Palm Beach Daily News (Saturday, November 24, 2001) "The Villa Reconsidered" by Robert Janjigian When former United States Ambassador to Denmark Edward Elson and his wife, Susie, decided to settle in Palm Beach after several years in Copenhagen, they enlisted their son, Harry, a New York City architect, to design them a house. Initially, the idea was to renovate the neo-Regency-style residence they purchased on a half-acre Midtown parcel. But to achieve the environment they wanted, they decided to start from scratch. Before he took to the drafting table, architect Elson interviewed his parents about their aesthetic preferences and the kind of house they wanted to live in. "They wanted an environment that was open, almost loftlike," Elson said. "They wanted several venues in which to entertain in different areas of the premises - which, by the way, is a very Danish concept." Most importantly, he said, "they wanted the house to have the feeling, though not necessarily the look, of an Italian villa, full of warmth and light, with a formal layout that can accommodate an informal lifestyle. The villa ideal also relates to the Palm Beach context historically." With those concepts and desires registered, Elson designed a 7,000-square-foot house as a series of processional spaces, with a central axis that starts at the front doors and travels back to a dining pavilion along the rear lot line. "I conceived of the house as extending throughout the 25,000-square-foot lot," he said. The perimeter walls are, in his mind, the ficsus hedges that surround the property. "The footprint of the house is the entire lot," he said. "We wanted to create a sense of place, an integrated whole." Because the house is in Palm Beach, Elson chose traditional "native" materials as cladding. Thus, the house is covered in stucco, with stained cedar trim and mahogany windows. The golden yellow paint color has its roots in Denmark, Elson said, but it also is like that seen in Tuscany, strengthening the desired villa association. The arrangement of inside spaces links them visually and physically to the areas outside. Elson consulted with interior designer Alan Tanksley and landscape architect Warren Byrd to achieve the cohesive effect. The interior architecture was designed as a neutral platform for the display of an eclectic array of contemporary works of art and modern and antique furniture, Elson said. Floors inside are honed French limestone in the "public" rooms, with carpeting installed in "private" areas. Furniture and accessories were sparingly selected from the Elsons' collections, with some pieces commissioned. "Items were chosen to counter the rectilinearity of the spaces," the architect said. "And we didn't want to fill up the spaces too much." The idea, Elson said, was to put the stress on "the impact of the few" - to see each object on its own, not to over whelm the eye.