One local homeowner found that she could change a spec home into a casa replete with individual touches and her personalized style. Lori Mackstaller is a patient woman — an attribute that has yielded remarkable results. She entered medical school after raising her children and is now an internist with the cardiology unit at University of Arizona Medical Center — University Campus. With an equally can-do attitude, she bought a spec house in the Catalina Foothills 10 years ago and has gradually remodeled it completely to suit herself. Beginning by removing interior walls to create space and enlarging window and door openings throughout, Lori has turned a structure with a good basic floor plan into a home full of eye-catching details, color and art. Today, every room has been repainted at least a time or two. “When I walk in the door I always think to myself, ‘I love my home,’” Lori states unequivocally. This despite the fact that her guest bathroom is just now being redone. Although most homeowners are not resilient enough for such an extended series of projects, Lori has enjoyed every one. “She’s very interested in the process,” says interior designer Mary Pat Ware, owner of Warehouse Interiors, who has been with Lori every step of the way. “She really gets into the discussions of ideas, materials and finishes that move any design along from inception to completion. She’s interested in how things are made. She likes the artisan in people.” The two women, by now good friends, describe the genesis of a typical Mackstaller project. “I called Mary Pat about nine o’clock one night and said, ‘I hate this kitchen,’” Lori recounts. “I especially hated a bank of hanging cabinets with art nooks that blocked the view to the breakfast area and family room. Mary Pat said, ‘We can take all that out,’ then told me everything this entailed. I immediately wanted to do all of it.” First, the peninsula under the targeted cabinets required a new countertop and its cabinetry needed resurfacing. Ditto all the other kitchen countertops and cabinets. As long as the kitchen flooring was going to be redone, it was a good time to think about redoing all the floors in the contiguous rooms with the same tile to increase the sense of flow. She also chose to rebuild and retile the steps into the sunken family room because the existing treads were too narrow and the risers were too steep. Kitchen appliances also were ripe for replacement. This particular project took a while; others were more straightforward. “I’d gone crazy buying pillows for my bed from a catalog,” Lori says. “As always, it was up to Mary Pat to make it all work.” This was achieved with deeply textured, neutral-toned material for a new bedspread that pulled together the new pillows, an existing dust ruffle, upholstered headboard and draperies. Lori, who appreciates everything that goes into creating a home, is especially tuned to the impact of art. “I love having art all around me,” she says. “I love the depth that art adds to a room.” Indeed, visitors can’t help being struck by the imaginative and bold way she has mixed different styles on the walls throughout the house. In the living room, for example, a large, colorful and exuberant floral by DeAnn Milton is paired with two smaller, quietly beautiful still lives by Terry Delap. Even the hall leading to the master bedroom features an arresting table incorporating a stone sculpture of a human figure (purchased from the Neiman Marcus catalog). Framed above it is a spare, black-and-white gelatin silver photo study of a woman by Blair Phillips Friederich. Some of the art works in the house are family pieces, including a wall size tapestry that Lori’s grandfather bought in 1924. It adorns the formal dining room along with family paintings and photographs, and a great aunt’s tea set. Lori and Mary Pat have been canny about elevating everyday furnishings and fixtures to the status of art. The heavy metal double doors by Rustic Elegance that leading into the house and out onto the main patio are stunners. The entry foyer light fixture combining three metal-andclear- glass lantern-style cubes hung at different heights (Dean Warren, Scottsdale) is reminiscent of sculpture, as is a kitchen fixture featuring dangling perforated metal cylinders (Illuminations, Tucson). A freestanding liquor cabinet in the family room, plus the armoire and bedside tables in the master bedroom — custom made in Tucson by Tim Hulette — are obviously one-of-a-kind pieces. “When I first saw this house, everything in it was white,” Lori recalls. “White walls, white carpet everywhere, white kitchen. But in my mind’s eye I saw it could be something else. Practically the only thing that remains from the original house is the slate tile in the entry.” Mary Pat suggested that this natural black slate be boldly bordered with diagonal tiles, and then repeated the diagonal theme throughout the house in varying ways — kitchen backsplashes, flooring, as caps on wing walls. Her client loves stripes and they appear everywhere, but their drama never overpowers other elements in the room. The feel of objects is equally important to Lori. Her coffee table is solid and heavy. Fabrics, whether in upholstery, drapes or throws, have discernible texture. “My family background is interesting,” Lori muses. “I grew up in Alaska. It was a rustic life. I have a photograph in one of the guest rooms of the tent camp we lived in when we first arrived there. But my father’s family had a well-appointed home back East that we would visit. All my life I’ve wanted a home that was sophisticated but low-key enough that I could put my feet up and feel comfortable. I feel as if I finally have that here.” Judith Ratliff, MLA, is a Tucson landscape designer. She can be reached at 577-7391 for comments.