 | | | Beautiful mullioned windows set the stage for stunning views in the garden room. Photos courtesy Brandon Neff Design
| | | | | | Over the past year, I've been working with my Aunt Marie on a complete remodel of her charming pre-war cottage in Lafayette. The home sits on a generous lot in a sleepy, tree-lined neighborhood bordering the creek, and surrounded by her expansive garden.
Initially, she had just wanted my help to re-imagine her enclosed porch - the former dining room - as a place to sit and enjoy her park-like views through beautiful mullioned windows. After a little cajoling, I suggested we keep the momentum going, and what we created was something altogether chic and enchanting.
As a boy in the 1970s, I would spend many a weekend scouring the creek at the back of her property for vintage treasures clogging the banks - tin Log Cabin syrup containers, wooden Coca Cola crates from the '20s and old produce memorabilia were just a few of the wonders I'd haul up from the creek bed surrounded by fields of cosmos, tea roses, and what seemed like acres of forget-me-nots.
For me, the home was magical. I fondly remember after hours of trolling, I'd come inside for one of my aunt's "super-duper" tuna sandwiches. Over long weekends, my aunt and my grandmother, Marie Therese (who lived in the home for over 40 years until her passing), would be planting in the back yard, yanking weeds and thoughtfully transforming the garden into something out of an E. M. Forster novel.
It was in that garden, my grandmother taught me to appreciate hundreds of flower varieties and succulents, along with myriad local birds of every type. A bloom-covered trellis held court next to a stone bird bath, and a vintage weathervane fashioned with a hand-painted quail topper danced among the butterflies. To this day, I love the smell of freshly turned soil, and still remember vividly the sound of the white birch in the summer breeze.
The house itself, with its period architectural details, French doors and O'Keefe & Merritt stove stood in charming contrast to the mid-century home I grew up in. As an adult, after discovering my passion for interior design, I had a fantasy of updating the cottage to bring out its best features while maintaining its charm. I envisioned a colorful, happy space filled with the beauty of the gardens and the ocean palette my aunt loved from decades spent at our family's beach getaway. To be able to create a new vision for my aunt in her beloved home has been a wonderful experience.
We started with the enclosed porch - a forgotten room used more as a furniture catch-all than a functional space. After clearing the room, I uncovered the original brick flooring under a dark green carpet. I immediately got to work lightening the room - the floors were painted with a bright white deck paint, the walls a warm sandy beige and crisp white enamel for the trims and windows. I was inspired by British orangeries, and set out to create a cozy, inviting respite out of the tiny, 120-square-foot room.
To maximize space, I installed a banquette along two walls in an aqua twill and added a round, white pedestal table with two Louis XVI chairs for casual dining and tea. Accent colors in watermelon, coral and soft cream mixed with a chunky sisal area rug and a black wrought iron chandelier swagged over the table reinforced the happy-chic theme.
Finally, a chinoiserie mirror was hung over the banquette to add a collected look. Tip: to avoid having your rooms look like a page out of a store's sales floor, choose mixed finishes, something vintage and something a bit off beat. Recreating a showroom vignette is not good design, it's merely plagiarism.
From the garden porch we moved on to the living room. Again, custom pillows in watermelon, pink and soft blues were added to greige linen upholstered pieces. The walls were kept creamy to offset the lengths of aqua linen drapes hung from black hardware to keep continuity with the other rooms. In addition, I painted the brick fireplace a bright, glossy white to keep the cottage look going, and added a vintage chest of drawers in an arresting watermelon hue found in a consignment shop to add a pop of tension to the room.
A rather nondescript Queen Anne-style coffee table was repurposed with a coat of white paint, while antique botanicals in lacquered white frames share the walls with a golden sunburst mirror for added glam. In a cozy corner, an antique desk holds a ginger jar lamp with a contemporary drum shade in white linen.
Again, the look is mixed, fun and highly personal.
The kitchen presented a particular challenge due to the fact that I was to work around existing fixed elements. The room had fantastic moldings - particularly an original scalloped crown around the ceiling - and a picture window framing the glorious back yard. I had my contractor remove all of the original cabinet doors then strip, prime, paint and re-hang each with new polished chrome hinges - a huge improvement for pennies over new cabinetry.
For added interest and authenticity, I added new pulls and knobs in black glass - a nod to the original style of the Depression-era kitchen. To bring in the existing yellow tile backsplash and counters, I decided to paint the ceiling a golden yellow - what a revelation! It lifted the whole room and adds a sunny glow even at night. To tie in the Chinese red accent liner tile running the length of the backsplash, I chose full-length drapes in a colorful Morris style floral - hanging them high to ensure infinite drama and softness to the room.
I swapped out my aunt's existing oversized table for a smaller cafe table and added Windsor chairs with tomato red cushions. Now, she can sit with her morning java and soak in the view.
To say the room looks transformed is an understatement, and the best part is the whole kitchen project cost less than 10 percent of most remodels.
Today, the little house on the quiet street in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Lafayette stands proud. It always had a great heart, but now it welcomes with a rejuvenated spirit and brings a smile to all who enter. What I hope I achieved most was to create a space for my aunt to be surrounded by joyous color, beautiful design and a home that rises to greet her each time she turns the key.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA