One night in 2017, around 2 a.m., Sammie Host awoke to the sound of fire engines. The smell of smoke was thick in her Oakland Hills home, which was in flames after a plastic bin of smoldering fireplace coals had been accidentally left on their back deck. In a lucky twist of fate, Host’s neighbor—who had uncharacteristically stayed home from a trip her husband had taken—happened to see the late-night blaze and alerted the local fire department. The call saved the lives of Host and her then-husband (and a dog they were watching), but by the time the sun came up, 40 percent of the home was destroyed, and the rest had suffered severe smoke and water damage.

“Half of the house was completely burned out,” Sammie remembers. “The smell in the air was so strong, and everything that hadn’t burned was wet or charred.”

Before the fire, Sammie and her husband had been going through a rough patch. After the incident with the house, he asked for a divorce, and Sammie was left alone to make a decision about what was next.

The couple had lived at the residence since 2000, and its location in a forested area of the Oakland Hills was part of what kept them there for so long. As for the house itself, certain details felt dated, like yellow oak flooring and an obtrusive staircase that broke up the flow of the main living space. But Sammie and her husband fell in love with its natural light and tree-house feel, with framed views of surrounding canopies.

After the fire, Sammie went back and forth between the idea of selling the home or sticking with it and rebuilding. “One day, I was talking to my aunt,” she recalls. “She’s in the housing business and told me, ‘When there’s a fire, it’s a lucky thing because a phoenix can rise from the ashes.’ I was intrigued by that analogy, and I wanted to prove it.”

Armed with newfound resolve, Sammie reached out to interior designer Dawn Kirker, who had renovated one of her bathrooms eight years prior. Sammie, who practices yoga, meditation, and holistic living, wanted to create a tranquil living space full of light colors and feminine details. “She kept coming back to the idea of a ‘light, airy, calming retreat,’” Kirker recalls. “Even though she would be in the same house, we wanted a complete transformation.”

After more than a year of waiting for approval from the insurance company, construction finally began in 2019—but then the pandemic hit, slowing the rebuilding process significantly. Sammie says she spent almost three years staying with various friends and family, waiting for the project to finish. “At one point, I just forgot what it was like to live in one place,” she says.

When the project wrapped in 2021, Sammie’s dream home was complete—and worth the wait. Working with architect Mariati Paham, she retained the original floor plan, with several tweaks. The fireplace in the living room was removed and replaced with a wall where a custom wool tapestry by fiber artist Meghan Shimek hangs, its colors reminiscent of smoldering wood. “I wanted to give homage to the fire,” Sammie says. “I know it was a tragedy, but also, at the same time, it was an opportunity to build something new.”

To enhance the connection between the living room and the kitchen and dining area, the design team replaced the existing staircase with a glass-sided one. Kirker chose white oak from Swedish brand Kährs for the treads and flooring. When it came to the kitchen—which had been narrow and closed off before the fire—Sammie requested high ceilings and no upper cabinets.

“That can be hard for some people,” Kirker says, “but Sammie has beautiful accessories, so they look good out in the open. We wanted to keep things light and feminine but not have it feel too out of place in the rustic, tree-house environment.” A slatted ceiling and neutral finishes—bleached walnut cabinets, white-painted shelving, white quartz countertops—create a warm palette complemented by a custom dining table, also in white oak, crafted by Mike Bermosk. He also made Sammie’s office desk and installed custom shelving, cabinetry, and barn doors throughout the home.

Upstairs, the calming palette continues. The bathroom that Kirker helped renovate nearly a decade before survived the fire (although it was severely damaged), and its floating vanity inspired the new bathroom on the main level, which features Waterworks fixtures and white marble with the faintest peachy hue. Furniture was kept to a minimum throughout the house and works by Kelly Ording, Lena Wolff, and ceramicist MQuan bring personality to the understated but sculptural décor.

“The project was difficult and long,” Sammie says, “but I’m glad I decided to stay and rebuild. There were tears of joy and tears of sadness, but through it all, I just kept telling myself, ‘I need to get back to my house.’”

A Resilient Residence Replaces a Home Destroyed by Wildfire in Northern California

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Mariati Paham / @mariatipaham_photo

Structural Engineer: Kevin Brown

Interior Design: Dawn Kirker Designs / @dawnkirkerdesigns

Landscape Designer: Growsgreen

Plant and Garden Stylist: Paul Cannon / @paulleenation

Woodwork: Mike Bermosk / @bermoskwoodworks and Matt Bear of Union Studio

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A Home in the Oakland Hills Half-Lost in a Fire Gives Its Owner a Whole New Start