By Ed Massey. The House was unique to the landscape by nature and design. Its playful and whimsical structure demanded attention by its sheer design, a sculptural form set against a backdrop of tradition. Our family, my wife, Dawn, daughter, Georgi and son Felix acquired the house in from the Moss Family and infused it with vibrant, candy-colored palettes to play off the architectural structure, turning it into a joy-filled, and inviting creative space full of energy, warmth and love.
It was hard not to miss. At daytime the home was a magnet for the curious and the intrigued and at nighttime the house turned magical. Two, colorfully painted, New York City flower taxis standing sentinel at the entrance were enough to catch eyes, while large, free standing, cylindrical and cube shaped design elements β fully enveloped in floral, geometric and fish motifs β added to the wonder. About those flower NYC taxis? Those were part of a large public works arts project for the non-profit Portraits of Hope, which I co-founded with my brother, Bernie.
Once dusk hit, the large cylinders and cubes strikingly illuminated using solar energy panels. Day or night, the colorfully painted and printed visual elements stood out and added a sense of vibrancy to a rather neutrally colored neighborhood. A taxi, a flower taxi! Then at the center of our house, was our magnificent, sixty-foot tall podocarpus tree with its outstretched branches extending the width of our home. Our family basically lived in an oversized tree house.
Not too long ago, I had a team of professional rappelers descend from the height of the tree and attach a collection of colorful solar-powered, cylindrical lanterns on its branches. You could see them from blocks away. A gentle breeze would sway the large lanterns gently from side to side, and an assortment of varied sized and shaped wind chimes would produce musical notes created by the wind.
It was serene and beautiful all in one. When daylight faded and night would fall, the magic of the solar lanterns would come to life. Within minutes of sunset, each night, the tree would illuminate magnificently and could be seen by residents, visitors and tourists from great distances across the Palisades.
