Wine country home makeover
Challenge – Transform a standard California home into a showpiece and a sanctuary.
The professional couple desired a sophisticated and modern haven. The traditional 2,400-square-foot home has sweeping views of vineyards and mountains, but also faces strong winds and intense sun. The couple wanted the home to feel right-sized when they were alone in the house and spacious when they had visitors. This project is currently under construction.
Budget: $750,000
Approach – Reimagine spaces that function perfectly for when the couple is alone, entertaining with friends or hosting visitors.
Design simple spaces so they work gracefully in different ways.
Take advantage of the temperate climate to extend the living space to the outdoors.
Experience the home at different times of day to understand weather patterns, changing views, and the property’s different micro-environments.
Solution – Vary the living experience by arranging the rooms and yard into private and open spaces, all with strong indoor-outdoor connections.
We reconfigured existing rooms to take advantage of the property’s attributes while at the same time making new, interesting spaces. An indoor-outdoor synergy brings about expansiveness and intimacy at the same time.
On the main floor, we redesigned the open kitchen and dining and living rooms collectively as the centerpiece of the home. On the back wall of the house, floor-to-ceiling glass walls retract, extending the rooms into the vineyard. Flush flooring makes the transition from inside to outside seamless.
We extended the core of the home to the second floor with a casual family room that opens to the panoramic view. The room also provides a separate living space for visitors staying in the two adjacent bedrooms.
We took advantage of a leafy walnut tree and shaded corner of the yard to cradle a first-floor master wing. Two sides of the bedroom have retractable glass walls, which open to two patios. One patio opens to sweeping views of the vineyard and the other is tucked into a secret garden. An indoor-outdoor shower completes the sanctuary.
