Stewart Edward Allen Design

Practiced meditators believe in the life-changing power of inner stillness. Among its many other benefits, they say, it can also loosen fixed viewpoints and open us to other possibilities. California-based designer Stewart Allen, a meditation practitioner for 25 years, knows this to be true. Still, it was wondrous for him to observe the way the concept of stillness impacted the design of a Scottsdale home. In initial meetings, his clients—serial home builders with two grown daughters and seven grandchildren— wanted “something that relates to the desert, but with a very calming, spa-like and sophisticated interior,” says the wife. When they introduced the word “Zen” as a descriptor, the idea both pleased and mystified Allen, who asked, “Do you want a cup-of-green-tea-on-a-cedar-tray Zen?” To which the wife replied, laughing, “You know my taste Stewart. Let’s call it glamour Zen.”  [.. more - open pdf ]