A remarkable contemporary art collection graces this South of Broad beauty. Curated by Spoleto board member Lee Bell and his husband, Fotios Pantazis, the pieces were the inspiration for the subtle and sophisticated interior design highlighted by unusual shapes and silhouettes.
Two features enticed Lee Bell and Fotios Pantazis (left) to purchase this charming home for their retirement. First: behind its historic-seeming exterior lies a more modern construction—the house was built in 1990—with an open floor plan as an ideal canvas to showcase the couple’s stunning art collection. Second: windows galore allow natural light to flood the interior.
In the formal living room, two of three Frank Stella “Shards” lithographs sit atop two Dorothy Draper-inspired commodes from Baker Furniture.
In turn, these bookend one of a pair of angled sofas designed by David Mitchell Brown and topped by Pierre Frey pillows. The sofas encircle a mid-century, marble and brass coffee table discovered at a New York antiques store. “This piece was the jumping-off point for the design of the house,” says Brown.
In the family room, Brown was inspired by the Robert Mangold triptych. From the geometric Holly Hunt “Regents Street” wallpaper—a nod to the ’60s Op Art movement—to the round Rose Tarlow lamp, the room has an exciting abstract feel. Pops of color in the Romo pillows and the floor lamp tie it all together.
A Hellman Chang table is flanked by swivel chairs from Baker Furniture.
The deep blue Jiun Ho dining table and chairs pair with a walnut console, all from Dennis Miller New York. “The navy and brown are both very masculine,” says Brown. “There’s a great vibration when the two colors intersect.”
The banister, transformed into a design element with a couple gallons of paint, leads to artist Paul Hitopoulos’s Inner Elevation. This installation consists of wooden boxes painted with red nail varnish and theatrical gel, each housing a plaster bone. A Hammerton Studio chandelier accentuates the three-dimensional work, which is capped by a painting by Virginia artist Kevin Chadwick.
A powder room tucked underneath the staircase features a Salvador Dali sketch, skillfully surrounded by mirrors and metallic wallpaper.
A dramatic Romo wallpaper frames the primary bedroom, complete with a velvet bed designed by Brown. Acrylic side tables topped by Judith Norman brass lamps and a retro lounge chair from Arteriors add glamour. The play of dark and light, texture and tone creates a cozy space while showcasing more of the couple’s artwork, including pieces by Jean Dubuffet, Tadeusz Lapinski, and Robert Motherwell.
The guest bedroom features vintage brass lamps and a colorful Karel Appel lithograph.
The sun-dappled backyard houses a pool and is also accessible from the ground-floor bedroom, which Foti uses as a gym for his work as a medical exercise specialist. The top of the stairs, just outside the back door, is his favorite spot. He loves to sit here, next to a water feature gifted by his niece, and soak up the sun.
The home marries a historic-seeming exterior with modern interiors, while windows galore allow a flood of natural light
