Creating a Retreat at Home (with Inspiration from John Wheatman)

I have a not-so-secret desire to live in a commune on a compound. This house, a full stripped-to-the-bones and built-back-up ’80s Rancher in Lafayette, conjures that feeling tone. Situated on a quiet street, backed up to a hill, with a meadow-like yard, the ranch-style home interior remodel included a spacious back deck, open plan kitchen/breakfast/den, formal dining and living rooms, two fireplaces, multiple glass doors leading to the outside from nearly every room, and a welcoming ADU with full kitchen where homeowners and guests can hang out, do work, practice yoga, spend the night.

Everybody knows, even married couples who love each other need a break once in a while, and having a separate studio available when you need your alone time is a great feature.

As well as being able to return to a big house when you are ready to be together, with a kitchen and island ideal for cooking a big meal for family and friends.

This is the kind of house you could literally hang out in all the time for weeks and not want to leave, with so many different zones; the master suite with a spa-like bathroom, the open-plan entertainment area, an upstairs bonus media/exercise room.

Because the main living area overlooks the backyard and hillside behind, we maintained an indoor outdoor-feeling by bringing in “50 shades of taupe.” I am joking, but we definitely used an earth tone palette. This client grew up in Marin; she loves this earthiness.

Artwork for the Home: a High-Low Mix

The art really stands out against the earth tone color scheme and contributes to the overall relaxing vibe of the home decor.

Many pieces were curated by SLATE Art Consulting and Gallery in Oakland. Check them out if you haven’t already — tell Danielle I sent you! Or let us know when you are going and my team will be happy to make an introduction. If you would like our help developing your art collection, we are here for you also.

This client’s pieces are a perfect mash-up of high-and-low, as the more prestigious paintings are mixed in with antiques collected at the Alameda Flea Market, pottery by Sara Paloma and Erin McGuiness, and smaller art pieces from Simon Breitbard.

Knowing when to invest in quality pieces, and how to balance that with softer-on-the-budget selections, is one of my firm’s specialties.

The Influence for This Ranch Style Home Design: John Wheatman

If you are a fan of interior design, you may notice the influence of famed local designer, John Wheatman, who could be said to be the design patron saint of this ranch style home interior project.

Wheatman designed for our client’s mother’s home, the one she grew up in, and he was an early and profound mentor for me in my design career. This client and I bonded over our love of his work (in addition to bonding over our mutual loves of cooking, especially fermenting vegetables, personal growth, and entertaining).

You may notice Wheatman’s inspiration in our strategic use of black and brown in each room, our emphasis on shape and the relationships between shapes, and our combination of modernist furnishings and antique artifacts that reflect Asian cultures — which also reflect the client’s Buddhist meditation practice.