STYLE : INTERIORS : Upstairs, Downstairs

This three-story building in Santa Monica faces Main Street with no-nonsense walls of white plaster and whimsically peaked, steel-framed skylights--subtle references to the multifaceted, multi-functional space inside. Here, artist Suzanne Caplan, a painter, and her husband, Stan, a former advertising photographer, collaborated with architects Goldman/Firth/Boccato of Malibu to create a home-studio-gallery where they combine work and play.

Above his underground workshop and the first-floor gallery, the second and third floors house her studio and the couple’s ultra-modern private quarters. The cantilevered master bedroom--a loft suspended in space--overhangs the living room. A handsome blend of materials provides visual and tactile continuity from level to level: Woven-steel banisters wind up staircases. Windows are floor-to-ceiling glass. Doors and gates consist of steel or richly finished wood. And floors both inside and out are fashioned from Mexican stone.

Against the stark white walls are numerous artifacts from countries the Caplans have visited over the last 29 years. A shiny brass shoeshine box comes from Istanbul; a hand-carved pipe is a memento from the Netherlands. The grandfather clock that stands in the entryway to the master bedroom suite was built by Suzanne’s grandfather more than 70 years ago. These and other antiques complement contemporary furniture, some of which was designed by the Caplans, including the steel bar stools (evocative of the human form, sans head) and the end table made from sheets of lead.

The roof, like the rest of the house, serves more than one purpose. Equipped with a commanding view of the Pacific and a bar, it is perfect for inspiring the Caplans’ artistic pursuits as well as entertaining their guests.