A Silicon Valley home undergoes a significant renovation to align with a family’s tastes and lifestyle.
The living room features a Melrose sofa from Clad Home, a Lavaca coffee table from Yucca Stuff and a Field lounge chair from Blu Dot.
THE PROJECT
It doesn’t necessarily feel that long ago when most people think of the early 2000s. But two decades in the design business is an eternity—and it shows up in every square inch of a home. This was the case for a Palo Alto couple with three children (ages 5 to 13) who own a 3,600-squarefoot home built shortly after Y2K. The home, weighed down by Tuscan maximalism, ornate cherry cabinetry, glossy cherry flooring, lemon-colored walls and dated hardware, needed a gut renovation and a modern refresh.
To modernize the dining room, the design team removed all trim except the baseboard.
THE TEAM
The couple selected SF-based Malone (allmalone.com), led by its founder Malone Detro, to tackle the project. “As a designer, [my goal is] to realize a client’s taste, values and style utilizing my knowledge and expertise in a way that will bring longevity, uniqueness and clarity to the design,” she says. “I prefer to allow materials to dictate the form and function of spaces with a less-is-more approach. I find that mixing materials—stone, wood and metal—brings richness to all spaces while maximizing their full potential in strength and durability.”
The design team helped fully renovate the entry, living room, dining room, family room, kitchen, exterior living room and backyard, powder bath and guest bath. The team’s work also extended to the primary bathroom and kids’ bath upstairs.
Acero-honed travertine countertops and backsplash grace the kitchen.
THE GOALS
“We [needed to] lighten up the space—remove all the cherry wood and heavy fixtures, punch in some skylights, widen openings and doors and windows,” says Detro, who brought neutrality back to the spaces while using materials to create texture and richness. “Having three growing children impacted the design. The kids were going to inhabit all of the rooms, so we had to design with the intention of items getting drawn on, played with and sat on.”
ENTRY
Detro says the original entry was dark and cramped, with a heavily carpeted cherrywood staircase and a double front door. “We removed the front doors and replaced them with [a single] custom solid wood door with a side lite and customized a solid brass circular door handle.” The team stained the floors and removed ornate trims and detailing. Standout additions include flush-mount lighting from Urban Electric (urbanelectric.com), Simply White paint from Benjamin Moore (benjaminmoore.com) and florals from the Bay Area’s Matador Studio (matadorstudio.com).
The primary bath boasts Shinnoki wood paneling, Carrara floor and wall tile, and florals from Matador Studio.
LIVING ROOM
The couple’s desire for the space was simple: to act as a bright refuge for relaxation while serving as a room to entertain. Skylights and a beautifully updated door to the side patio add brightness and style, and the construction crew added height to the archway leading to the dining area. Standout pieces include lighting from Urban Electric, a custom Melrose sofa from Clad Home (cladhome.com) covered in Chivasso Global fabric from De Sousa Hughes (desousahughes.com), a Lavaca coffee table from Yucca Stuff (yuccastuff.com) and a Field Lounge side chair from Blu Dot (bludot.com).
DINING ROOM
“The dining room started with a central soffit box clad in the cherry wood,” says Detro. “We cleaned up the soffit by removing the cladding and installing a more modern, streamlined light fixture.” The doors and trims in the room were stark white. To modernize the room, the team removed all trim except the baseboard; modern black panels replaced the doors.
FAMILY ROOM
This area shares space with the kitchen, so the design team delineated between the two. “A custom pill-shaped kitchen table separated the spaces, with a custom Floordesign (floordesign.com) rug acting as the true marker of space for the family room,” says Detro. “It was important for the sofa to accommodate all five family members while still avoiding feeling cumbersome, so we customized an L-shaped Camerich (camerichusa.com) sectional with Pollack (pollackassociates.com) velvet that included backless cutouts for a more open feeling.”
KITCHEN
Malone says determining a home’s flow is one of her favorite design tasks. The kitchen required a significant renovation to accommodate the family’s lifestyle, from opening the window and door to the backyard to creating a pass-through window and counter behind the sink. “While keeping tones relatively neutral, we added flare through countertop thicknesses, cabinetry colors and the addition of brass toe kicks and island rail detailing,” says Detro.
“I’m the daughter of a local cabinetmaker,” says Detro. “So, I grew up laying out kitchens and bathrooms. I find great joy in ensuring everything has a place in the kitchen,” which, in this home, holds Acerohoned travertine countertops and backsplash from De Vinci Marble (davincimmarble.com), a Sub-Zero (subzero-wolf.com) refrigerator and a Fisher & Paykel (fisherpaykel.com) drawer refrigerator.
The primary bath’s shower mimics the modern simplicity of the home’s overall design and offers a spa-like sanctuary for the homeowners.
HOW THE HOME IS LIVING
The couple loves the home. “While there are plenty of instances where my studio and I are working to hone someone else’s style, this client and I share similar tastes, which is a true joy and has led to a fantastic working relationship with one another,” says Detro.
DESIGN DETAILS
HOME TYPE
Single-family
LOCATION
Palo Alto
DESIGNER
Malone Interior Architecture + Design Studio
allmalone.com
RESOURCES
Benjamin Moore
Paint, entry
benjaminmoore.com
Blu Dot
Lounge chair, living room
bludot.com
Camerich
Sectional, family room
camerichusa.com
Clad Home
Sofa, living room
cladhome.com
Da Vinci Marble
Countertop and backsplash, kitchen
davincimmarble.com
De Sousa Hughes
Sofa fabric, living room
desousehughes.com
Fisher & Paykel
Drawer refrigerator, kitchen
fisherpaykel.com
Floordesign
Rug, family room
floordesign.com
Matador Studio
Florals, entry, living room
matadorstudio.com
Pollack
Sectional fabric, family room
pollackassociates.com
Sub-Zero
Refrigerator, kitchen
subzero-wolf.com
Urban Electric
Lighting, entry, living room
urbanelectric.com
Yucca Stuff
Coffee table, living room
yuccastuff.com
Photography by: SUZANNA SCOTT PHOTOGRAPHY
