Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Creative Couple Let a Wine Country Home Breathe
Dark rooms get opened and updated, while a neutral color palette helps a range of textures stand out
Susan and Brad Harmon don’t sit idle for long. While renovating their vacation home in Healdsburg, California, they fulfilled their dream of moving to Northern California full time, then got antsy to work on another project. Brad had been a licensed contractor in Massachusetts for years and is a man of many talents, including tiling, remodeling and millwork. Susan has a flair for interior design. “We’re serial remodelers,” she says with a laugh.
Although the 1966 ranch house had spectacular valley views from the front and back, it didn’t make the most of them. After an extensive renovation, the wine country home is crisp and bright with earthy notes.
Although the 1966 ranch house had spectacular valley views from the front and back, it didn’t make the most of them. After an extensive renovation, the wine country home is crisp and bright with earthy notes.
BEFORE: “The exterior was a mix of wood siding, brick and rustic stucco … kind of Asian, kind of Mediterranean, kind of midcentury modern, with no one style that really held it together,” Susan says. “The house had an identity crisis.”
But what it lacked in curb appeal it made up for in views, which the couple realized could be enhanced by opening up the rooms. “The house hadn’t been remodeled since the 1980s,” Susan says. “We were so excited to take it on and update it.”
But what it lacked in curb appeal it made up for in views, which the couple realized could be enhanced by opening up the rooms. “The house hadn’t been remodeled since the 1980s,” Susan says. “We were so excited to take it on and update it.”
AFTER: A refreshed front entry foreshadows what awaits inside. A new modern door with clear glass side panels replaced existing stained glass panels. Susan picked out tile for the entire house before they started construction, and used a large-format porcelain tile with a wood-formed cement look here, as well as in the laundry room, the half-bath and her office.
This home is all about indoor-outdoor living and the views. Comfortable chairs let the couple look out across the driveway to the Alexander Valley.
Stucco paint: Coconut, Benjamin Moore; trim paint: Slate, Benjamin Moore; front door: Moderno, ETO Doors; tile: Utah White, Artistic Tile via Ceramic Tile Center
This home is all about indoor-outdoor living and the views. Comfortable chairs let the couple look out across the driveway to the Alexander Valley.
Stucco paint: Coconut, Benjamin Moore; trim paint: Slate, Benjamin Moore; front door: Moderno, ETO Doors; tile: Utah White, Artistic Tile via Ceramic Tile Center
BEFORE: “When you walked inside, you couldn’t get any sense of the house from the entry,” Susan says. The cork floors were coated in a vinyl that made them look fake, and the flagstone wall and low ceilings were oppressive.
AFTER: The couple took out the rock wall and the wall behind it, widening the opening into a kitchen-dining-family room. They also removed the low ceilings, vaulting them to match the adjacent rooms. They replaced the flagstone with a stone that resembles chiseled granite. Just past that wall, you can see all the way through to the tile on the fireplace in the family room; the gray textured walls connect the spaces.
The framed poster is a vintage European fashion ad that the Harmons refer to as “Bally Girl.” Brad and Susan love to shop for art from local artists and attend local art shows — they picked up this piece at an antiques show in a nearby park. The 7-foot-long console underneath was built for a TV, but they never used it that way. It was custom-made from reclaimed boxcar wood by a Los Angeles artisan.
Stone wall: Tessuto, 12 by 6 inches, Sonoma Stone Works; poster: Vintage European Posters; paint for most of house: Etiquette, Benjamin Moore; poster wall paint: Shale, Benjamin Moore; floors: San Tropez, DuChateau
The framed poster is a vintage European fashion ad that the Harmons refer to as “Bally Girl.” Brad and Susan love to shop for art from local artists and attend local art shows — they picked up this piece at an antiques show in a nearby park. The 7-foot-long console underneath was built for a TV, but they never used it that way. It was custom-made from reclaimed boxcar wood by a Los Angeles artisan.
Stone wall: Tessuto, 12 by 6 inches, Sonoma Stone Works; poster: Vintage European Posters; paint for most of house: Etiquette, Benjamin Moore; poster wall paint: Shale, Benjamin Moore; floors: San Tropez, DuChateau
BEFORE: The kitchen was a narrow galley with 8-foot popcorn ceilings. The couple had to take care of asbestos removal throughout the house during the remodeling process.
AFTER: Now the kitchen is completely open to the family room and dining room, and the couple can see the view across the pool to the Russian River Valley.
Pendant lights: Hubbardton Forge; cabinetry: semicustom in Mushroom, Crystal
Pendant lights: Hubbardton Forge; cabinetry: semicustom in Mushroom, Crystal
This is the view from the family room toward the kitchen. Note the lighting under and over the cabinets.
Wood and steel appear all over the house. Engineered oak floors throughout add a modern warmth the couple loves.
Wood and steel appear all over the house. Engineered oak floors throughout add a modern warmth the couple loves.
BEFORE: The house had a lot of doors, including louvered ones along the family room wall. “It looked like the world’s biggest linen closet,” Susan says.
AFTER: Brad transformed the built-ins into bookshelves and cabinets. Previously, the storage space was 2 feet deep, which he kept intact behind the new cabinets on the bottom. He reconfigured the open bookshelves to be just 1 foot deep and cut the number of dividers between them in half. The doors to the backyard were existing. Susan chose black paint for contrast.
11 Reasons to Paint Your Interior Doors Black
11 Reasons to Paint Your Interior Doors Black
Here’s that tiled wall we got a peek at from the entry. Before, the fireplace surround was composed of a lava rock Susan describes as “drab and almost black.” This was unfortunate for Brad, who completed all the tile work in the house himself. He had a bear of a time installing this tile, but the pattern that plays with light and shadow so beautifully was well worth it. The new hearth is a dark marble stone slab from the same color family as the tile.
Not wanting to muck up the fireplace surround, the couple tucked the TV just past it. This area used to be a little wet bar nook, which gave them room to recess the TV into the wall and put it on an angled arm that swings out for easy viewing. It also provided room for a recessed media cabinet below.
Tile: Elevations Mosaic, 12 by 6 inches, Artistic Tile via Ceramic Tile Center
Not wanting to muck up the fireplace surround, the couple tucked the TV just past it. This area used to be a little wet bar nook, which gave them room to recess the TV into the wall and put it on an angled arm that swings out for easy viewing. It also provided room for a recessed media cabinet below.
Tile: Elevations Mosaic, 12 by 6 inches, Artistic Tile via Ceramic Tile Center
The kitchen is now more open to the dining room, with the continuous vaulted ceiling forging a stronger connection between the two.
“In wine country, you wind up with a lot of wine bottles; it just happens!” Susan says. Brad custom-designed this wine refrigerator, which is three bottles deep and holds 400 bottles. The entry wall tile wraps around the sides.
“It’s easily accessible and interesting and fun to look at — it’s almost like art,” she says.
Stone: Tessuto, 12 by 6 inches, Sonoma Stone Works; walnut dining table and chairs: Room & Board; light fixture: Hubbardton Forge
“It’s easily accessible and interesting and fun to look at — it’s almost like art,” she says.
Stone: Tessuto, 12 by 6 inches, Sonoma Stone Works; walnut dining table and chairs: Room & Board; light fixture: Hubbardton Forge
BEFORE: On the back side of the family room TV wall, the hallway to Susan’s office was what Brad deemed “a hall of doors.” A furnace and hot water heater hogged up space in here (another set took up room off the couple’s bedroom). They moved the furnaces to the attic and replaced the hot water heaters with tankless ones that they put outside.
AFTER: Relocating that equipment made room for a long pantry. After getting rid of those doors, Susan was ready to keep things open in the narrow hallway, opting for sleek cabinets in an area that they keep neat and organized. The cabinets on the left are deep pullouts. The sliding door leads to the kitchen.
On the other side of the same hallway lie the laundry room and powder room. Before, the tight half bath didn’t have a sink, so they had to wash their hands in the laundry room sink. Brad was able to tuck a tiny sink with a sweet floral tile backsplash into the corner.
Bathroom paint: Apparition, Benjamin Moore; laundry room paint: Graystone, Benjamin Moore
Bathroom paint: Apparition, Benjamin Moore; laundry room paint: Graystone, Benjamin Moore
This living room is off the other side of the main entryway. “We wanted this room to feel a bit more formal,” Susan says. They chose more luxe fabrics for the sofas, rug and drapes, as well as an elegant Ocean Blue vein-cut marble slab for the fireplace surround. Because the furniture floats in the middle of the room, they chose sofas with tufted details that extend along the sides and back.
The original fireplace was limestone that extended from where the current fireplace ends on the left all the way to the wall on the other side on the right. While they considered keeping the distinctly midcentury modern surround, the grout job was dark, thick and ugly, so they replaced it with the marble slab. This was one job Brad left to the stone specialists, who expertly mitered the sides to give it the look of being a very thick and heavy slab.
Painting: Karen Hale; rug: Restoration Hardware; drapes: The Shade Store; sofas: St. Dizier Home
The original fireplace was limestone that extended from where the current fireplace ends on the left all the way to the wall on the other side on the right. While they considered keeping the distinctly midcentury modern surround, the grout job was dark, thick and ugly, so they replaced it with the marble slab. This was one job Brad left to the stone specialists, who expertly mitered the sides to give it the look of being a very thick and heavy slab.
Painting: Karen Hale; rug: Restoration Hardware; drapes: The Shade Store; sofas: St. Dizier Home
Brad and Susan love to shop for art and pick up a lot locally. The acrylic-on-wood botanical pieces are by local artist Bob Nugent. The other large painting is by Lisa Chandler. The console is actually a dresser; they use it to store placemats, napkins and candlesticks.
Dresser: Room & Board
Dresser: Room & Board
BEFORE: The master suite was a sea of green shag carpeting. As you can see out the window, the landscaping was so overgrown that it blocked the views.
AFTER: By removing the bulky armoire, relocating the existing furnace and hot water heater, and blowing out a few awkward closets and the existing bathroom, they created a large master bath and his-and-her walk-in closets they can enter from both the bathroom (between the sinks) and the bedroom.
An intricate tile wall separates the long walk-in shower from the rest of the room. Honed limestone floors have radiant heat. The pendant lights, wood accents and basket-weave tile pattern add warmth to the contemporary room. They found a narrow tub that keeps the flow easy and open.
Floating vanities: WetStyle; bathtub: Aquabrass; faucets: Grohe; floor and shower: Simena limestone, Agora via Ceramic Tile Center
Floating vanities: WetStyle; bathtub: Aquabrass; faucets: Grohe; floor and shower: Simena limestone, Agora via Ceramic Tile Center
Susan kept the tones in the bedroom in calm neutrals. French doors look out to the backyard and pool at the end opposite the bed.
The couple found the nude by artist Arlene Diehl at an art fair in Healdsburg Plaza.
Rug: Restoration Hardware; woven shade: The Shade Store; white velvet drapes: West Elm
The couple found the nude by artist Arlene Diehl at an art fair in Healdsburg Plaza.
Rug: Restoration Hardware; woven shade: The Shade Store; white velvet drapes: West Elm
The guest bedroom also overlooks the pool. The Harmons kept the original paneling for texture but painted it a light color. In order to squeeze in a queen-size bed, Brad crafted space-saving nightstand shelves and hung pendant lights overhead.
Dresser: Williams Sonoma Home; bed: Room & Board; water tower art: Jeanne Mullen
Dresser: Williams Sonoma Home; bed: Room & Board; water tower art: Jeanne Mullen
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Susan and Brad Harmon
Location: Healdsburg, California
Size: 2,600 square feet (242 square meters); four bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
Here’s a peek at one of the most compelling aspects of the home: the vista of the Russian River Valley from the backyard. (The front yard looks out over the Alexander Valley.) “It’s a really special house as it’s only one of two houses on this ridge with the dual-valley view,” Susan says.
“We wanted to make the deck a destination,” she says of the outdoor room at the far end of the backyard. Sofas, a fire pit and bean bags are placed to take in the best view.