Reimagining an Alameda Craftsman with Depth, Color, and Personal History
Designing this Craftsman bungalow in the Bay Area began with a return. After several years living abroad, our clients came home with a deeper sense of how they wanted to live and what they wanted their space to support. The house offered strong bones and a meaningful history, but it needed to reflect the life they had actually built, shaped by travel, art, and a quieter, more intentional pace at home. They knew what they wanted. They just needed someone to help them say it in a room.
A custom sectional cozied up with pillows in Zak & Fox pillows.
When a recently renovated home within their family became available, it offered something rare in this business: a place to begin from something familiar while still making it entirely their own. The structure was already in place. The interiors just hadn’t caught up to the rhythm of their lives yet. They brought with them a shared sensibility honed by years abroad, a strong connection to art and culture, and a genuine appreciation for time spent at home. With both working remotely, the house needed to support focus, comfort, and a sense of ease throughout the day. It was no small ask, and one we took seriously.
The existing interiors leaned soft and quite feminine. There was beauty in it, but it wasn’t telling the right story. These are two well-traveled, design-literate men with opinions, a serious art collection, and absolutely no interest in a home that plays it safe. The project became an exercise in recalibration, shifting the tone without losing the integrity of what was already there. We love a project with a little something to push against.
Great Gray Owls by Beth Moon from Dolby Chadwick Gallery with Zak & Fox fabric on a Four Hands chair.
That shift begins at the entry. The foyer is washed in Benjamin Moore’s Van Deusen Blue, a chalky, grounded hue that sets a quiet mood without announcing itself. Warm wood tones and a slim marble-topped console bring in structure and restraint, establishing a clear point of view before you’ve even put your keys down. First impressions matter. This one delivers.
The living room continues in that same color, creating continuity while allowing the furnishings to carry more personality. A custom olive sectional anchors the space, layered with natural wood pieces, plaid, and florals that bring in both softness and tailoring in a combination that should not work as well as it does, and yet here we are. An emerald liquor cabinet sits just off to the side, a small but meaningful detail that tells you exactly how this space gets used: evenings at home, good conversation, no fuss. We will always make room in a design for a well-placed drinks cabinet.
Throughout the house, we worked closely with the couple’s existing art and objects, integrating them so they feel inherent to the space rather than dropped in after the fact. In the dining room, that balance becomes more visible. Honey-toned gumwood wainscoting grounds the room in its Craftsman roots while botanical Jasper wallpaper draws the eye upward and introduces movement. A custom table by Jacob May anchors the space, paired with cane dining chairs and a sculptural Arteriors chandelier that brings in a lighter, more contemporary note overhead. The room has layers, and it earns every single one of them.
Grounded in its Craftsman roots, this dining room layers warm wood, botanical wallpaper above honey-toned wainscoting, and a sculptural Arteriors chandelier for a balanced, welcoming tone.
The kitchen opens into a softer register. After the deeper tones of the surrounding rooms, it introduces lightness through cabinetry in Benjamin Moore White Dove, Bardiglio marble, and warm brass details that catch the light in that quietly satisfying way good hardware always does. The transition feels natural, giving the eye a place to rest without breaking the continuity of the home. Artwork sourced from Lost Art Salon, including pieces by Rob Delameter, who painted portraits of mid-century gay artists, adds a layer of personality that keeps the space from feeling too composed. There is always room for a little soul in a kitchen, and in this one, it arrives with excellent taste.
The existing kitchen was spruced up with new lighting, a fresh coat of paint, and a still life baguette by Guy Diehl via Dolby Chadwick Gallery.
A Home That Holds
One of the most compelling aspects of this project is the pair of offices, each shaped around a different way of thinking and working. They sit in quiet dialogue with one another and, honestly, we could move into either one without a moment’s hesitation. Someone, please tell our current landlord.
The downstairs office leans all the way in. Wrapped in Benjamin Moore Townsend Harbor Brown, it carries the atmosphere of a proper British library, a place for reading, writing, and the kind of sustained focus that requires a room that means business. Built-ins blend into the walls, holding books and personal objects that feel accumulated over time rather than styled for a photo shoot, with lighting that adds depth and warmth and makes everything look a little more important than it already is.
Casework was added to bring a library-like feel to the downstairs home office.
The second office takes a lighter approach, which is to say: it is still deeply considered, but wears it more easily. A powder blue plaid wallcovering introduces structure without heaviness, while Opuzen linen drapery softens the edges. The room supports concentration while allowing for ease, with a mix of vintage and contemporary elements that keep it feeling open and alive. Artwork from Dolby Chadwick Gallery and Antique & Art Exchange adds contrast and keeps the space visually awake. Two offices, two completely different inner worlds, one home that holds them both without breaking a sweat.
Drapery made with heavyweight Opuzen linen frames the windows of this upstairs office featuring a Made Goods leather desk.
Together, these rooms reflect something we believe deeply: a home often needs to support different rhythms at once. That flexibility is not a design afterthought. It is the whole point.
In the bedroom, the tone settles into something quiet and genuinely restful, which after two offices that stylish is exactly what the body needs. Textured neutrals and layered blues create calm, anchored by a deep teal velvet headboard and framed by mahogany nightstands. There is a quiet interplay between softness and structure in the textiles that carries through from the rest of the home, and the surrounding spaces follow a similar approach, each one grounded in its own palette while remaining connected through material and tone.
A collection of midcentury prints from Antique & Art Exchange hang above the custom teal velvet headboard of this primary bedroom suite.
The house reveals itself gradually, the way the best homes always do. It reflects a life lived across places, a respect for craftsmanship, and a desire for a home that feels genuinely aligned with the people who live inside it. That is always what we are after. When it lands — and this one landed — there is nothing quite like it.
See the entire project in our portfolio: Tailored Craftsman Bungalow
If you’re ready to create a home that reflects where you are now, we’d love to be part of that process. Get in touch with us here, and tell us a bit about your project.
Written by Laura Martin Bovard. Photos by SEN Creative.
