78 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {home & design} In a house on a quiet Los Altos street, a woman swings from the great room chandelier. In the nearby hallway, another dangles a lyre on her foot, unaware of dinner guests’ admiring looks. The remodeled home’s eye-catching aesthetic exudes an exuberance infused with peace—the combined work of Michael and Daphneé Metiu of Atelier Ma and interior designer Gaye Ferrara of Ferraras Interiors. Having clicked with the homeowners from the first interview, Michael and Daphneé reinforced and expanded on Gaye’s and the clients’ vision: Create a backdrop for art, transforming the chateau-style home into a fun, gracious place to live and host. “It’s not often that you get clients with such a love for art and such a varied collection,” says Michael. Drawn to the Limbo Chandelier because it reminded the homeowner of her fun-loving self, she bought it with no clue where she’d use it. So when they settled on placement, Michael raised the great room ceiling, knocking out the attic framing and engineering a coffered ceiling while accommodating the existing skylights. Today, the handwoven-wire aerialist “performs” between the two skylights; at night, the chandelier lights the room. And the lady with the lute? She’s the luminous nude in Carlo Maria Mariani’s “Monument to Poetry,” which the homeowners had sold off with a previous home. At Gaye’s insistence, they bought it back, placing it opposite the dining room. Michael says it’s his favorite space in the home. “I
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