village Green starts to fill before the concert begins. Children weave between lawn chairs. Neighbors stop to talk on their way to the concert. Someone slips into the bookstore before finding a place on the lawn. Another arrives with ice cream in hand.
The scene feels natural. That is the point.
New neighborhoods are often judged when the landscaping is fresh and the vision still exists largely on paper. WestClay has had 25 years to grow into its plan.
Developed by Brenwick beginning in the late 1990s, the Village was conceived by developers George Sweet and Tom Huston around a concept still unfamiliar in suburban Indiana: a Traditional Neighborhood Development designed to make it easier for people to walk, gather, and know their neighbors.
Much of suburban growth at the time followed a different pattern. Homes sat behind deep front yards with garages facing the street. Shopping and offices were separated from residential neighborhoods, often by large parking lots. Most daily routines required a car.
WestClay borrowed from older American towns instead, placing homes closer to sidewalks and tucking garages and parking behind buildings. Front porches faced the street. Parks and public spaces became central pieces of the plan, while shops, restaurants, offices, and homes shared the same community.
Before construction gained momentum, Sweet and Huston took builders around the country to visit other traditional neighborhood developments. Seeing completed communities firsthand helped builders understand how the principles translated from a master plan to daily life.
Former Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard saw WestClay as part of a broader shift in how Carmel was thinking about growth.
“Cities have spent decades investing in infrastructure for automobiles. Carmel chose to invest in infrastructure for people. Whether that’s trails, public spaces, mixed-use neighborhoods, or projects like WestClay, the objective has always been the same: create places where daily life is richer because people have more opportunities to interact with one another,” says Brainard. A quarter century later, WestClay can be measured against those early intentions.
Former Executive Director Jeff Terp, who has lived in the Village for more than 20 years, says walkability was central to the plan from the beginning.
“The design intent was always to create a walkable community,” Terp says. “You should be able to walk to your doctor, your dentist, your bookstore, your hardware store, and your bank.”
The plan put that idea into physical form. More than six miles of trails run through the community, and parks and green spaces were distributed so residents would be within about a seven-minute walk of nature. More than 200,000 square feet of commercial space was integrated into the Village rather than separated from it.
MATCHING HISTORIC CONTEXT
Architecture was another part of the plan, not simply a layer applied to it. Across 17 neighborhoods, homes draw from styles found in Indiana from the late 1800s through the early 20th century. Victorian, Georgian, and Gothic influences sit alongside one another, creating variety within a shared architectural language.
Keeping that language intact has required active stewardship. Today, exterior changes like replacement windows, new or renovated fences, repainting, and accessory dwellings go before the Village’s Architectural Review Board. The board includes a professional architect hired by the Board of Directors, along with resident members of the committee.
Using the village covenants and residential building guidelines, the ARB reviews proposed changes for compliance with village standards and may request revisions before approving a project. As part of the review, residents must consider the historic style of the individual home and ensure that proposed changes remain consistent with its architectural characteristics.
The process offers one explanation for why WestClay has remained visually consistent without standing still. Homes can change with the people who live in them, but those changes take place within a framework intended to protect the character of the surrounding streets and neighborhoods.
Terp says a group that toured WestClay during its early years returned decades later and remarked on its architectural consistency. The Village had maintained its original character, they told him.
Other parts of the plan did change.
MEETING CHANGING NEEDS
WestClay grew through two recessions and a banking crisis. A large grocery store once envisioned for the commercial area never materialized. Portions of the commercial plan shifted instead toward restaurants and services residents could use close to home. Development also took longer than Sweet and Huston originally expected.
WestClay did not endure because every element of the original plan happened exactly as drawn. Its 25- year history is also a story of adaptation: knowing which ideas to protect and where the plan could change.
Today, Executive Director Jennifer Hillman sees the results of those decisions in ordinary moments.
“People know their neighbors,” Hillman says. “They know the children. They know the dogs.”
She also notices how the experience of the Village changes with the seasons. Sidewalks and trails pass ponds, green spaces, and mature landscaping. Flowering trees and shrubs soften the streets in spring.
“You walk through the neighborhood and smell the lilacs,” Hillman says. “It affects all of your senses.”
The social life of WestClay has grown alongside the physical community. Summer concerts, seasonal festivals, coffee groups, book clubs, dinner clubs, volunteer groups, and porch gatherings give residents reasons to cross paths.
“We really focus on creating experiences that bring people together,” says Sally Cutler, director of communications and resident services.
There is another measure of longevity that is harder to capture in a master plan: how often residents choose the Village again. Some families have moved as many as five times within WestClay as their needs changed. Others have left and later returned. Village leadership has counted dozens of intergenerational family connections, with grandparents, parents, and adult children choosing to live near one another.
For Brainard, the lesson extends beyond WestClay.
“For decades, many communities measured success by how quickly people could drive from one place to another. Carmel challenged itself to ask a different question: How do we create places where people actually want to be? Projects like WestClay helped demonstrate that when we prioritize people, walkability, and thoughtful design, we create communities that remain vibrant for generations,” says Brainard.
WestClay is not a perfect preservation of its original plan, nor should it be. After 25 years, it is more useful as a study in what held, what changed, and what daily life looks like after the renderings and sales brochures are put away.
For Terry O’Brien, a resident and president of the Village of WestClay Owners Association, its success is best measured in the ordinary moments the community’s design makes possible.
“I hope people find themselves lingering over coffee with friends, browsing a neighborhood bookstore without watching the clock, or watching kids ride their bikes to the ice cream parlor,” O’Brien says. “The Village of WestClay captures that spirit not only through its architecture and design, but through the people who live here and the community they’ve built together.”
The architecture is what visitors may notice first. The life between the buildings is the better measure of what endured.
THE YEAR-ROUND COURTYARD
by Bailey Shelton | photos by Sarah Shields Photography; Rendering courtesy of Loren Wood Builders
HOW MIDWESTERN DESIGNERS ARE TAKING INSPIRATION FROM THE CLASSIC MEDITERRANEAN HOME FEATURE
If the favorite home designs of Indiana’s neighborhoods are any indication, it’s clear Midwestern designers are taking notes from their Mediterranean counterparts. European farmhouses, Italianate motifs, and Mediterranean retreats dominate neighborhoods like Promontory and Wild Air. In the 2025 Home-A-Rama showcase, located in Chatham Hills, aaNovo stole the show with their wellness-based home design, which included a year-round residential courtyard at the heart of the property.
“We love creating spaces that allow people to unplug and slowdown from the busyness of life,” says Abbey Robertson, co-founder and principal designer of aaNovo. “This courtyard was designed to blur the line between indoors and out, creating a private space for rest and connection.”
The benefits of courtyards extends beyond aesthetics. In hot and humid climates (think Indiana in late July), courtyards provide air circulation, all-day shade, and ease up a home’s reliance on central air for cooling.
According to one study published by Scientific Reports in 2025, there are some variables based on insulation, window-to-wall ratio, and courtyard orientation that can move the efficiency needle one way or the other. However, “Collectively, recent evidence positions the courtyard as quality-of-life infrastructure—linking thermal moderation, view quality, daylight, and privacy—within a robust spatial framework for climate-responsive residential design.”
Courtyards create a “microclimate,” which essentially means the environment within the courtyard behaves differently than the surrounding landscape. This could mean a difference in average temperature, wind, daylight, and even humidity created by the enclosed space of the courtyard.
In hot climates, the air circulation and shade created can lower the temperature and energy needs of adjacent rooms. For colder places, courtyards can be designed to minimize wind and insulate the building. In temperate climates, a circular courtyard like the one in Oregon’s Courtyard House, designed by No Architecture, meets both summer and winter in the middle, expanding daylight during shorter days and providing shade during the height of summer. This project is also slightly “burrowed” into its hillside, which breaks up wind as it hits the home and doubles as extra insulation.
One case study examined the Courtyard of the Maidens in the Royal Alcazar of Seville, Spain, over the course of three years. The group routinely gathered data on humidity and ambient temperature, concluding not only that the historic Seville courtyard’s microclimate regulated temperatures, but also that overall the design of the space minimized stress to the heritage plasterwork and decorative elements, meaning that part of the building was more resilient over time.
In a related concept, David Watts, landscape designer at Loren Wood Builders, refers to their individual outdoor spaces as “outdoor rooms.” For Watts, whether it’s the back patio, the front stoop, the garden outside an office space, or an enclosed courtyard next to a laundry room, these outdoor rooms behave as their own living space with functionality and environmental factors to balance.
In one recent project near Columbus, Indiana, the Loren Wood team designed a modern residential into a hilltop, with courtyards opening up on two wings of the home. A statue in one of the courtyards offers a reflective moment and focal point for the neighboring laundry room and home gym, while the other courtyard provides a private entrance to the owner’s home office. According to Watts, the design language of the courtyard had to clue people in on its intended use.
“Being so close to the guest parking area, we wanted to make sure there was no mistake that this was not the front door of the house…So using sandstone, natural stone as stepping stones through the garden area makes it a little more informal and still provides that access.”
The home itself is heavily informed by the surrounding landscape. Ernesto Castaneda, design principal at Loren Wood Builders, says he was inspired by the terrain in sketching up the linear design of the home.
“Landscape design just goes beyond planting and trees,” says Castaneda, “Obviously David has the vision of how to complement everything, but they go hand in hand. They are not pulling against each other.”
Although it is more modern by design, it does resemble the work of modern Mediterranean residentials. Tuckey Design, based in London, recently completed a Lake Como villa that speaks the same design language with its courtyard: a three wall layout flanked by glass hallway. The firm was handed an industrial shell, and with it they opened up the property to reflect the surrounding views. The courtyard between the kitchen and primary bedroom acts as a secondary dining space, and its companion between the living room and a secondary bedroom uses concrete pavers to connect to the pool and patio.
For Castaneda, courtyards feel second nature because of the homes he grew up in.
“I think in some ways it has to do with cultural background. I grew up with this as a normal part of my life, as little kids running around in Spain. For me this is just part of what we grew up with and we just simply incorporated it as part of our designs. I think we recognize and value these spaces as part of a good quality of life. I hope people see them as good design qualities.”
As midwestern homeowners continue to strive for a higher quality of life, we may yet see a continued interest in courtyards for residential properties, shifting what Americans see as must-haves for their home. With a boost to energy, air quality, and time spent outside, there seems to be little downside in exploring what courtyards can do.
THE ARCHITECTURE OF BRAVERY
by Darcie Duranceau | photos by Artists Archives
WHERE ART MEETS ENGINEERING
For British artist Arlon Bayliss, courage is more than a feeling—it is a physical requirement of the job. It took undeniable grit to show up without an interview appointment at the Royal College of Art with nothing but a suitcase and a portfolio, and it takes a similar kind of bravery to design massive structures that must stand tall against the unpredictable Indiana elements. This resilience is the backbone of his work, ensuring that every 30-foot installation is as structurally sound as it is visually striking.
Now three decades into his career, Bayliss is known for larger-than-life, gravity-defying installation art around the Indianapolis area and beyond. His public artworks include Grace, Love and Joy, a trio of 45-foot roses that gave an unnamed Carmel roundabout its own identity; Flight Wave, a 145-foot glass wall at the Indianapolis International Airport made in collaboration with his wife, Mary Jo; and a set of sculptures on 96th Street inspired by classic cars of Indiana. He has also brought public art to schools, working with students at Franklin Community High School to embed their own imagery into a stylized metal tree. Behind every piece stands his longtime fabrication partner, bo-mar Industries, whose engineers and craftsmen help translate Bayliss’ hand-built models into structures engineered to last.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE METHOD
Bayliss’ process has matured alongside his recognition in the Greater Indianapolis area. In his earlier years, he spent significant time responding to RFPs (Requests for Proposals), relying primarily on his own labor and the help of his former students to bring his visions to life. As his reputation grew, he moved from seeking work to being approached for major public commissions. This shift granted him the privilege of moving away from solo efforts to creating with the assistance of an entire team at bo-mar Industries.
This transition didn’t just change his scale; it redefined his timeline. While physical shop floor fabrication might take roughly 4–6 weeks, the digital engineering required to account for wind loads and structural integrity requires a 12–20 week lead time. During this window, every nut, bolt, and washer is digitally accounted for and the whole sculpture is computer stress-tested. This meticulous preparation is exactly why the final build and installation can happen quickly—the bravery of the design is backed by an ironclad plan.
Bayliss balances that heavy-duty engineering with a sense of grace inspired by the philosophy of Maya Lin. By first imagining the viewer’s emotional experience, he ensures that the designed reality of weight, steel, and light never loses its heart. To understand a Bayliss piece, look at how he bridges the gap between the creative spark and the technical precision of the final build; his work owes credit to both the artist and his engineer.
THE TECHNICAL INTEGRATION OF LIGHT
Bayliss treats light as strategically as his other materials. He views his glass and metal surfaces not merely as solid forms, but as filters and reflectors that dictate how colored light is distributed in the composition. Rather than simply illuminating the sculpture from the outside, he incorporates light into the very fabric of the work. As day turns to night, the piece evolves as the viewer moves around it.
To achieve this, he relies on the quiet precision of handmade models to study not only composition, but also the play of light in real time. Instead of colored LEDs, which he finds flat or artificial, he employs dichroic glass filters. As Bayliss explains, these filters possess subtle qualities that LEDs cannot match—a yellow piece of glass reflects purple, and a magenta piece reflects cyan. His manipulation of these filters creates shifts in color that exude from the project, ensuring the interaction between natural and artificial light remains sophisticated and responsive to the viewer’s movement.
ENVIRONMENTAL HARMONY AND THE LOCAL LEGACY
Bayliss puts an immense amount of thought into how his work enlivens its surrounding environment. For Flight Wave, a 145-foot glass wall at the Indianapolis International Airport, he collaborated with his wife, Mary Jo. They used hundreds of light-permeable glass chevrons to create a dance of color that reminds viewers of birds or paper airplanes in flight.
It is not always a play on light or an area’s architecture that must be considered. Some of his installations seem to grow directly from the landscape they inhabit. Bayliss speaks warmly of a project for a roundabout at Franklin Community High School, remarking that it was rather remote, “just a wooded area.”
“I had the students generate images that were indicative of their experiences, things that were important to them. And then we translated those images into cutouts.”
“I designed a stylized tree in sheets of metal, and then bo-mar cut through the metal to reveal the students’ silhouettes,” says Bayliss.
Transforming a neighborhood through public art reached a peak with the installation of three giant roses on a roundabout at Pennsylvania and Old Meridian in Carmel— a project he views as a love letter to the locals and a gift to the street. The piece stands an impressive 35 feet tall and 18 feet wide; a full-grown human can stand inside one of the glowing flowers. Known as Grace, Love and Joy, the sculpture’s impact was so significant that the surrounding area was affectionately renamed The Flower District.
The success of Bayliss’ public artwork rests in a mutual respect for collaboration between artist and fabricator. “My partnership with Bob Buchan and his team at bo-mar has made all the difference in the world,” he says. “I know in my bones that none of this would be possible without their courage and exceptional know-how.” Bo-mar has a team of 60 employees, including engineers, machine operators, welders, and installers. Nearly every one of them will have their hands on Bayliss’s pieces.
By bringing his work out of galleries or museums and into public spaces, viewers are no longer required to visit his work, instead he brings it to them. Through his vision and the skills of his fabricator, his public art becomes a cultural landmark, and a testament to the artist and the engineer working together in harmony.
COMFORT TODAY & TOMORROW
by Bailey Shelton | photos courtesy of MDF Italia
A SOFA DESIGNED FOR THE PRESENT AND FUTURE
Comfort, flexibility, ease of movement, and a clear vision of the full life cycle. These might be a vision for your health and wellness, but they’re also the guiding principles for an award-winning design from Snøhetta and MDF Italia.
MDF Italia is a home brand with a long history of modern Italian design: clean lines, modular feel, and bold colors. The fourth generation of the brand has taken the helm, and under their stewardship the brand is expanding that language.
“Bruno Fattorini, the founder of MDF Italia, started from the idea of creating one system that can seem simple but is complex inside,” says Marco Cassina, head of marketing at MDF Italia. “We have to keep the same vision in terms of product development, but we’re adding a kind of visual softness to bring into contemporary conversations.”
The Array modular sofa is one example of this thesis of evolution. Its design, in collaboration with Norwegian architecture and design firm Snøhetta, examines the root expectations we have for a sofa, and blends the comfort elements with functional and sustainable features—a completely customizable, snakelike modular system, lightweight, easily maneuverable sections, and soft layers for comfortable seating.
“Usually when you speak with a product designer they arrive to the first dialogue with sketches, details, or innovative materials… The approach that we had with Snøhetta started with a presentation that was almost sociological, ‘Why do people need a sofa?’ And the bigger question was, ‘What is comfort today?’” says Cassina.
The various intricacies of the Array have taken MDF Italia’s design beyond similar modular sofas and into the winning spot of the ADI Compasso d’Oro, one of the most prestigious awards in Italian design. This year, the Array has appeared at the Salone del Mobile in Milan and Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design, among others. Although MDF Italia distributes their furniture globally, the Array can be found a little closer to home via Haute Living’s Chicago showroom.
On his way to accept the Compasso d’Oro, Marius Myking of Snøhetta told an interviewer, “Production itself is obviously an incredibly important part of the entire sustainability picture, but we need to look to a much bigger degree into the entire ecosystem. It’s not just the object itself; it’s how it’s going to be used, and for how long it’s going to be used.”
Snøhetta is most recognized for its work at a larger scale: They are responsible for the angular exterior of the Oslo Opera House, which resembles an iceberg sinking into the sea. In 2017, they designed the revamped pedestrian plazas in New York’s Times Square. Most recently, they’ve made headlines for their design of the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, which reflects the former president’s legacy of environmental advocacy through natural materials that blend into the surrounding landscape.
More than an architectural firm, Snøhetta brings the same architectural design principles to their product design. A sofa isn’t simply a sofa, it’s all the expectation that the furniture encompasses.
“We felt very strong synergy with the brand philosophy of Snøhetta in terms of the approach to their work. They put a lot of meaning inside every single thing that they do,” says Cassina.
The Array distinguishes itself from other modular designs by using sustainability principles as a baseline for long-term use. Each of the interlocking sections can be removed and replaced individually, and covers are unique to each piece as well. If a glass of wine spills or damage is caused, a single section can be repaired without replacing the whole sofa. MDF Italia has recently expanded the line to include outdoor options for the textile covers.
In terms of production, the sofa meets sustainability best practices by using recycled materials for its hollowed hard plastic body— hollow so that each section is lightweight for easy moving, plastic to make good use of materials that don’t biodegrade easily. The result is a modern, sleek centerpiece designed with its full lifetime in mind.
RETURN TO MAIN STREET
by Bailey Shelton | photos by Adam Grubb Media
HOW HISTORIC DOWNTOWNS ARE HANDLING RENEWED INTEREST
Chain stores, mail order catalogs, and malls—these three were prime suspects in the death of Main Street USA, according to Miles Orvell in his 2012 book, The Death and Life of Main Street. The simple formula of convenience and the one-stop-shop drew away the crowd even before Amazon or drop shipping came on the scene.
Now, though, renewed interest in Main Street living is making suburban municipalities rethink downtown investment, and reframe the ways they plan for future growth.
In one extreme example, a restored three-bedroom, three-bath home on Pine Street in Zionsville was recently listed for over $1 million. According to a home report from Century 21 Scheetz, the same property was listed for $325,000 in 2015.
“The closer to Main Street the better for a lot of people. In fact, Main Street is attractive, and block by block, people like to be as close as possible,” says Gary Angstadt, realtor at 21 Century Scheetz. Angstadt has sold homes in the Zionsville area for over 20 years, and he’s seen the changing tide of its housing market. “22 years ago, when I started selling homes in Zionsville, a $1 million house was very unusual, but just in the past few months, two houses have closed at $1.65 million.”
PLANNING FOR DOWNTOWN RESURGENCE
South of Indy in Bargersville, a new strategic development plan promises to deliver a shiny new multiuse thoroughfare that aims to feed traffic from State Road 144 to their historic downtown. As it stands, Bargersville’s latest growth spurt comes with the addition of an outdoor event space called Umbarger Plaza. However, Bargersville continues to grow, and the city needed a more comprehensive plan in place for commercial, mixed-use, and multifamily development.
“There was some momentum coming to the town. There was interest from outside parties of ‘Hey, we’d like to invest here, but there was no plan for them to reference,” says Drew Braley,’ the principal from Browning Day who ran point on the Bargersville plan. “They wanted to control what that might look like as opposed to just saying yes to everybody that came to town.”
Bargersville’s cultural history is heavily tied to the railroad track that runs through its historic downtown and the agricultural landscape of the surrounding area. The Umbarger family is one of the key stakeholders that Browning Day consulted as part of their planning project; they own several downtown properties and active businesses in the area, including large silos that are a fixture of the Bargersville landscape.
The vision put forth for Bargersville is twofold: First, they’re trying to attract more mixed-use and multifamily residential projects. Currently, over 90% of their housing stock is single family, and they’re looking to flip that ratio to 80-20 by 2040. Second, they’re wanting to build up more along State Road 144, driving that corridor to connect into downtown, but keeping truck traffic away from Main Street. Their hope with new investments is to make room for the new residents Bargersville’s downtown is attracting while also maximizing their investment in downtown development.
A couple miles down State Road 144 in Johnson County, Franklin is one of the more coveted downtowns in Indiana, with its preserved 1890s commercial facades, treelined streets, and sprawling parks system connected to Franklin College. This fall, Franklin plays host to the Preserving Historic Places conference with Indiana Landmarks.
From afar, it might seem like Franklin is the pinnacle of downtown success, but to hear their Community Development Director Krista Linke describe it, their downtown has been a labor of love over 25 years in the making. In 2003, the first strategic plan Linke worked on was approved by the city, and by 2009 it was followed up by their Gateways and Greenways plan, which became the blueprint for the major downtown corridors of Franklin.
“Every year, we just ticked off one or two phases of that Gateways and Greenways plan,” Linke says.
One of the first major tasks taken on at the time was in direct response to major flooding that hit downtown Franklin in 2008. The city established the Franklin Development Corporation, which acquired and demolished 89 homes affected by the floodwaters. Today, the FDC still acquires one or two blighted properties each year and redevelops them, in a strategy that encourages neighbors to feel more pride and ownership of their neighborhood.
The city also acquired a federal block grant to address their aging water, drainage, and sewerage infrastructure. The memory of that flood has yet to fade for the city, and their new amphitheater is designed with ample drainage and sealing in the event of a flood.
The most direct impact of that Gateways and Greenways plan, however, can actually be seen simply by driving into Franklin from the I-65 interchange. A truck route moves traffic around downtown Franklin and connects I-65 to State Road 31 to the north. This keeps larger vehicles from downtown Franklin’s narrow streets and decorative streetlamps, saving the city millions in damages and upkeep.
“We did a brick wall restoration on North Main Street and it got hit by a semi twice in two years,” Linke says. “We worked a really long time with Google and trucking navigation companies to get that updated to route trucks away from downtown.”
This effort was made possible through a relinquishment project with INDOT, where the city of Franklin received $14 million to take responsibility over Jefferson Street, their main corridor that also happens to be State Road 44.
“[INDOT’s] primary purpose is to move traffic, it’s not pedestrians,” says Linke. “We had a mayor at the time that was very involved in getting that relinquishment project done.”
Many of Indiana’s main streets sit along state roads, which different communities have tackled in a variety of ways over the years. In Westfield, Main Street is also State Road 32. In their Downtown Westfield Master Plan, their goal for the city involved making major thoroughfares like Main Street feel more pedestrian friendly and connecting over six districts of the city through greenways and multimodal routes.
“Our job was to create a place that is recognized as a downtown but also stitches together the prior planning efforts of others so that it’s a cohesive story,” says Christine Pearson, associate principal at Browning Day. “We don’t want to abandon or ignore the good work other people have done. We wanted to embrace it and bring it into a wider vision for downtown.”
Westfield, like other parts of Hamilton County, is in high demand in terms of housing, and like most of the state, the city is starting to look at ways of incorporating mixed-use and multifamily developments. For Westfield, this means plans for infill housing and slow, long-term replacement of dilapidated buildings with new builds as needed.
“One way to create a downtown that’s really lively and active is to create a place people want to live,” Pearson says. She mentioned there are tax rate benefits for mixing in diverse housing types, but it also gives current residents a closer-knit community as new neighbors move in nearby.
Similarly to Bargersville’s connection with agricultural structures, Westfield’s historic architectural language and old-growth tree canopy were important to the community as the area continues to grow. Those two elements drove the architectural guidelines that Browning Day put forward.
Pearson says, “Connecting the wants and needs of the city with our perspective, we asked, ‘what can we build into the architecture of the site that supports the image that they want to see?’”
COMMUNITIES ON THE RISE
While bigger towns around Central Indiana are trying to shape the renewed interest in downtown to last for the next twenty years and beyond, other communities are starting to see interest turn their way as well. Carmel inspires Westfield, Greenfield inspires Bargersville, a project in Tipton reflects one in Columbus.
Some downtown developments can begin through state and national block grants, especially in communities with fewer than 50,000 residents that suit certain income requirements; that’s where Indiana Main Street and the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) come into play. OCRA processes $32 million in grants each year. Beyond funding, they also run an accreditation program called Indiana Main Street, where Main Street organizations in smaller towns can network and gain access to state resources.
OCRA Executive Director Fred Glynn says that it seems like now more than ever people are wanting to get back to that sense of community, where you can walk up to a local business and know the people behind it.
“Other communities are starting to grow, and we should have some guidance on how these communities can grow into their own destiny and their own goals going forward.” Glynn also says the two main problems facing small towns in Indiana are water and housing. 42% of the grants OCRA handles go directly to water management projects. For housing, Glynn says they often refer communities to other state agencies, or support housing efforts in indirect ways.
Glynn talks about a domino effect, which starts with attracting people to downtown, which leads to businesses coming in, and eventually grows to the city reinvesting in the corridor. For the city of Franklin, the metaphor rings true.
“I used to go to all the community exchanges and think, ‘How are we ever going to get things done?’ And now communities are coming here, which is very rewarding, but it also takes time, and it has to involve everybody to get the buy-in and support,” says Linke.
The experts at Browning Day are also starting to see the community learn to ask more specifically for what they want as they consult on city plans around the state.
“The language of the public is becoming broader as we have these projects,” says Pearson, regarding the examples put forth in strategic developments around Hamilton County. “I think it comes down to the day-to-day. People see what’s happening over there and they wonder what it’d be like for them where they are.”
Currently, Browning Day is working on a strategic plan in Tipton, which will be released this fall. Tipton happens to be a newcomer to Indiana Main Street accreditation, and they recently received READI grant funding to rehabilitate the historic Diana Theatre in their downtown district. Glynn describes them as the next community on the rise.
Interest in downtown ebbs and flows, but real downtown redevelopment can take time. Key players in every town can make things happen; the real trick is knowing what to ask for and how to make it a reality.
DESIGNING THE IN-BETWEEN
by Anissa Zajac, owner + lead designer, House Seven Design | photos by Joseph Bradshaw
Most people don’t think about the utilitarian spaces in their home when they’re first planning a remodel or a new build. They don’t think about them when they’re searching for a new home, either. The focus usually lands on the kitchen, the primary bathroom, or the number of bedrooms the home has. They aren’t thinking about where the vacuum will live or where the shoes get kicked off every time someone walks through the door.
Those are the spaces I talk to my clients about from the very beginning of every design project. Of course I want to hear about all of the beautiful things they envision for their home, and I always tell them we’ll get there. But first, we have to talk about function. We have to talk about how they actually live and how these spaces will serve them for years to come. I think of these rooms as the transit system of the home. You pass through them countless times each day. They’re where you’re doing laundry, unloading groceries, storing seasonal items, packing lunches, organizing backpacks, or grabbing the dog’s leash before heading out the door. They may not be the rooms where you spend the most time, but they make every other room function better.
Because of that functionality, it’s so important to be intentional about how these spaces are designed. We’ve come a long way in how these spaces are treated. No longer are the washer and dryer tucked away in an unfinished basement. No longer are pass-through hallways simply forgotten spaces connecting one room to another. Today we’re designing them to be just as beautiful as they are functional. They’re rooms you actually want to spend time in. You might even find yourself looking forward to doing the laundry.
The mudroom is always one of the first spaces I want to discuss with my clients. What does their everyday life actually look like, and how can this room support it?
I remember when the open locker system was everywhere. Every magazine featured French market bags hanging neatly from hooks with a loaf of bread and fresh flowers peeking out the top. There were one or two tiny backpacks hanging perfectly in their cubbies and everything looked effortless.
It was beautiful, but it wasn’t real. In reality, those spaces quickly become the equivalent of an open coat closet for everyone to see. Piles of shoes, overflowing backpacks, dog leashes, sports equipment, coats, and all the things that come with raising a family. The problem wasn’t that the design was bad. The problem was that it didn’t support the way people actually lived, so it wasn’t sustainable.
The cubby system didn’t disappear. It simply evolved. We added doors to hide the clutter. Cabinetry became more thoughtful. Pretty cutouts, gorgeous hardware, and custom storage transformed these spaces into rooms that worked hard while still feeling beautiful. That’s my favorite kind of design: design that solves a problem without sacrificing beauty.
The same thing has happened in the laundry room. What was once purely utilitarian has become one of the hardest-working rooms in the house. In some homes it doubles as a dog washing station. In others it’s a place for wrapping gifts, crafting with the kids, watering plants, or storing household essentials. Every family lives differently, and these rooms should reflect the differences. When I begin designing these spaces, I ask my clients about the routines that make up their day. Which door do they use most often? Where do backpacks end up after school? Do they fold laundry in the laundry room or carry it somewhere else? Where do the groceries land when they come in from the car? The answers to those questions shape the design far more than any trend ever could.
I always tell my clients that we can make any space beautiful, but first it has to function beautifully. When a room is designed around the way your family actually lives, it becomes effortless to use. It works with you instead of against you.
I’ve grown to love these once-forgotten spaces because they often become the rooms that have the biggest impact on everyday life. They may not be the spaces guests remember first, but they’re the ones your family relies on every single day. And when they’re thoughtfully designed, they become some of the most meaningful and unexpected moments in the home.