A young couple with three children bought a property in Hillsborough, tore it down and created a new home that’s both warm and functional for their busy family.
The new home’s striking exterior fits perfectly on the beautifully landscaped lot. The home and pool house offer 15,000 square feet of living space.
THE PROJECT
After living and renting in San Francisco’s Presidio Heights neighborhood, a young couple left their single-level space and started looking at properties 15 miles south in Hillsborough. They wanted a slightly warmer microclimate and lots of outdoor space where their three kids could play. So, they took the plunge and bought a home on an idyllic 2-acre lot with lots of old-growth trees. The big decision was to tear down the existing structure and build a much larger residence and pool house. Together, the new living space would be more than 15,000 square feet.
THE TEAM
The couple tapped Heather Hilliard, principal and founder of Heather Hilliard Design (heatherhilliard.com), to take on the massive project. Fleur Keyes, senior designer at Heather Hilliard Design, also was instrumental in the planning and execution of the goals.
“We create personalized interiors that combine classic detailing with the restraint of modern design,” says Hilliard. “Each is designed to embody the very best of our clients’ personal styles. We’re always mindful of the context of a client’s home location, architecture and landscape. Every project is unique, and no two will appear alike.”
Hilliard points out that their clients’ needs, wants and wishes are a critical part of every design plan. “We always want the end product to reflect them and their personal style implicitly,” she says.
Tackling an entire home is daunting, to say the least, and Hilliard’s team created an aesthetic blueprint for every room. They selected all of the materials and finishes, including stone and tile, white oak flooring, plumbing fixtures, hardware, decorative light fixtures, paint, wallpaper and furnishings.
The bright and airy kitchen features cadet stools from De Sousa Hughes and globe pendants in oil-rubbed bronze from Remains Lighting Company.
THE GOAL
Above all, Hilliard says the homeowners wanted clean lines, uncluttered spaces and understated decor to parallel with a bright, light and airy floor plan that connected to the outdoors. “Reductive, simple, functional, warm, comfortable and restrained—these are some of the words and concepts yielded in our first design meeting with the couple,” says Hilliard.
“Our clients wanted a relaxed and inviting space with a timeless aesthetic to entertain large and small groups of friends, family and business colleagues, as well as children’s pool parties and school events.”
The symmetrical floor plan, created by architects at San Francisco-based Charlie Barnett Associates (charliebarnettassoc.com), provides a natural flow that’s intuitive and engaging.
“Although the house is very large, we wanted to maintain the client’s desire for the house to be understated,” says Hilliard. “The entry of the U-shape house is visible from the driveway, while the two wings of the house are at angles that recede, making the house appear smaller in scale when viewed from the front.”
The couple also wanted a second story on the home, as well as a spacious gym featuring a sauna, hot tub, cold plunge, steam room, massage room, his-and-her offices, playroom, media room, guest bedroom and bunk room where the girls could host sleepovers.
The Hilliard team custom designed the table for the dining room. The space also features Massimo Vitali art and Jeanneret-inspired custom chairs in dark wool boucle fabric.
THE CHALLENGES
Creating livable spaces at human scale is a major hurdle in a 15,000-square-foot home with 24-foot ceilings in the living and 12-foot ceilings in most other rooms. “We wanted to create moments of intimacy throughout the sprawling home,” says Hilliard. “It was important to design spaces where the family could find connection.”
Dark blue and gray hues grace the library, which features painted paneled walls and bookcases, Royere rounded polar bear chairs and an arrow pendant from Apparatus.
LIVING ROOM
Hilliard arranged furniture in this essential space in three separate groupings to accommodate guests for large parties or smaller gatherings around the central fireplace or Malaga game tables covered in Anees (aneesupholstery.com) upholstery.
“The sheer linen curtains are gauzy and ethereal at the tall steel and glass frame doors,” says Hilliard. “To keep the room comfortable, we layered in rich fabrics of mohair, alpaca, textured wool boucle, cashmere velvet, leather and linen.”
Dark and light furniture pieces, finished in everything from rope to parchment, are a mix of new, custom and antique—all with soft curves to offset the linear lines of the room. Standout pieces include a Howard sofa by Egg Collective (eggcollective.com) with fabric by Holland & Sherry (hollandandsherry.com), a coffee table by Grain Design (graindesign.com), an Italian club chair by Coup Studio via Coup D’Etat (coupdetatsf.com) and a Dauphine floor lamp from Circa Lighting (circalighting.com).
The art above the cabinet is by notable artist and photographer Richard Misrach. “We created layers of light in the room with the combination of recessed fixtures, custom dark metal lanterns, sconces, handmade ceramic table lamps and bronze floor lamps,” she says.
Serenity pervades the primary suite, with a palette of light gray, white and beige. A merino wool area rug from Stark Carpet lines the room, which holds Magari lounge chairs from Dmitriy & Co and a Lawson Fenning bench from De Sousa Hughes.
DINING ROOM AND LIBRARY
Just off the living room, two sets of double doors lead into the dining room and library. The dining room features Hilliard’s custom-designed white oak dining table with custom Jeanneret-inspired dining chairs upholstered in dark wool boucle fabric, antique French deco buffet, art by Massimo Vitali (massimovitali.com) and a white plaster pendant that casts soft indirect lighting onto the ceiling.
“For the library, we selected a dark blue and gray atmospheric color for the painted paneled walls and bookcases, as well as complementary soft wool sheers at the windows to create a sense of intimacy in the rooms,” says Hilliard. The team also paired Royere’s (maisonroyere.com) rounded polar bear chairs by Jonas (jonasworkroom.com) in dark blue cashmere velvet, camel leather benches, Hilliard’s own custom-designed oak desk, brass library ladder and bookcase lighting with a contemporary arrow pendant by Apparatus (apparatusstudio.com) and an eclectic collection of books and art.
A moody and chic bath blends dark and light tones, along with an antique-style vanity sink.
KITCHEN
“There’s a return to the light, bright and relaxed atmosphere at the two rooms at the ends of the wings of the house,” says Hilliard, who employed neutral fabrics and leather to line the relaxed furnishings. “The envelope of the kitchen and family room is painted white. The white linen sheer curtains contrast the dark metal frame doors. Painted white cabinets and white marble counters and backsplash contrast the dark metal finish of the decorative light fixtures.”
Cadet stools in bleached walnut from De Sousa Hughes (desousahughes.com) surround the counter, and globe pendants in oil-rubbed bronze from Remains Lighting Company (remains.com) add a gorgeous glow to the room. Hardware in polished chrome by Water Street Brass (waterstreetbrass.com) via Design Theory Hardware (designtheoryhw.com) accents the finely crafted cabinetry.
A lovely courtyard reveals the home’s U-shape design.
PRIMARY SUITE
The design team’s aim was serenity throughout this important space. “A palette of light gray, white and beige was selected to create a calming environment,” says Hilliard. “We designed custom bedside tables in bleached white oak. The light oak bench at the end of the bed is upholstered in beige leather, and the chairs are covered in a Holland & Sherry off-white textured fabric.” To add a bit of contrast, Hilliard painted the paneling behind the bed a cool gray.
Beyond the custom pieces by Hilliard, the designer selected a merino wool area rug from Stark Carpet (starkcarpet.com), a Magari lounge chair from Dmitriy & Co (dmitriyco.com) and, to serve as another visual anchor, a Lawson Fenning (lawsonfenning.com) bench via De Sousa Hughes.
The family’s pool house provides a perfect place to entertain guests when taking a break from the festivities.
INSPIRATIONAL LIVING
“Having traveled to Denmark, Sweden and Finland just before starting the project, I was inspired by the overall interior design aesthetic of the homes, hotels, restaurants and museums,” says Hilliard. “There was an emphasis on natural light, cool color palettes of lights and darks, warm natural oak floors and a mix of old and new furnishings in soft curves in highly textured fabrics.” That aesthetic, combined with a relaxed California indoor-outdoor lifestyle, was the guiding vision for her team’s work on the home.
“We enjoyed the process of working to create and design the home to be comfortable and familiar— yet all new,” she says. “We wanted our clients to walk in after the install and feel at home.” Given the breadth of the details that spilled into this project, it’s safe to say the couple and their children now feel at home while making new discoveries every day.
HOME DETAILS
Home Type
Single-family
Location
Hillsborough
Interior Design
Heather Hilliard Design
Architect
Charlie Barnett Associates
General Contractor
Allwood Construction
RESOURCES
Apparatus
Lighting, library
Circa Lighting
Floor lamp, living room
Coup D’Etat
Club chair, living room
Design Theory Hardware
Hardware, kitchen
De Sousa Hughes
Stools, kitchen; bench, primary suite
Dmitriy & Co
Lounge chair, primary suite
Egg Collective
Sofa, living room
Grain Design
Coffee table, living room
Jonas
Chairs, library
Massimo Vitali
Art, dining room
Remains Lighting Company
Pendants, kitchen
Stark Carpet
Area rug, primary suite
Photography by: DAVID DUNCAN LIVINGSTON
