The Touch of Style

As a partner and cofounder of Commune, an architecture-and-design collaborative, Pam has made a career out of customizing environments. She worked hard to "simplfy and edit down" the house. She took out scalloped wood window valances and smoothed the walls, which had been troweled for texture. She highlighted the architecture by deepening the molding around the windows and doors and covering the pickled rafters with a solid coat of creamy white paint.

In the kitchen, a square butcher-block counter anchors the skylit room. Comfortable woven leather stools by Henry Beguelin surround it. A samovar from Iran, Pam's native country, sits on top of an old Wedgewood gas stove.