b'Designing formality out of their lives, Mishell jettisoned fancy dishes and table-ware, opting for practicality instead. But throughout the house she features special objects of beauty, like the kitchen island, a piece-de-resistance created by nature from blue lava quartzite.everything feeling special, like a jew- abackyardoasisasamodernin-elry box.ground pool and spa surrounded by To create that feeling, Mishell or- naturalmarbleandexoticwoods. chestrated multiple organic materials,Themodernpoolhouseadjacent such as the black metal that elevatestothepooladdsvalue,comfort, the floating staircase but is softened byand sophistication to the property, the warmth of white oak. The translu- Mishell says. The lots primary func-cent ribbed glass cabinet doors act astion is to serve as a full-scale enter-a backdrop for the oversized blue lavatainmentspacethatwillkeepour quartziteislandwithgrays,greens,kids at home. Its like us to have 20 and gold swirling like a painting thatkids in our backyard any afternoon.only Mother Nature can make.Artalsounderscoresthehighly individualisticpersonalitythatsex-pressed throughout the house. Mishell delights especially in one small paint-ing she tracked down in London after first meeting the artist in upstate New York. I was sightseeing and smelled oil paint, so I followed my nose and came upon the artist whose work Id already admired.Mishell describes her meticulous makeover as a labor of love. It wasnt uncommon to find me working on the second-floor loft on an oversized piece of tile on two sawhorses in the deadofwinterwithnoheat,she says.EveryThe Vuolos added a side tower to ac-home I designcommodate the floating staircase of I put my heartwhite oak contrasted with dark metal. The bright metal hanging light at the in it.base of the stairs was cast over water Thatgoesbeads, Mishell explains. In her search for a carefully curated feeling, she found it fortheout- at a Vermont atelier (Hubbardton Forge).side, too. Mak-Rejoicing in theing the utmostWithfloor-to-ceilingaccordion details: Mishell shopped Europeofthehomesglass doors and an open floor plan, for custom fixtures250-feet-deepMishellhasintegratedindoorand that are themselveslot,theybuiltoutdoorlivingspacestoblurthe small works of art.14/ matters magazine / fall 2024'