Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Change of Heart Prompts Change of House
They were set for a New England look, but a weekend in the California wine country changed everything
The couple who owns this Mill Valley, California, house had hired a design team to help transform a small ranch house into a larger family home. As one of the owners says, “We wanted a ‘forever house.’”
He’s from the East Coast, and she hails from Chicago, and they had envisioned a more traditional dwelling in their adopted West Coast neighborhood. But while biking around Sonoma County on vacation, she kept noticing the great farmhouses that dot the rolling wine country. “I asked my husband, ‘Why don’t we make our house more of a farmhouse?’” she says. “I thought that we should try and make it feel like we are on vacation all the time.”
He’s from the East Coast, and she hails from Chicago, and they had envisioned a more traditional dwelling in their adopted West Coast neighborhood. But while biking around Sonoma County on vacation, she kept noticing the great farmhouses that dot the rolling wine country. “I asked my husband, ‘Why don’t we make our house more of a farmhouse?’” she says. “I thought that we should try and make it feel like we are on vacation all the time.”
When the doors are open, the parking pad becomes a passageway to a fire pit area. “It serves as kind of a breezeway,” says Richardson.
Although the area around the fire pit is an outdoor room, one of the homeowners says it’s the heart of the home. “This has taken on a big role in our household,” she says. “With the fire pit and the furniture, our family is really drawn to it. More than anything else, this area gives us that vacation feeling we wanted.”
The owner chose the yellow color for the side door because she loves a yellow and gray color scheme. The architect likens the patch of yellow to a smile.
Door paint: Yellow Hibiscus, Benjamin Moore; light fixtures: Rejuvenation
Although the area around the fire pit is an outdoor room, one of the homeowners says it’s the heart of the home. “This has taken on a big role in our household,” she says. “With the fire pit and the furniture, our family is really drawn to it. More than anything else, this area gives us that vacation feeling we wanted.”
The owner chose the yellow color for the side door because she loves a yellow and gray color scheme. The architect likens the patch of yellow to a smile.
Door paint: Yellow Hibiscus, Benjamin Moore; light fixtures: Rejuvenation
Enter through the front door and you see floors of reclaimed white oak. “The floors are rustic, but because of their color, they make the rooms feel light and airy,” says Richardson.
White wall paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore; gray wall paint: Kitty Gray, Benjamin Moore; floors: The Heritage Timber Edition in Lintel, DuChateau
White wall paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore; gray wall paint: Kitty Gray, Benjamin Moore; floors: The Heritage Timber Edition in Lintel, DuChateau
This room, open to the entry, is called an adult hangout room. “We needed a place where the grown-ups can retreat. I guess you could also call it a library,” the homeowner says. “It’s a place for us to sit and read a book or have a drink. It’s the one room [where] the kids don’t congregate.”
A functioning fireplace could be added in the future as the budget allows, but for now a decorative arrangement of birch branches acts as a placeholder.
A functioning fireplace could be added in the future as the budget allows, but for now a decorative arrangement of birch branches acts as a placeholder.
The homeowners and architect worked together to create what they call the great room — an open-plan kitchen, dining room and family room. “Everyone can be here together,” says Richardson. “People cooking in the kitchen don’t feel cloistered, and side doors lead to the rear yard and courtyard, so there’s a real sense of indoor-outdoor living.”
Kitchen backsplash: Grove Brickworks in Naval Deep Blue, Waterworks
Kitchen backsplash: Grove Brickworks in Naval Deep Blue, Waterworks
Interior designer Jennifer Tidwell of Postcard Properties worked with the owners to create interiors that fit this family and speak to the farmhouse style.
“One of the things that is important to this family was storage,” Tidwell says. The homeowner agrees. “This is the room I spent the most time on during the planning phase, and we went through several designs,” she says. “It was worth it, because this is where I spend most of my day.”
Looking at this photo, you can see a few hints about the kitchen’s true storage and clever ideas, and the homeowner is proud to reveal them. For one thing, the bench banquette seats open up to reveal storage for oversize items and those not used often.
“One of the things that is important to this family was storage,” Tidwell says. The homeowner agrees. “This is the room I spent the most time on during the planning phase, and we went through several designs,” she says. “It was worth it, because this is where I spend most of my day.”
Looking at this photo, you can see a few hints about the kitchen’s true storage and clever ideas, and the homeowner is proud to reveal them. For one thing, the bench banquette seats open up to reveal storage for oversize items and those not used often.
A full cabinet is devoted to vertical pan storage, but the real star of this shot is the beefy towel bar made of plumber’s pipe. Anyone who has struggled to hang multiple tea towels on a narrow kitchen towel bar will understand the depth of the homeowner’s feeling when she says, “I love this.”
Another detail that warms her heart is the recessed, undercounter paper towel storage. “I love this idea because it keeps the towels handy but hidden,” she says.
The homeowner loves to bake and requested a mixer lift so she could avoid lifting the heavy appliance or storing it on the counter.
She didn’t want to keep the compost bin on the counter either, so a special compost compartment was built in beside the pullout trash and recycling bins. “I feel so lucky to have this kind of specialized storage,” she says.
The long, window- and door-lined space adjacent to the kitchen holds a dining table — a family heirloom. The space ends in a media room, and this is where the family typically end their evenings, the architect says.
Tidwell designed a playroom that serves as an undercover guest room. Most days it’s a place where kids can do their thing — including grabbing a book from the shallow shelf under the window and curling up in what she calls the book nook.
Across the room is what appears to be just an oversize chalkboard. But behind the dark surface is a Murphy bed. “Both owners are from out of town, and they have parents who like to visit and see their grandkids,” Tidwell says. “When they do, the bed comes down and the space converts to a guest room.”
A guest cottage had been considered but rejected, as it would have cut into the open space on the property. “This made more sense,” says the homeowner. “For 11 months out of the year, we need a playroom rather than a guest room. This allows us to have it both ways.”
Beanbag chairs: Newport Lounger, Serena & Lily
A guest cottage had been considered but rejected, as it would have cut into the open space on the property. “This made more sense,” says the homeowner. “For 11 months out of the year, we need a playroom rather than a guest room. This allows us to have it both ways.”
Beanbag chairs: Newport Lounger, Serena & Lily
Upstairs, the master bedroom is a serene retreat. The architect designed a high ceiling to make the space feel elegant. The interior designer says the soothing neutral color palette makes for a peaceful atmosphere.
An arch over the bathtub adds a flourish to the master bathroom. “It makes the space feel softer than tile,” says Richardson. “Although it’s sophisticated, it’s not pretentious, which would be the wrong feeling for this home.”
Tidwell picked up the lines with tiles that have a Moroccan arabesque form.
Tile: Ann Sacks
Tidwell picked up the lines with tiles that have a Moroccan arabesque form.
Tile: Ann Sacks
The homeowner wanted to surprise her pink-loving daughter with a rosy room. Tidwell had the idea of putting the color on the ceiling. “We painted it without her seeing it,” says the homeowner. “When she came home, I had her walk in with her eyes closed. When she opened them, she cried, ‘I love it!’”
Wall paint: Plymouth Rock; ceiling paint: Island Sunset, both by Benjamin Moore
Wall paint: Plymouth Rock; ceiling paint: Island Sunset, both by Benjamin Moore
“I like how the warm pink pairs with the cool gray-brown and the white trim,” says Tidwell.
Each child’s room features built-in shelves to store books and display treasures.
The oldest boy’s room has a similar neutral-meets-strong color palette, with taupe walls and splashes of aqua and orange.
Wall paint: Waynesboro Taupe; ceiling paint: Seaside Resort, both by Benjamin Moore
Wall paint: Waynesboro Taupe; ceiling paint: Seaside Resort, both by Benjamin Moore
The decision to take a single-story ranch house and turn it into a two-story family home isn’t one most people would take lightly. But for this family, the decision was easy because they had already fallen in love with the area.
“We had been renting in the neighborhood for quite a while before we bought the house, and we were crazy about it,” the homeowner says. “When we saw the site of this house, we jumped on it because it was a flat, sunny lot and within walking distance to all the things we loved. We were willing to do what it took to make it our own.”
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“We had been renting in the neighborhood for quite a while before we bought the house, and we were crazy about it,” the homeowner says. “When we saw the site of this house, we jumped on it because it was a flat, sunny lot and within walking distance to all the things we loved. We were willing to do what it took to make it our own.”
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Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Eclectic Homes | Modern Homes | Contemporary Homes | Midcentury Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Barn Homes | Townhouses | Apartments | Lofts | Vacation Homes
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their kids (2 boys and a girl, all under the age of 8)
Location: Mill Valley, California
Size: 4,000 square feet (371 square meters) including garage; 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
Year built: 2014
Their architect, Heidi Richardson of Richardson Architects, wanted to give the couple a twist on the popular agrarian style. “There are a lot of farmhouse wannabes in Marin County,” she says. “We wanted something that was a little more traditional and a little more surprising. One thing we did to achieve that was to have two colors on the exterior — we have both white painted siding and gray painted siding.”
Noting the original desire for a classic home, the architect created a more formal feeling with symmetrical dormers and a defined front entry.
Marin County has rules about the number of parking spaces that must be provided for homes of a certain size, so the architect included a parking pad (it is to the left of the garage on the far right, with two white stable-like doors). “It’s a place to park and a covered area to unload groceries,” Richardson says. “But because it’s usually empty, it’s also a covered spot for the kids to play in during bad weather.”
Not only does the parking pad provide versatility, but its open nature is more welcoming than a space with a pair of side-by-side garage doors.
Exterior gray paint: Kendall Charcoal, Benjamin Moore; exterior white paint: custom