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Light & air

Japanese influenced detailing and groundcovers.

Another water-saving project in Menlo Park includes a rock bed with succulents.

Stepstone's narrow concrete pavers add a graphic touch to the garden.

Garden

FormLA Landscaping principal Cassy Aoyagi integrates drought-resistant plants into her Southern California projects.

The house sits in an established neighborhood filled with 1940s Cape Cods and bungalows from the 1920s and ’30s. As with many of our projects, we wanted to respect the scale of the neighborhood, even if it was a contemporary house, & make sure the house read pleasantly from the street in the context of the houses around it. Kinetic screens are utilized here to enclose the carport & allow the homeowner to attach outdoor art.

A bent-steel stair railing, painted with Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater Red, brings a jolt of energetic color to the neutral gallery space below the primary suite. "We put a chair oversized hallway for lounging and reading,

Custom built-in storage was a splurge Michelle and Haden were willing to spend on. In the laundry room, Fireclay tiles were another high-spend choice. "It was out of our budget," Michelle says, "but it was so dramatic, and we saved so much by using inexpensive white tile in the bathroom.

Combining open storage for the records allows their colors and textures to take the spotlight, while the rest of the brick-a-brack is stored away behind the cabinets, along with duct ventilation and sound equipment for the stereo and TV.

A new bird's nest office in the loft atop the reoriented stair creates opportunities for views of the golf course in the distance. The desk and bench are custom built-ins, and the chair is from Blu Dot.

Feldman Architects opened up the living room with a smooth white plaster wall for the fireplace, and a new board-formed concrete hearth. The couch is from Design Within Reach, and the coffee table and side chair are custom.

The console was custom fabricated by J. Hefner Designs.

The kitchen underwent the most dramatic change, being relocated to the back of the house adjacent to the living room. White Oak floors and casework and new Kolbe windows warm up the space. The pendant light is from Design Within Reach, and the bar stools are custom from Sean Woolsey.