Houzz Tour: Reviving a Farmhouse in California’s Wine Country
Tucked atop a knoll overlooking a valley ringed with vineyards, this Healdsburg, California, vacation home is both commanding and quietly humble — a case where the view is far more exalted than the house that looks out to it.
Tidy and white and drenched in sunshine, the 1,680-square-foot farmhouse was built in the late 1800s. But time had not been kind to the structure, and when the present owner found it three years ago, it was riddled with dry rot; the porch, roof and foundation needed replacing; and the cloistered interior included a bedroom with a toilet in the middle.
“It was literally falling apart,” says architectural designer George Bevan of Bevan & Associates in nearby Sonoma. “It needed a lot of love.”
Despite the home’s problems, the 5-acre property had a tranquility that appealed to the owner, an advertising executive from San Francisco. “She just wanted a place where she could roll up, drop her bags and be a world away,” says Bevan.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: This is a weekend retreat for a San Franciscan and her 2 dogs
Location: Healdsburg, California
Size: 1,680 square feet (156 square meters); 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Year remodeled: 2013
Photography by Cesar Rubio
After more than a century, the home had known only two owners. “It was all original,” says Bevan. “It was untouched. It was truly a time capsule.”
Unfortunately, the rickety interior was all chopped up and closed in, limiting light and vistas and not accommodating today’s more informal lifestyle.
AFTER: Working with contractor Thomas Trainor, Bevan removed the dilapidated porch, which was shading much of the interior, and replaced the windows, hewing closely to the proportions of what was there before.
Although the siding was in comparatively great shape, the house was built in the days before building paper and moisture barriers, a scenario that didn’t bode well for the future. So Bevan replaced the siding with new redwood, which he had custom milled to replicate the proportions of the old siding.
Bevan combined the old kitchen, pantry and breakfast nook to form the new kitchen. Opening up the rooms, he says, actually worked with the structure and let the house “breathe.” Removing the old porch flooded the kitchen with light and views, which were enhanced by the addition of transoms at the original window openings. The designer replaced the battered beadboard ceiling and added coffers to break up the plane and lend a sense of scale.
Since there wasn’t room for both an island and a dining table, he opted for the latter, relegating the cooking area to the room’s perimeter. The Crate & Barrel farmhouse table is so dominant, it’s become the focus of all the activities of the owner’s daily life — not just dining.
Windows: Marvin; chandelier: Restoration Hardware
The glowing old-growth Douglas fir floors are original to the house; they were hidden under wall-to-wall carpeting. The wood’s warmth is echoed in the orange vinyl upholstery applied to a set of vintage dining chairs.
The homeowner loves her breakfast nook in San Francisco, so Bevan gave her a similar setup here, complete with a vintage Saarinen pedestal table and chairs. The counters are Calacatta marble.
Pendant light: Jonathan Adler
The living room footprint remained the same, but Bevan vaulted the ceiling and expanded the opening to the kitchen to make the place feel airier. He covered the fireplace in travertine to help anchor the space, which he furnished in collaboration with Natalie Ammirato.
The homeowner reupholstered the vintage sectional in vivid mohair from Kravet Couture. “She has a fondness for color and pop,” observes Bevan. Vintage chairs were re-covered in Tortola Marine fabric from F. Schumacher and paired with hexagonal tables from West Elm.
Rug: West Elm; pendants: Random Lights, Moooi
The hallway was generously proportioned but dark, so Bevan added a light well. The owner covered the walls with a sedate wallpaper from Jocelyn Warner (Lace in white) that almost feels ironic, given the bucolic surroundings.
No less ironic is this vintage mirror and chrome console that the owner acquired in Florida; the piece lends a touch of Miami swagger to this Sonoma County sanctuary. The chromogenic print above is “Untitled (Cowboy) 1989” by Richard Prince.
Casual stripes adorn the guest bedroom, where the owner’s impish sense of color is played out in a vintage chair reupholstered in metallic copper vinyl.
Bed frame, headboard, bedside tables, rug: West Elm; bedding: Serena & Lily; turquoise lamps: vintage
Bevan added horizontal paneling to the guest bathroom walls, countering the room’s high ceilings and enhancing the country charm. An arrangement of air plants adorns the wall …
… and is reflected in the mirror over the vanity.
Usually consigned to floors, hex tiles were applied to the walls in the master bath, where they transition in and out of the glass-walled shower.
Although it’s only about an hour and a quarter from San Francisco, the farmhouse feels like it’s a world away; its acreage is dotted with valley oaks and the occasional palm.
Lights built into the stair risers assure safe passage to and from the deck off the kitchen.
When the owner bought the house three years ago, the front porch wasn’t even safe to walk on.
AFTER: The exterior was largely restored and its details preserved. Although the interior feels more contemporary now, the changes respect the home’s past and help assure its future.
More: Houzz Tour: A Revolutionary Renovation in Connecticut
