A young Palo Alto couple with three children came to us with the desire to build a more modern interpretation of the traditional home that occupied this prominent corner lot in Old Palo Alto. As a couple that loves entertaining, they envisioned a multi-purpose home with ample room for their family, as well as generous social spaces that seamlessly flow from the inside out with as little circulation space as possible. Though challenged by the constraints of their small lot, a collaborative and thoughtful approach allowed a final solution to emerge that seamlessly integrated landscape, architecture, and interiors into a cohesive whole. With our guidance, the couple’s search for comfort, efficiency, spaciousness, and light, gradually transformed their traditional vision into this contemporary work of total design.
The lot sits on a quaint Palo Alto street corner with high visibility, but with zoning constraints, setbacks, and adjacent neighbors that severely limit the space in which to maneuver. The challenge of fitting the client’s sizable program into this tight envelope while maximizing the remaining outdoor space is achieved through a careful approach to site design and an analytical series of massing studies. The resulting form is positioned at the outermost corner to preserve the rear yard and the massing is optimized to achieve the maximum interior volume allowable across the two upper floors and basement.
The ground floor is carved away in the center to wrap around a small central courtyard which brings daylight and outdoor space into close proximity with all the interior spaces, blurring the line between inside and outside to maximize the livable space of the home. Three walls of sliding and pocketing glass doors open up to a meticulously designed series of decks and patios that further blur this line, and take advantage of the temperate climate to transform the back yard into an extension of the interior entertainment spaces.
This expansive first floor sits above an equally large basement, and is elevated above the ground to allow the sun to angle in through a series of light wells and apertures in the decks to the spaces below. The basement’s ten-foot tall ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows allow the daylight to pour in and expand the sense of space to make this lower level feel light, spacious and open.
In contrast to the expansive and open ground floor, the second floor is a compact rectilinear volume that is fit out with a neat series of bedrooms and bathrooms wrapped around a light-flooded central stairwell. Packed in like a Rubik’s Cube yet meticulously proportioned to ensure livability, these private spaces turn both inward and open out to a series of roof decks at the ends. Light pours in from a skylight and large window in the stairwell and cascades down a central stone wall alongside the steel and wood stair that connects this private level to the family rooms below.
From the street, the house appears to hover lightly above the ground, the effect of slightly elevating the first floor above grade and recessing the base below decks and wing walls around the perimeter. Overall, the exterior reads as a composition of stacked volumes, an affect that is emphasized by giving each level a unique primary material: board-formed concrete for the basement, cedar and larch siding for the main level, and exquisite dark panelized zinc for the top floor.
These various materials are stitched into a cohesive whole through meticulous attention to detail both inside and out, with every corner and transition thoroughly considered to reinforce a consistent formal and material narrative. A final layer of ornament is layered in through a series of metal and wood sunshades, screens, and railings that add a fine-grained scale and tactile decoration to the composition, while also serving to mediate views and light from inside to outside. This elevated level of detail blends the architecture with the finer textures of the interiors and the landscape, weaving it into a total composition of light, shadow, color, and texture that captures the eye and envelops the body in a sphere of comfort and serenity.
Material Used :
Core and Shell Materials
Windows: Fleetwood
Wood Siding: Western Red Cedar – Jackel Enterprises
Wood Deck and Soffits – Larch – Jackel Enterprises
Zinc Siding: VM Zinc
Metal Panels: Dri-Design
Custom Decorative Metal: Aluminum Facia. Extruded Metal Window Jambs. Trellis.
Stucco: Custom colorExterior Lighting: Lindsley Lighting
Custom Metalwork Fabricators
Conceptual Metals: Custom aluminum exterior metalwork
Chris French Metals: Custom aluminum exterior guardrail
Adrian Burns Design & Fabrication: Custom interior & exterior metal stair
Interior Material Products
Wood Flooring: Big Oak Hardwood Floor Co
Custom Cabinetry: WNT Cabinets – Kitchen cabinets, Wall paneling, Family room built in media wall.
Custom Cabinetry: Ron Hiatt – Master, Office, Bathrooms, Closets
Recessed Lighting: Intense LED recessed lighting
Motorized Shades: Lutron Motorized Shades
Plumbing Fixtures Bathrooms: Toto, Hansgrohe, Kohler, Lefroy Brooks
Plumbing Fixtures Kitchen: Dornbracht Faucet, Julien Sink.
Appliances: Sub Zero Fridge/Freezer & Wine fridge, Miele Dishwasher, Wolf Range Oven, Custom Hood.
Stone: Calacata Oro at Kitchen and Master Bath: Pietra Fina Marble
Stone: Three story stair stone wall, Haisa Stone - IRG
Tile: Waterworks, Walker Zanger,
Door Hardware: Sun Valley Bronze
Decorative Cabinetry Hardware: Sun Valley BronzePaint: Farrow & Ball, Strong White
Artwork
Patrick Dintino – Andrea Schwartz Gallery - Stairs
James Kennedy – Dolby Chadwick Gallery – Living Room
Lisa Russell – Dolby Chadwick Gallery – Family Room + Office
Adam P Gale – Bronze Scluptures – Living RoomYunhee Min Painting – Suzanne Vielmetter- LA Projects – Music Room
Decorative Lighting
Apparatus Studio Arrow Pendant: Stair Chandelier
Apparatus Studio: Master Bedroom Pendant
Lindsey Adelman Branching Pendants: Kitching and Dining
Boyd Lighting Topanga Sconce: Powder Room
Fuse Lighting Cambridge: Rear Entry Ceiling Fixture
Bocci: Piano Room Pendant
Marset: Master Bedroom Table Lamps
Flos Tab Floor Lamp: Living Room
Interior Furnishings (Living Room)
Rug: Tania Johnson Waterlines
Sofa: Minotti Sectional in Coraggio Mohair Fabric
Decorative Pillows: Rosemary Hallgarten, Jay Jeffers Store
Lounge Chair: Flex form Guscioalto Soft Chair with Swivel Base
Coffee Table: FlexformPiuma Coffee Table
Side Table: Studio VARA design, Go Build Studio
TV Console: Studio VARA design, Go Build Studio
Table Lamp: Fosters + Partners EVA Table Lamp
Floor Lamp: Flos Tab Floor Lamp
Artwork: James Kennedy – Dolby Chadwick Gallery
Sculpture: Adam P Gale – Bronze SculpturePottery: Sara Paloma Pottery
Interior Furnishings (Dining Room)
Lighting: Lindsey Adelman Branching Bubble Pendant
Dining Table: Flexform Gipsy Dining Table
Dining Chairs: Flexform Acanto Chair
Candle Stick Holders: Jay Jeffers Store
Onyx Bowl: Sloan Miyasato
Kitchen Island Stools: Mater – Mater StoolsKitchen Island Pendants: Lindsey Adelman Small Bubble Pendant
Interior Furnishings (Family Room)
Rug: Paul Smith for The Rug Company – Carnival
Sofa: Restoration Hardware Modena Slop Arm Sofa
Decorative Pillows: Williams Sonoma Home + Jay Jeffers Store
Coffee Table: Mater Accent Oval Lounge Table
Side Table: Mater Accent Table
Lounge Chair: Flexform Agave Chair
Poufs:Casalis - Slumber Poufs
Bronze Tray: Caste Low Round Tray
TV Console: Custom Artwork: Lisa Russell– Dolby Chadwick Gallery
Interior Furnishings (Master Bedroom)
Lighting: Apparatus Studio Cloud 19 Chandelier
Bed: Anees Upholstery - Hamilton Bed
Side Tables: Tod Von Mertens Ambrosia Bedside Tables
Table Lamps: Marset Mercer Table Lamp
Wall Paper: Phillip Jeffries Suit Yourself - Pressed Powder
Curtains: Ewing & Ball with Holland & Sherry Andes-Marble Fabric
Bedding: Matouk Dashiell CollectionDecorative Pillows: William Sonoma Home
Interior Furnishings (Guest Bedroom)
Bed: Room and Board Wyatt Bed
Side Tables: West Elm Cube Side Table
Table Lamps: EVA Table Lamp, Fosters + Partners, Lumina
Bedding: Restoration Modern Ecco Geometric Collection
Decorative Pillows: Williams Sonoma
Decorative Throw: Room & Board Horizon Micro Plaid ThrowArtwork: Unknown
Interior Furnishings (Music Room)
Lighting: Bocci Light 28.16 Series
Art: Yunhee Min Painting – Suzanne Vielmetter- LA Projects
Side Tables: Flexform Gipsy Side TableChair: Flexform Agave Chair
Interior Furnishings (Powder Room)
Light: Boyd Lighting Topanga Sconces
Wall Paper: Innovations Frequency
Custom Mirror: Mike Danielson StudioAccessory: Apparatus Brass Candle Lantern
Interior Furnishings (Office)
Desk Chair: Poltrona Frau Ginger Chair
Table Lamp: Westin Mitchell Tower Lamp
Wall Paper: Schmacher Fabric Telluride Wool Herringbone
Accessories: Jay Jeffers StoreArtwork: Lisa Russell– Dolby Chadwick Gallery
Interior Furnishings (Blue Bedroom)
Lighting: Flos - Smithfield S Suspension
Bedding: West Elm Belgian Flax Linen Ikat Stripe
Decorative Pillows: William Sonoma Home
Decorative Throw: Jay Jeffers Store Axis Alpaca ThrowCurtains: Ewing & Ball with Victoria Hagan Fabric
Outdoor Furnishings
Dining Table: Kettal Park Life
Dining Chairs: Kettal Park Life
Lounge Chairs: Dedon Ahnda Wing Chairs
Lounge Sofa: Dedon MU Sofa
Side Table: Kettal Vieques Side TableFirepit: Concreteworks
Landscape Materials
Cedar Fence: Custom design, Benjamin Moore Arbor Coat finish
Exterior Lighting: BK Lighting, LuxR Lighting
Exterior Paving: Alabama Stone, Vetter Stone
Built in BBQ: Custom. Stone Zimbabwe Black, IRG.
BBQ Appliances: Lynx
Firepit: Concrete WorksPlantings: Furnished upon request
