Author: punchwpadmin

Words by Jennifer Jory

As December approaches, designer Colleen Dowd Saglimbeni can’t wait to pull out her life-size Santa, four christmas trees and heirloom nativity set. But transcending the festive decor, her mission to pass on traditions and holiday joy is what brings family and neighbors into her Hillsborough living room all month. “The atmosphere changes when the house is decorated,” she marvels. “Once the house is ready, I open the doors.”

Colleen lights up as she talks about creating ambiance with an enthusiasm that makes you want to grab a cup of hot cocoa, turn on a Christmas movie and start pulling out your ornaments. “I am trying to recreate the feeling of my mother’s house,” she shares. “She really made the holidays wonderful and her priorities were very simple: She put her family first and had a strong faith.” The youngest of six children, Colleen fondly remembers the many traditions surrounding Christmas in Chicago, where life-size nutcrackers graced the entry. “It was magical,” she reflects. “All of the outdoor lights, the huge feast on Christmas Eve.”

Cover Photography: Courtesy of Lauren Webb  / Photography: Courtesy of Heidi Lancaster

As founder of CDS Interiors based on the Peninsula, Colleen makes time between projects for hosting events—whether it’s for PARCA, Peninsula Family Service, Burlingame’s Our Lady of Angels Church, or more intimate gatherings, including holiday teas. “I deck out the table with things I don’t normally use,” she says. “I take out the good stuff. My mother’s and grandmother’s silver gives a nod to the past and dresses up the table.”

Colleen finds ways to mix in family heirlooms with her current style. On her dining room table, that means pairing her mother’s china with new chargers. She also looks forward to bringing out her treasured family paper mache nativity scene, which adds interest and meaning to the decor. “What’s fun about the holidays is to decorate with your own style,” she instructs. “Don’t be afraid to experiment.”

When it comes to making a home festive and decorating with impact, Colleen begins with the entry. “A wreath on the front door is the first thing people see,” she notes. She often places faux wreaths on her front gates, but uses a fresh magnolia leaf wreath for her front door. Acknowledging the obvious: “I do enjoy the process of decorating,” she admits. “Now my tree is an 11-foot Balsam Hill pre-lit one. I like starting with a blank canvas. I have gorgeous ribbon and I have tiers of crystals.” Colleen prefers a faux tree in her living room so the family can go away for the weekend without worrying.

Photography: Courtesy of Lauren Webb

Colleen adds that ornaments serve as a key element on the tree and don’t have to be expensive. “Ornaments that look like glass, but are plastic, can elevate a tree,” she points out. She also embraces sentimental Christmas decorations that evoke memories: “My children will have my grandmother’s, mother’s and my ornaments handed down through generations.”

In the bedroom, Colleen decorates a tree with more muted tones and her own favorite ornaments. “I leave the lights on when I go to bed,” she fondly recounts, “and then my husband turns them off when he goes to sleep.” She decorates trees for her children with colorful tinsel, along with ornaments with their school photos.

Photography: Courtesy of Lauren Webb

For homes with a modern or mid-century style, Colleen recommends a woodland theme, which maps to a current trend of natural materials and greenery. Try using a minimal garland on the fireplace or door openings, she suggests, and a monochromatic color scheme, which complements this style. “A simple magnolia leaf garland brings the outdoors in,” she guides. “Organic ornaments as well as glass or metallic blend with this motif. Pale velvets also add interest to a more contemporary home.”

Throughout the year, Colleen’s design firm manages numerous Peninsula projects. She recently wrapped up interiors at Millbrae’s Green Hills Country Club and is currently working on an interior design plan for a new build in Hillsborough. When the calendar signals “‘tis the season,” she eagerly jumps in to help with requests for a more festive touch.

One of Colleen’s favorite assignments? Managing the holiday decor for a newly-divorced dad. It was a huge success. “He had a Charlie Brown Christmas tree,” she recounts, “and I came in and decorated the entire house. He wanted to buy every single decoration.” Her only regret during the holiday season is that when Christmas is over, she has to take it all down. “Some people think less is more; I think more is more,” she smiles. “My aim is to create magic for our children, which hopefully they’ll recreate one day for their kids.”

shining bright – cdinteriors.com

Photography: Courtesy of Lauren Webb

COLLEEN'S HOLIDAY TIPS

Embrace Nostalgia
+ Incorporate family heirlooms
+ Display photos and items that evoke family memories
+ Embrace the mix of old and new

Spruce It Up with Fresh Greenery
+ Ribbon and greenery make anything say “holiday”
+ If you don’t have a tree, add greenery to a console, mantel or sideboard

Keep It Cozy
+ Pine, evergreen, amber and gingerbread scented candles make your home smell like the holidays
+ If you are traveling, a candle is a portable Christmas

Dream Up a Theme
+ Be simplistic or bold and colorful 
+ Adding one new piece a year creates a collection 
+ Don’t be afraid to experiment

Store Holiday Decor in Original Boxes 
+ Keep your wreath boxes and use them to keep dust off 
+ Store ornaments in zip cases

Words by Sheryl Nonnenberg

Lonnie Zarem reflects a mix of roles and personas: former market research executive, wife, mother of three sons and now, professional fine artist. All of these life experiences have prepared her for the success she now enjoys as one of the most influential artists working in the medium of encaustic monotype.

Born in Southern California, Lonnie cites two strong influences on her artistic leanings: her father, a mechanical engineer who was “always doing stuff with his hands,” and her grandmother, who used to encourage her to draw “everything around her.” After taking the pragmatic route of majoring in economics at UC Irvine, Lonnie ran Technology Marketing Services in Studio City for a decade. When she moved to the Bay Area in 2000, she found herself reassessing her life and career choices.

“I always loved to draw,” she explains, adding that she made sure her kids had access to art materials—in the form of a table loaded with pens, crayons and paper. After the boys were tucked in bed, she’d take a turn. “There I would be at 3AM, playing with watercolors,” she recalls with a smile. It was time to pursue a new career in the arts.

Prior to starting classes “where people tell you what you should be doing,” Lonnie gave herself a year to experiment and explore on her own. The result was a book of drawings, poems and paintings that remains a cherished keepsake. “It reminds me of what really works for me,” she says.

After earning her B.A. from San Jose State University’s School of Art and Design, Lonnie began as an oil painter, often working in a representational manner. Drawn to the medium of encaustic painting, which consists of beeswax, resin and pigment, her work became more abstract. Then, Lonnie heard of a new medium, encaustic monotype.

New Mexico artist Paula Roland pioneered the process, which entails, as Lonnie explains, “Creating an image by painting with blocks of pigmented wax on a hot flat plate, and then placing rice paper on it to absorb the wax image.” The result is a unique print that almost resembles batik, with overlapping layers of translucent color. After an intensive residency in New Mexico to learn the process, Lonnie was hooked.

“I think in layers and in a full range of colors,” she shares, “and the colors in encaustic monotype are magnificent—saturated and beautiful.” She also appreciates the tremendous latitude and inherent variability: “There are more possibilities and freedom in this medium; I am never bored.” Even after ten years, Lonnie says, every print still holds a surprise.

In addition to showing her work, Lonnie enjoys demonstrating the process. In September 2023, she held a solo exhibition of over 20 prints at Palo Alto’s Pacific Art League (PAL), marking the rollout of a one-of-a-kind, dedicated encaustic art center, funded by PAL and a grant from the International Encaustic Artists Project. At PAL’s Ramona Street studio, Lonnie is able to instruct 10 students, each equipped with their own “hot box.”

Lonnie credits this development to her reputation for taking an experimental approach to the medium. Thanks to the custom creation of a super-sized hot box, she’s able to work in very large scale, and she pushes the boundaries with layers of color. She also creates more representational imagery through the use of charcoal or graphite lines. “There’s a lot to teach, in terms of scale,” she observes, “and students can get so much out of encaustic because there are so many techniques.”

Her own work is inspired largely by nature and the experiences she has had while hiking, traveling or enjoying the panoramic views from the window of her Los Altos home. A recent trip to Iceland resulted in a series of prints that reflect the wild, dramatic scenery. Back in the studio, she used her layering expertise to depict the scudding white clouds that overlay the marine-blue skies. Streams of translucent shades of blue, gold and green evoke the feeling of thundering waterfalls. “I have been told my work is very energetic and brings people into it—which is exactly what I want because that is how I feel, like I am in it again,” she says.

Because Lonnie works from memory, a simple hike in the hills or fishing in a local stream can become subject matter. In Sky Through the Trees, she recaptured a childhood memory of lying in the grass and gazing upward. She loves testing limits, which she did in Migration II. In this large-scale (96” x 66”) triptych, a flock of pink flamingos takes flight across the three sections. Because she works alone, she had to develop strategies for pulling the print without losing the imagery.

How does she know when a print is done? “I need to feel I have been somewhere, that I have experienced/re-experienced a moment in nature, a moment in my imagination,” she summarizes.

In addition to being a well-respected art instructor, Lonnie excels at marketing her work, but in her own idiosyncratic way. While some artists rely on social media, she prefers to sell through face-to-face interactions. “I like a situation where people know me and what I do,” she says. To that end, she holds salons, where her art is displayed and she can offer demonstrations of the monotype process. “I have sold more work out of my home than you can imagine,” she laughs. Another technique is approaching a gallery and offering to mount a one- or two-day pop-up show between exhibitions. “I give people a lot of access to me,” she notes. “I like the human part of it all.”

Using encaustic monotype to capture the beauty of nature, however transitory and ephemeral, seems to provide Lonnie with unending inspiration. “I have never had anything so lined up with what I think and feel, how it comes out of my fingers and what shows up at the end,” she reflects. “It’s like they all work together for me.”

Shades & Layers – lonniezarem.com

Words by Loureen Murphy

As Monique Anton drove down a Sunnyvale street in 2009, passing dozens of flat-roofed, plain-faced homes, curiosity grabbed the wheel and pulled her over. “What is this?” she asked the first person she saw. “It was like a portal I walked through and came out in a completely other world.” The world of Eichlers—which launched a journey of discovery.

“I fell in love with them, just like I fell in love with my husband,” recounts Monique, the broker and CEO of Modern Homes Realty, a Menlo Park agency specializing in Mid-Century Modern (MCM) properties. The street? Joseph Eichler’s first development, dated 1949.

From 1949 to 1966, the renowned real estate developer built over 11,000 Eichler homes in California, with the vast majority in the Bay Area. Today, Eichler housing tracts, along with custom homes, still pepper Peninsula communities including Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, Atherton, Burlingame, Hillsborough, Portola Valley, Foster City and San Mateo. With signature open floor plans and floor-to-ceiling glass, Eichlers have come to epitomize indoor-outdoor living, an enduring concept that evolves with each generation of homeowners.

The Essence of Eichler

Just as Monique’s Sunnyvale drive altered her course, so a single move changed Joseph Eichler’s life trajectory. From 1943-1945, Eichler and his family rented the Hillsborough home that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for Sidney Bazet. Its clean lines, light-filled rooms, radiant heating and indoor-outdoor flow inspired Eichler’s 1949 launch of the Sunnyvale Building Company, which envisioned innovative-yet-affordable suburban homes. Soon, Eichler properties sprouted among South Bay and Peninsula orchards and hills, and beyond.

“Why buy a ‘Model T’ home when you can get so much house for so little!” enticed a 1951 Eichler ad. Photo-laced articles and ads boosted sales of these intentionally middle-class “California Modern” dwellings, as each year brought larger floor plans and more design enhancements.

SIGNATURE EICHLER FEATURES

+ Exposed posts and beams
+ Globe lights
+ Skylights
+ Home level with the ground, no steps up
+ Natural, accessible materials: wood, steel, concrete
+ Mahogany paneling
+ Formica counters in kitchens and baths
+ Open floor plans in the common areas
+ Radiant heat, coiled pipes in concrete slabs, 
warmth from the floor up
+ Floor-to-ceiling glass walls
+ Cork flooring
+ Atriums in some models 
+ A-framed roofs
+ Clean lines

Eyesore or Eden?

Heather Rarden lives in San Mateo Highlands, Eichler’s largest subdivision. “When I first started dating [my husband] Mark,” she recalls, “he brought me here and said, ‘This is a very special neighborhood.’” Um. No. The “boring look from the front—straight lines, flat roofs” echoed the small, dark Navy base houses Heather had grown up in. But the “unassuming” facade of Mark’s childhood home opened to a much “more expansive feeling inside.”

Hesitant to make the move, Heather studied vintage magazines to understand the idea behind Eichler’s designs. It worked. And, once she and Mark cleared out the overgrowth in the backyard, their house seemed to double in size.

Architect and Burlingame Eichler owner Kristen Bergman agrees that Eichlers “don’t face the street particularly well.” Some homeowners opt to fence over the front or alter it in some way. Others dislike the dark entrance that draws the eye straight to the backyard. Yet when Kristen entered her first Eichler, she couldn’t “believe how beautiful that house was,” marveling, “Oh, this is what a house can be.” That vision later sparked the purchase and remodel of her own Eichler.

In Palo Alto’s Charleston Meadows, new Eichler owners Arthur and Tina say they “like the idea of indoor-outdoor living, with lots of windows and skylights and natural light.” And the open floor plan keeps kids from “being holed up in their rooms.” Just north in the Palo Verde neighborhood, Katie Renati still delights in her floor-to-ceiling window walls after 26 years. “I wake up and I see the greenery outside,” she beams. “I don’t think I could live in a normal house again.” Monique sums up Eichlers’ allure—“They’re like little zen pods.”

Neighborhood Nexus

Eichler enthusiasts tout community. In Katie’s cohesive neighborhood, she enjoys daily conversations, decades-long friendships and regular block parties. People often gather at Palo Alto’s Eichler Swim and Tennis Club, where Joe Eichler himself cut the ribbon on opening day in 1958. The neighbors whom Arthur and Tina met at an open house factored into their buying decision. “They were all really nice! We also liked that there were a lot of kids the same ages as our kids,” Tina says.

The “convivial spirit is part of that fabric woven together in terms of indoor-outdoor,” Mark Rarden explains. “You’re constantly living with and around other people.” Modest-sized homes mean the sidewalks brim with “very active walkers, continuously running into each other,” he adds. Ubiquitous well-furnished patios become just an extension of your house for friends dropping by.

In any “Eichlerville,” social bonds strengthen over simple interactions, like sharing sources for door knobs and globe lights. Monique calls the MCM home connection a “club you buy into.” Infused with a sense of connection and identity, Eichler communities gather informally as well as holding annual events, such as home tours and holiday celebrations. Heather and Mark say they looked all over the Bay Area for that neighborhood feel. In the end, they found it right where Mark grew up.

EICHLER - DID YOU KNOW?

+ Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak grew up
in an Eichler.
+ Atherton and Hillsborough boast a handful of the largest, most creative Eichler homes.
+ Some Eichler designs are one-offs, customized for an end lot after the rest of the tract was built out.
+ Palo Alto, home to Eichler Homes’ headquarters, holds the record for the city with the most of these iconic houses at 2,700.
+ The largest contiguous Eichler grouping, 700 homes, was built in San Mateo’s Highlands between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s. Bigger lots there allowed construction of some Super Eichlers.
+ Two of Palo Alto’s Eichler neighborhoods, Green Gables and Greenmeadow, are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
+ At least 20 California developers imitated Eichler designs.

Purism, Practicality and Preservation

These concepts may collide or cooperate—and invariably arise in the never-neutral discussion of Eichlers among neighbors and professionals. “I have seen some unbelievable Eichlers that are totally untouched,” says Monique, an Eichler purist. “People pass them down from generation to generation.”
But sometimes remodels must happen. Roofs deteriorate. Radiant heating fails. Appliances fizzle. Amidst re-dos, vintage adherents will preserve the formica in the kitchen and bath and acquire components for old fixtures and appliances. But new materials complementing and supporting Eichler essence and efficiency can also bring peace to the purist. Even retractable roofs over open-air atriums can harmonize without compromising an Eichler’s architectural integrity, observes Monique.

Mark and Heather considered changes to his childhood home before they moved in. Youthful recollections gave him “a cheat sheet” to start. For example, a house with that much glass “gets really cold or really hot.” They examined the “great for ’58” construction and updated it with double-pane windows and slim blinds to mute bright light and reduce interior temps. Count them fans of the “modern technologies that make these kinds of homes even more beautiful to live in.”

Likewise, “committed modernist” Kristen fuses past and present in her Eichler remodels, where practicality supersedes the “time capsule.” Instead she asks, “What would Eichler and the architects who worked for him do today?” In her own 2,400-square-foot Super Eichler, she swapped the radiant heat system for new radiant heat while retaining the ground-to-roof glass, essential to a seamless indoor-outdoor experience.
Kristen notes that the most common renovation is to open up original enclosed galley kitchens to the rest of the communal space and replace appliances with more efficient ones. She creates pockets for a bit of personal solitude in the common area. Other popular additions include a powder room, storage near the entry point, built-ins and expanded lighting options.

Whether renovating while honoring design intent, or treasuring original paneling and fixtures, many homeowners work to perpetuate the Eichler legacy. Safeguarding the aesthetic look reaches beyond the glassy walls of individual homes. Many Eichler enthusiasts seek to keep the authentic feel to their streets, preventing “McMansions” that tower over neighboring rooftops, blocking light, creating shadows and visual discord.

All-In with Eichlers

The Eichler Home Tour, staged five times since 2007, most recently showcased 12 Eichlers in San Mateo Highlands for its October 2023 event. Local Mid-Century Modern fans eagerly anticipate this rare-access opportunity and the chance to ask builders, architects and designers renovation and remodeling questions.

Now known as the “Eichler Lady,” Monique hosted the kick-off VIP party for the 2023 Eichler Home Tour. After founding Modern Homes Realty in 2012, she continued to go all-in with MCM. She even poured her ample knowledge into a 2019 documentary, People in Glass Houses: The Legacy of Joseph Eichler, sharing history, ideology and the growing yen for MCM vibes. Her weekly podcast, “Mid-Century Modernism with Monique,” hosts guest speakers ranging from architectural historians to journalists and interior designers.

Eichler homes’ leitmotif—simplicity with proximity to nature and neighbors—often elicits the designation “dream home” from owners. They see Eichlers as personal havens offering daily space for breathing deeply, imagining and reframing life. “When I discovered Eichlers,” Monique reflects, “I found more of myself.”

Words by Jen Jory

Embroidered textiles and colorful woven fabrics flow from floor to ceiling at SHALINI B. Tucked within the rustic barn at the back of Menlo Park’s Allied Arts Guild, the shop feels like a treasure cave waiting to be explored. Vibrant quilts, Moroccan pillow covers, hand-stamped, block print cottons—everywhere and all around, a kaleidoscope of captivating stacks and displays.

Owner Shalini Bitzer brings a global sensibility to her craft, designing and curating fabrics from all over the world. “Global is how I feel, think and is my life in general,” reveals Shalini. Her story is a legacy of a hard-working family of entrepreneurs spanning decades and continents whose labor of love now extends to the Peninsula.

As a third-generation textile designer and business owner, Shalini runs the family company India Silk with the same passion that her grandfather Sunderlal did for 60 years in Bangalore, India. “My grandfather would go to the airport in India with his bags of silk and check what flights were departing to other countries that day and buy a ticket,” she recounts. “He was so successful traveling and selling to Europe, Australia and many countries worldwide.” After partnering with Sunderlal until his passing, Shalini’s mother Madhu Mehta took over as the second generation leading the business. Equally driven, she brought India Silk to the U.S., where the company grew a coast-to-coast client base including large fabric houses such as Fabricut and Kravet.

Born to a German father and Indian mother, Shalini traces her own roots to Baden-Baden, Germany, and the Himalayan mountains, where she attended an international boarding school. “My design and inspiration come from my life in India and Germany and the diversity there,” she says. “Today, we travel to India and Morocco for business once or twice a year. We still have an office in Germany as well.”

After Shalini studied interior design in Hamburg, Germany, her brother encouraged her to apply to a U.S. green card lottery program, which opened doors for her to attend the University of San Francisco (USF) to further her studies. At USF, she met her future husband Hatim, originally from Morocco. True to their international lifestyle, the couple celebrated their nuptials in dual weddings in India and Morocco. “My husband rode in on an elephant in India that was adorned in jewels,” smiles Shalini.

After USF, she broadened her exposure to the design world and beat out dozens of applicants for a coveted editorial assistant position at Vogue italia. “It was like The Devil Wears Prada movie with 30 girls lined up to apply for the same job,” she recalls. Shalini noted the editor’s German accent and used her native language in the interview, which clinched the job: “It was a lot working 12 hours a day for the magazine.”

Several years later, she left the frantic pace behind to start a family and her own business, Shalini Design, which began with a line of pashmina scarves sourced from Kathmandu, Nepal. She sold her first 600-piece order to a large Canadian fur coat company, followed by sales to Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. Shalini’s mother encouraged her to continue with Shalini Design until she was ready to join India Silk.

In 2010, Shalini found a way to blend her worlds. In addition to taking on responsibilities with India Silk, the family’s wholesale business, she expanded into SHALINI B., to capture her retail offerings and full interior design services. “I am a one-stop shop,” she emphasizes. “I love pulling fabrics, furniture layouts and upholstery together. I also think color is important. Even with my clients who are afraid of color, I find a way to introduce more.”

Shalini’s first-hand knowledge of making textiles gives her a creative advantage as she is both designer and manufacturer. “I bring my drawings and samples to India and enter them on the computer where they are transformed into designs,” she explains. ”Then they are hand-threaded into a loom and the machine starts the weaving. If someone wants a white linen in a blush, we can do that.”

Craftsmen at India Silk originally started weaving exclusively on silk and then expanded over the years, producing linen, cotton and polyester fabrics. “I love the process of block print fabric as well,” Shalini notes. “The carving of the block, the shapes and natural colors used, result in perfect pattern repeats without a seam.”

Shalini frequently teams up with Madhu, who at 85, harnesses the same family work ethic as her father before her. “My mother is still engaged in the business like a 50-year-old,” marvels Shalini. “When I see her, it’s inspiring and she amazes me in meetings. I have to tell her to take a break.” With three daughters of her own and the oldest pursuing a marketing degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Shalini is likely to see a fourth generation carry on the family legacy.

With hard work and determination in her genes, Shalini’s muse continues to be Sunderlal, the family patriarch who worked into his late 90s. “His attitude was, ‘Don’t be afraid, and if you want to do something, do it.’ He was always forward-thinking,” she reflects, as her hand touches down on a shimmering pattern amidst SHALINI B.’s colorful displays of linens, shawls, wraps and scarves.

global patterns – shalinib.com

Words by Sheri Baer

Arielle Citron Leonard recently had a new client contact her about a remodeling idea that was just taking shape. The homeowner hadn’t talked with anyone else yet and launched the call with a somewhat-sheepish query. “They asked, ‘Is this the right time to reach out to you?’” recounts Arielle. “And I responded, ‘Most people don’t but it’s so important because we see the project through from nothing until it’s complete.’”

As the principal of Citron Home, a full-service Peninsula-focused interior design firm founded in 2016, Arielle frequently finds herself clarifying the role that interior designers play. “People think that we just come in and put furniture in the space,” she explains. “We definitely can do that, but if you are doing a whole renovation or a new-build construction, it’s to your benefit to bring us in early.”

Whether working on spec projects or with individual homeowners, Arielle touts the value of weighing in from the outset. When she’s brought in by developers, she works hand in hand with the architect to convey the overall vision for the home, which is frequently influenced by the Peninsula’s many family-friendly neighborhoods. “Seeing it through that lens means making sure that it’s not just a pretty home but it also makes sense and it flows,” she notes, citing examples like sufficiently wide hallways, ample storage, a laundry room that’s close to the bedrooms and a proper mud room.

COVER IMAGE: We wanted the beautiful exterior vintage oak trees to be an integral element in designing this great room. Large windows, soft ripple-fold drapes and a light fixture with oak accents intrinsically link the space with the outdoors.

“We make sure that the kitchen has everything that’s needed for a family and that there’s great usability and flow between the spaces,” Arielle continues. “And nowadays, a lot more people are working from home, so instead of doing one office, we’re doing two offices or a flex space. We look into areas where kids can play or that can also be used as a guest room or a study room.” From a design perspective, Arielle appreciates the flexibility that comes with spec projects. “There’s not as much direction,” she points out. “There’s no client, so we have more range to be fully creative.”

That said, Arielle also enjoys partnering with homeowners, who typically have a personal style they want to achieve. “We work together to really understand their aesthetic, so we can carry that vision through to the end,” she says. “Not only do we have the layout of the home in our heads, but we also consider how somebody is going to live there.”

Being involved from the start allows for input on space planning, scale and core decisions. That includes door and window placement, floor selections, baseboards, TV locations and even outlets. “If you have a vacuum that needs to be charged, we make sure that there’s a plug there so that it can be put away. Even electric toothbrushes—we like to have everything plugged away in drawers,” Arielle relays.

Small details make the difference in this staircase design. Adding picture lights to the ceiling to allow for a statement piece of art to shine introduces depth, illuminates the space and draws the eye upwards to take in the full effect.

The list goes on. Stone choices, sconces, window treatments and stair railings. Ceiling height, ceiling pitches and locations for recessed lighting and switches. “All the plumbing fixtures and faucets,” adds Arielle. “Even the height of the shower and where the temperature control goes so that you don’t get wet when you turn the shower on.” For a client who likes to cook, Citron Home makes sure there’s plenty of room for pots and pans. If they like to host big dinner parties, the design team ensures there’s sufficient table space for guests. “We definitely voice our opinion on what we think the client would love and appreciate, and after that, it’s their decision on what they want in their home.”

Raised in Menlo Park, Arielle says it feels like a natural extension to create beautiful and functional living spaces on the Peninsula. “New construction and renovations keep the community thriving and bring new life and young kids into the area,” she reflects. “When I drive by all the parks and they’re filled with kids, I think, ‘I was one of those kids.’” She credits her parents with sparking her passion for design and timeless art. “They built their own home, and I got to watch that at a young age,” she recalls. “And then they built spec homes throughout my childhood so I was able to learn about that and see it with my own eyes and become more involved as I got older. Design is something that’s in my blood, and I’m fortunate enough to have known it my whole life.”

After earning a design and architecture degree from UC Berkeley, Arielle pursued additional coursework in interior architecture and interior design. She worked for an interior design firm until she realized she was ready to go out on her own. “That’s what I always envisioned myself doing,” she shares, “and so I took the leap.”

Continuing the indoor-outdoor flow throughout the home creates a cohesive and clean atmosphere. The window treatments span the length of the room, drawing your eye across, while the horizontal lines are brought together by the European white oak floors and the linear oak pendant.

Now married with two “rambunctious” kids, Arielle has renewed appreciation for the Peninsula’s vibrant green spaces, high-quality schools and charming tree-lined streets. She also recognizes that it’s not easy to get into this market, which underscores why the right design team should be in place sooner than later: “I think the worst thing that could happen is that you spend two years building or renovating your dream home, and it doesn’t have everything you need.”

As she partners through the construction process, Arielle also consults with clients on furnishings. “That way, once their construction is done, they can move right in,” she says. “Having a family of my own allows me to have more insight into what families need that they don’t necessarily know that they need.” Drawing from first-hand experience, Arielle cites examples like easy-to-clean fabrics and carpeting. “I think we have a good grasp on durability and just making sure things are timeless.”

While she finds the entire design process stimulating, Arielle doesn’t hesitate when asked what’s most satisfying. “Seeing the project at the end of the day and closing the door for the last time,” she smiles. “To see families move in and create their own memories in a space that I’ve designed feels really special.”

designing every detail – citronhome.com

Words by Johanna Harlow

If you’ve ever found yourself mesmerized by the undulating, rippling surface of a pond, you’ll likely feel an affinity toward the paintings of Joseph Fuchs. Though water isn’t always featured in the artist’s city and nature scapes, it flows through many of his atmospheric works of art. “Essentially the water is an abstract,” the Los Altos painter describes. “You have to try to get the range of colors and shapes.”

That many of Joseph’s canvases are awash with depictions of bobbing Venetian scenery should come as no surprise. “The first time I went, it was almost like that previous life experience where you walk into a place and you fit… I was more than enchanted!” reflects Joseph, who first fell for Italy’s “City of Canals” back in the ‘80s.

The landscape was quite different from the endless orchards of Joseph’s hometown, where the only action was the occasional groan of a Boeing B-52 coming and going from nearby Moffett Field. As a seventh-generation Peninsula native, Joseph describes the Los Altos of his boyhood as “a drowsy, sleepy place.” “It wasn’t important. It was just a nice place to grow up,” he recollects. “A dog could go to sleep in the middle of the street and never be run over!”

Cover Artwork: Quiet Outing, Venice / Artwork: Floating World

But back to the water and Joseph’s unquenchable wanderlust—because over the years, he’s revisited Venice over a dozen times. “You can go back and see it a second time—and a third and a fourth—and it’s always a little different. And the more you do that, the richer it is,” the octogenarian says.

Joseph, who taught English at Menlo-Atherton High School for 33 years, even spent his six-month sabbatical living there. He painted every morning, then wandered the streets after lunch, returning back again in the evenings. “I would find a direction and just walk,” he says. “I would go different routes every single time.”

Where’s Pulcinella?

The artist has another preoccupation. But this time, it’s not a where or a what. It’s a who. Pay Joseph a visit and, in every room in his house, you’ll spot a hook-nosed, humpback clad with a smurf-like hat and a mask. This funny little fella perches on Joseph’s nightstand, revels along his bookshelves and gambols across many of Joseph’s paintings. Tilework (handpainted by Joseph) in both the laundry room and kitchen depict this comedic creature hanging up the wash on the clothesline, hugging a bevy of baguettes to his chest or balancing precarious, multi-scoop ice cream cones in both hands.

This character you’ve likely started playing “Where’s Waldo?” with goes by the name of Pulcinella. Joseph remembers first encountering the well-known stock character in Italian theater (also called “commedia dell’arte”) at a Pulcinella-packed exhibit at Stanford University. “I was devastated and amazed,” he says. “I’d found my man.”

Over the centuries, Pulcinella has been depicted as both foolish and cunning, both servant and master. He’s an opportunist known for exploiting situations to his favor—yet despite his foibles, rescues others who find themselves in trouble. For Joseph, the character is an ideal vessel for exploring humanity’s many faces. “He’s an everyman,” Joseph describes. “He represents everyone you could be.”

The artist notes that Pulcinella paintings aren’t in as much demand as they once were and that he’s incorporated more landscapes from his travels as well as Bay Area scenery into his practice of late. Though fortunately, he still finds fans of his favorite rogue.

Artwork: Alla Volta; Tea Time.

Joining the conversation, Joseph’s wife Jane references one of her husband’s earlier works: a piece in which Pulcinella shows a barefaced young girl around a mask shop. “Innocence doesn’t have a mask,” says Jane, observing, “As you come of age, you put on many masks. You can become anyone you want.” Joseph nods in agreement, “She’s being initiated into a future world that she’s going to occupy.”

Joseph and Jane

Joseph and Jane interact with that comfortable, lived-in ease that comes after 55 years in a strong marriage. Growing up, they attended the same schools—junior high, high school and college (San Jose State)—but it took two fateful dinners to finally get the two together. The first didn’t go so well.

Joseph, who had joined the military and spent a frigid winter in a guard tower in Korea, was back on leave when he attended a dinner hosted by their mutual friends. “He was white as a sheet, thin, extremely quiet,” Jane recalls. Meanwhile, Joseph found Jane excessively bubbly. “And I don’t like champagne!”

But when the two ate again with the same mutual friends a year later (after Joseph returned from time serving as a medic in Vietnam), sparks flew. “She’d written a couple of letters to me,” Joseph remembers. “And when the door opened, and she said, ‘Joe! Joe!’ It knocked me down! Nobody really had welcomed me back like that.” Jane adds that the change of scenery had done him good. “He was tan, muscular and had this fantastic smile,” she reminisces. “I told my girlfriend after I saw him the second time, ‘I’m gonna marry that man.’ And I’m usually a very cautious person! Within two weeks, we were engaged.”

Outside the Canvas

Drawn to art from childhood (which included many a sketch of Donald Duck), Joseph continued to paint during his time in the military. When he returned to California after ending his tour, he took up teaching at Menlo-Atherton High School with the intention of cultivating the next generation of artists. Instead, he got roped into teaching English, his college minor.

Artwork: A Wizard's Dream

“That didn’t squash the painting,” Joseph assures. “It augmented it because it allowed me to be in a world of ideas… It allowed me to have this kind of imagination that deals with images. Because when I read a book, I’m thinking of images.” And although Joseph didn’t log long hours in front of the canvas during his early years of academia, he still carved out short nightly sessions to paint in the garage—even if only for 15 to 20 minutes.

He also found creative ways to tie art back into his students’ writing prompts. For one project, Joseph handed out images to his students and told them to write short stories that culminated with the pictured scene. For another, they analyzed a film and book version of the same story to find where the tales overlapped. “The kids loved it,” he smiles.

In 1991, when Joseph started exhibiting his art, his students came to show their support. Since then, his work has been displayed at over a dozen galleries and exhibitions including the Pacific Art League, Voshan Fine Arts and (his latest) Gallery 9 in Los Altos as well as international shows like Art Revolution Taipei and Biennale Internazionale Dell’arte Contemporanea in Florence.

Artwork: Arcadia; English Waif (inspired by a photo of a threader by Lewis Hine).

Now in retirement, Joseph dives into traveling, submerging himself in the inspiration of landscapes from around the world. In addition to wielding a paintbrush, he also renders black and white sketches with a combination of pencil and pen. “When you go from one to the other, there’s a transition,” he notes of the differing mediums. “How do you hold this pencil?”

Back in his home studio, Joseph explains how he balances a painting and pulls the viewers’ attention around the canvas. He indicates a scene with a man unloading a boat, the box in his hands tipping at a precipitous angle. A dozen characters twist around to watch him, waiting for the inevitable. “The interest goes back and forth,” Joseph explains. We watch the unfortunate man, but also the reactions of the watchers. It seems a fitting metaphor for a prolific artist with a multifaceted life.

Let Art Transport You – josephfuchsartwork.com

Words by Loureen Murphy

If walls in this 1906 home could talk, they’d discuss all the personalities who inhabited their 9,000 square feet in lower Hillsborough, among them Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron, the renowned one-legged tiki bar owner and self-proclaimed inventor of the Mai Tai. True, they might bicker about taste shifts over time—Colonial columns here? Really? But they’d cheer in chorus at TRG Architecture + Interior Design’s dramatic transformation of their domain—and how it vibrates synergy between past and present.

When the current owners first viewed the house, last renovated in the 1980s, it didn’t lure them in. But the “fantastic location” did. “We loved the flat lot, walkability to downtown Burlingame, and a much bigger home than we’d be allowed if we were to build from scratch,” shares one. “We bought it knowing this was going to be a soup-to-nuts remodel,” remarks the other.

Inspired by the potential, the couple took TRG’s architect Randy Grange along to see the property. “They assumed we’d do the work,” he recalls. Having gained their trust on a previous remodel, “We didn’t have to prove ourselves to them.” The husband/wife team, which also comprises interior designer Leslie Lamarre, embraced the Arts & Crafts spirit and solid bones of the place as they drew plans capturing the homeowners’ wishes. Leslie says, “They gave us a list, and we made it happen.”

The indoor to-dos: Move the master suite upstairs so the young family could relax together. Make an upstairs playroom to keep toys on one story. Raise the laundry room up a floor. Pare the number of fireplaces from seven to one. Attach the guest house/pool house to the main home for easy access. Open the guest house kitchen and great room to the poolside. Wine room, workout room, game room, mini theater.

The big ask? Alter the disjointed Winchester House-like floor plan, with its small, dark rooms and abrupt turns—and make everything fit. Randy enlarged rooms without altering more than 50 percent of existing walls, complying with Hillsborough’s building codes. The owners praise the “clever things Randy did that opened up the central spine,” allowing for “the big, light-filled rooms” they wanted. The spacious main floor now optimizes hosting, particularly long-term guests. “Everybody can go to a different space. No one feels overcrowded.” Noise disperses. Peace.

The yards begged equal time. “The former front had changed in the last remodel, and we split the front in half with a stone wall,” Randy explains. “Now it feels more like a back yard.” Major work also entailed moving the garage from one side of the house to the other. Eliminating one of the two driveways “to keep cars and kids as far from each other as possible” allows for safe playtime on the new sport court, lawn area and swings.

The makeover process yielded some surprises and challenges like the original unattached brick foundation beneath the living room and tile-floored garage. The basement required digging to even out the floor and increase head height. Fully finished, it levels up family fun, housing the game room/preteen hangout with bean bag chairs, foosball and ping pong tables as well as the theater, workout room and elegant wine room/whiskey bar.

After removing asynchronous design elements, the team restored clean Arts & Crafts lines. In rejuvenating each area, Leslie designed built-ins apropos to their place and purpose, including cubbies for the children. She selected unique artisan-made furnishings and light fixtures that elevate the distinct contemporary aesthetic of each room, yet reflect Craftsman-era authenticity and simplicity.

Subtle nods to Trader Vic accent the home with tribal-inspired floor tiling in the mudroom and two bathrooms. The tiki vibe spices up the more casual guesthouse. Roman shades in a tropical pattern. Black and cream grasscloth in the bedroom. Caning on chair backs. Carved wooden panels from New Guinea on the walls. A set of tiki glasses commanding the shelf over the kitchen sink.

The serendipitous re-do reveals harmony between the noted former occupant and the present ones. Vic hated pretension and loved art—he sculpted and painted in his home studio. Today’s family-focused owners appreciate modern art and display a nascent collection. Vic prioritized hospitality even more than his food and drink creations. Likewise, togetherness in the two-island kitchen flavors each meal as much as the touches of its avid home cooks.

As Trader Vic once said, “At no time did I do anything that wasn’t the best I knew how to do. I wanted quality.” The refinished home embodies that same can-do spirit. “It’s one of the most extreme remodels we’ve ever done,” observes Randy.

“It’s basically the same footprint, but a radically different house than what we bought,’’ summarize the owners, who are flourishing in their new paradise. Smiling, they “threaten” to hold a Mai Tai party. More conversation fodder for the walls in the years to come.

transform your space – trgarch.com

Words by Johanna Harlow

Graduate Palo Alto isn’t for the modern minimalists. In the lobby of University Avenue’s eclectic new hotel, general manager David Joseph stands before a showstopping gallery-style wall, brimming floor-to-ceiling with paintings, scientific illustrations and pressed plants. “We actually had a woman try to pry the pictures off our walls one time because she wanted crystal chandeliers and one lone art piece on a blank wall,” he recalls with a chuckle. “That’s not us.” Now, if you’re looking for an exuberant space with an explanation behind every design detail—the kind of maximalist design you can really sink your teeth into—you’re in the right place.

When Graduate Hotels (a hotel group that themes each of its locations around college nostalgia) opened its Palo Alto site this past January, it aesthetically delivered a love letter to Stanford University. At first glance, you’ll pick up on this motif through the key cards made to look like student IDs of notable alumni as well as the study table with lamps in the lobby, evoking student libraries of the past. You’ll notice it in the hotel stationery, embellished with a bubble test pattern, beside a yellow No. 2 pencil with the hotel’s motto: “We are all students.”

But it’s in all the subtle touches too. The in-house design team has meticulously woven historical and cultural allusions to the region and the school throughout the entire fabric of the hotel—right down to the art on its walls, the carpet in its hallways and the menus at its in-house dining options.

Lifelong Students

So why the academic aesthetic? “Attending university can be such an impactful time in somebody’s life,” reflects David Joseph. “There’s a sense of excitement and novelty leaving home for the first time!” He adds, “Some of our best memories and some of our biggest memories come in that transition from youth to adulthood. We really try to lean into those stories.”

Designed for and by lifelong learners and curious souls, almost every design detail—and we mean everything—is location-specific, paying tribute to Stanford, its history or the surrounding California landscape. Take the hallways, often a nebulous in-between space in hotels. Not so at Graduate Palo Alto. David points out the native aviary woven into the carpet: our state bird, the California quail, as well as the finch, northern mockingbird and American kestrel. “I’m strangely a snob about hotel hallway carpeting,” David admits, “because it’s one of those things that either has too much personality or zero personality—and I love that ours tells a story.”

The carpet also features a series of numbers that mirror Stanford class plaques found in the campus quad. Since 1896, graduating seniors have left behind time capsules—and the numbers at the hotel correspond to milestone years at the University. “There are people in this building who can tell you the story of each number and say, ‘Oh, this is the year when the Queen of England came and visited Stanford,” notes David.

Push all the elevator buttons, and the door will open on curated collections of Stanford-themed memorabilia on the opposing wall. Everything—whether it’s sheet music, sports memorabilia, historic photos or old maps—references back to those time capsules.

The academic narrative extends to the rooms. After you manage to pry your eyes from the wild botanical wallpaper, you’ll find that the wall art pays homage to Stanford alumni. A framed cover of Mice and Men tips its hat to John Steinbeck, while the sketching of a comely undergrad reveals a student-aged Sigourney Weaver. The cluster of redwood trees on the headboards is also a nice touch, representing both Palo Alto’s namesake as well as the Stanford band’s unusual mascot.

Not even David has identified all the hidden references tucked throughout the hotel. “There’s a really robust sense of design that keeps you discovering every day. There are a million small details. Every day I’m in this building, I learn something new,” he reflects. “It’s fun to be in a space where we truly are all still students.”

harkening back

But the design team didn’t stop there. Graduate Palo Alto owes its Spanish Colonial sensibilities to the building’s previous tenants. As it happens, this building was formerly known as the Hotel President during the first half of the 20th century. Its historic architect, Birge Malcolm Clark, studied at… you probably guessed it: Stanford.

Graduate Palo Alto’s exposed wood ceiling beams, the enormous wall tapestry behind check-in, the carved credenza serving as the front desk and the Spanish tilework all harken back to Mr. Clark’s choices a century ago. Meanwhile, the art in the lobby features paintings inspired by Spanish Colonial interiors (alongside illustrations of California botanicals). The original building’s staircase and ironwork remain. “We tried to reimagine the space while still paying tribute to what came before,” shares David.

A Taste of the Past

That Spanish flair extends to the President’s Terrace, the hotel’s enchanting rooftop lounge awash with terracotta tiles, pops of color and playful patterns. Pendant lights swing above the bar, while tasseled patio umbrellas crop up in red and white. “We’ve got the only rooftop bar and restaurant in Palo Alto! We’re proud of that,” David shares as nearby guests pull up rattan chairs to congregate around wicker tables.

As bargoers drink in unbeatable views of the Stanford Dish, Hoover Tower and the surrounding hills, they sip Stanford-themed cocktails concocted by master mixologist Bad Birdy. Kutilda’s Thai Tea, spiked with brandy, is a nod to alumnus Tiger Woods, whose mother grew up in Thailand. West of Eden—cucumber, watermelon, vodka and gin, elevated with monk fruit and house-made fennel syrup—recalls another Steinbeck classic. And Leland’s Gold Rush mocktail raises a glass to Stanford’s founder with pineapple, lemon and elote. Other mocktails like Fountain Hopper and Full Moon on the Quad reference longstanding Stanford traditions, while The Peninsula and Silicon Sipper are more obvious callouts to the area itself.

Light bites are also served. “Our executive chef Andrew Cohen has done a wonderful job in curating something that’s so focused on the region as well as a lot of fresh seafood,” says David. “We do amazing fresh oysters!”
David’s favorite dish is the prime beef tartare, followed by the Bread & Butter, whipped bone marrow served with Manresa sourdough. “It’s something so approachable but at the same time feels upscale,” he relays. “And it’s a labor of love. It’s something that has a really distinct process.”

On the ground floor, Lou and Herbert’s café and bar offers a cozier experience with dark wood, a more subtle color palette and plenty of armchairs. “Downstairs should feel a little bit more intimate,” David notes. “It’s about the martini. It’s about the spirit-forward cocktails that feel a little bit more appropriate for a sip-and-sit-back.”

The title venerates Stanford lovebirds. Herbert Hoover, the 31st U.S. President (and one of the first students to enroll at Stanford) met his wife on campus. What’s more, Lou was the first woman at the college to earn her geology degree. “It’s meant to feel like that meet-cute, that space where you lean in a little bit,” describes David.

The café is also open during daytime hours so make sure to return in the morning for Manresa pastries, chia pudding or a breakfast burrito along with a piping hot cup of Saint Frank Coffee.

Real Neighborly

For a hotel seeking to not only act as a traveler’s destination, but also as a neighborhood hub, downtown Palo Alto is the perfect setting. “We want to be the living room of the community in any location that we’re at,” David says. “We want students to be walking by—if we had a room full of people and they all had backpacks with them, we’d be thrilled.”

And like the building itself, the area is textured in times past. “There’s so much history along this street,” David reflects. “So seeing some of the spaces that have transformed as we have, I think is really part of that neighborhood storytelling.”

Back in the lobby with its joyfully maximalist layout, David adds one final thought: “When people join us—especially when it’s a big weekend like back-to-school or graduation weekend—we’re hoping that people staying with us are also creating their own memories and making us a part of their story.”

Study Break – graduatehotels.com/palo-alto

Words by Sophia Markoulakis

As partners in business and life, Sam and Gloria Malouf have had 23 years to perfect that elusive balance that so few couples get right when working together. And they both credit the Peninsula with being a foundational bond.

Sam recalls his first reaction when he arrived here from Texas: “The moment I stepped out of SFO on April 1, 1991, my whole being felt refreshed. I took a deep sigh of relief and knew I was home.” After emigrating from Lebanon in 1979 and spending her first few years in Las Vegas, Gloria had a similar visceral reaction when her family relocated to the South Bay. While dating Sam in the late ‘90s and visiting him at his family’s business, she too fell in love with the Burlingame-San Mateo area. Today, as co-owners of Burlingame’s upscale boutique, Sam Malouf Authentic Luxury, the duo harmoniously work side by side. They continue to build an ever-evolving life based on mutual respect and shared heritage and interests, all while running their thriving store stocked with sleek sport coats and blazers, classic dresses and clutches.

Sam and Gloria, both of Lebanese descent, met in the late ‘90s at a local Lebanese-American Association fashion show that Sam’s family business, Malouf’s, was sponsoring. Gloria’s cousin, who was helping with the fashion show, was short on models and asked Gloria to fill in. “The rest is history,” smiles Gloria.

Sam has been part of the Burlingame business community for 34 years, first with his family’s business, Malouf’s, and then with the couple’s own enterprise for the last 15 years. Sam’s ties to Italian menswear and Neapolitan tailoring run deep, and brands like Zenga and Brunello Cucinelli are part of his core lineup. Gloria has been by his side since they wed, first helping with Malouf’s while working full-time as a corporate retail buyer to now heading up a robust womenswear section ranging from established brands like Missoni, Proenza Schouler and Khaite to Australia’s Aje and Swedish sustainable fashion brand BITE.

Specializing in coveted and cutting-edge European and Japanese designs, the Maloufs have the eye (and the inventory) to supply customers with particular looks that often can’t be sourced outside of Europe. Separately, they travel to Europe several times a year to connect with vendors and attend shows. Even with lots of international travel, you’ll still find both of them on the sales floor most days. And you might even run into Gabriella, their youngest of three daughters, helping out after school.

It’s not cliche to say that family means everything to the Maloufs. The couple’s three daughters—Eleanora, 21, Isabella, 18, and Gabriella, 11—are their world, and the work that it takes to run a business is never lost on them. “They have watched us grow our business from the ground up.

Naturally, we don’t expect them to carry on the legacy of the family business, but if they did, we would welcome it. We give them the room to follow their interests first,” Gloria explains. Sam expands further on his daughters and the business: “I would love to grow the business with their involvement, and I know each would bring different talents—but only if they have the passion. And I would want them to work elsewhere for five years first since experience outside is essential to their success here.”

Gloria credits her business acumen to her previous career and her innate curiosity and passion for design, but she also gives a significant nod to Sam. “We challenge each other’s viewpoints and learn from them,” she notes. “We have a mutual respect for what we both do and our individual strengths.”

Sam is quick to point out that a good working relationship with one’s spouse needs to be cultivated. He specifically recalls how things shifted during the pandemic: “I decided that we needed to figure out what we really loved to do most and focus on that, removing everything else. I really wanted Gloria to flourish in what she loved. I also began to outsource some tasks and focus on what I love, and that has helped both of us enjoy our relationship at work.”

Being involved in philanthropy is an essential aspect of the business. Through the years, Gloria personally has been active in PARCA, Filoli and the Hillsborough Auxiliary to Peninsula Family Service (HAPFS), in addition to their girls’ schools. The business supports PARCA and HAPFS, in addition to the SF Ballet, the Lymelight Foundation and the Hillsborough School Foundation, either as a corporate or fashion show sponsor. “Giving back to the community is important to us as a family and as a business, and I’ve made lifelong friends as a result,” Gloria says. “It’s a bonus when your vision for events is aligned with a nonprofit, and you can dream together.”

Originally commissioned by Lucie Stern as a center for Sea Scouts—and built to resemble a ship with porthole windows and navigation bridge—the EcoCenter in the Palo Alto Baylands was restored as an environmental nature center. Menlo Park photographer Jennifer Fraser enjoys wandering the tidal salt marshes that surround the Center, photographing the herons, avocets and mallards that inhabit them. “It is a peaceful walk, especially in autumn when the sun is low on the horizon and the marsh grasses glow gold and red,” she shares.

Image by Jennifer Fraser / jenniferfraser.zenfolio.com

Calling all Shutterbugs: If you’ve captured a unique perspective of the Peninsula, we’d love to see your Perfect Shot. Email us at hello@punchmonthly.com to be considered for publication.

Built in 1892, the iconic red barn in La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve immediately catches the eye on the drive between Skyline Boulevard and La Honda. Not surprisingly, the landmark structure is also a source of inspiration for artists and photographers, including PUNCH’s Gino De Grandis, who frequently travels Highway 84 over to the coast.

Image by Gino De Grandis / luiphotography.com

Calling all Shutterbugs: If you’ve captured a unique perspective of the Peninsula, we’d love to see your Perfect Shot. Email us at hello@punchmonthly.com to be considered for publication.

Words by Flora Tsapovsky

There’s that saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.” Well, when it comes to interior design, you also don’t need to throw out the entire bathroom. “Just because someone wants to make changes to their home doesn’t mean a full renovation needs to happen,” says Amanda Barnes, founder of Amanda Barnes Interiors. “Often there are features of a home that are so charming, I want to design around what is already in place.”

This approach has served Amanda well through her design career. Based in Hillsborough, Amanda, who grew up in Southern California, moved to the Bay Area in 2008. After working for 13 years in biotech, she pivoted to interior design in 2016, and has made a name for herself helping families reimagine their forever homes. Drawing her inspiration from design stalwarts like former J. Crew visionary Jenna Lyons and interior designer Jake Arnold, but also from being in nature, Amanda gravitates toward earth tones and a thoughtful design philosophy. “Whether it is a solid floor plan, beautiful old cabinetry or millwork throughout the house, a few refurbishments can transform a home,” she reflects.

Previously, the hood was the most dated element in the kitchen. Given the scale of the room, we made the hood bigger and carried it all the way up to the ceiling. We also designed it to run down to the countertop but left plenty of space to prep and cook. When the scales are off, a room can actually feel smaller than it is.

A recent project in Hillsborough exemplifies Amanda’s view on interior design perfectly. A relatively new build, the original design didn’t exactly speak to its new owners’ aesthetic sensibilities. Focusing on the dining and kitchen areas as well as the office, Amanda aimed to deliver an overall makeover without renovating the entire home. “You can really do a lot without having to open the walls,” she says. “Sometimes people underestimate how much edits can do to a space.”

In the kitchen, the clients wanted a complete facelift with minimal construction so Amanda swapped the lighting, countertops, backsplash and hardware, then updated the hood. Paint did the rest. A fresh coat on the walls and two tones of green for the kitchen cabinets delivered a refreshed, modern result.

For this project in Hillsborough, our client’s existing bar cart was quite a bit more modern than the rest of the home. It was a charming piece we wanted to include, so throwing in a vintage vase and fluted glasses, with some contemporary cocktail accessories, helped blend the aesthetics to balance out the old and new around the room.

Cohesiveness—another principle Amanda cherishes—came into play in the small details. The curves in the stone backsplash around the windows now mimic the curves on the hood and lighting. Such nuances, Amanda says, “are all subtle but impactful. Now everything relates to each other and feels effortless, like it was always there.”

The office is another example of an easy, attainable fix that makes a big difference. “When this home was purchased the study felt dated and stodgy,” Amanda says. “My client was unsure when I first told him I wanted to paint everything in here. Yet, with a mix of paint finishes, the room looks bigger, masculine and very sexy, with the new lighting and decor we swapped in.” Heavy materials like marble and wood as well as dark, moody art objects throughout set the atmosphere.

I often find beautiful coasters tucked away in clients’ homes, so pulling them out is a great way to add character to a space without purchasing anything. Mixing metals or swapping in a bartending book for a tray are also great ways to elevate a space.

Regardless of what is driving the limits, be it budget or preference, Amanda says that highlighting what clients love most about their homes can be done without a full renovation. She is adamant that interior design is more accessible than one might imagine—and a worthy expense at that. “You can just start with one room!” Amanda encourages. “While it is a luxury service, it is really something that affects your everyday living and quality of life, so considering how often you use the space, it’s a great investment.”

Photography: Courtesy of Andrew Lafrance

It’s no wonder that busy families—which gravitate towards Amanda’s brand of time-saving, effortless impact—make for her core client base. Amanda herself has two children. “I met my husband on my first day living in the City,” she reflects. “It was magical to go from single, to engaged, then married, and with kids over the next few years.” Her clients, she says, care about their homes, but care just as much about allowing their kids to let loose. By picking durable materials, for example, clients can get a beautiful look that will stand the test of sticky little hands and fast, tiny feet. “A home can feel beautiful and not be terrifying,” Amanda says. “I don’t want anything to ever feel too precious—the house should elevate living for everyday life, but also be a workhorse for the family.”

life-enhancing edits – amandabarnesinteriors.com

Words by Johanna Harlow

Tanya Slye’s seaside residence is awash in green, a tidal wave of trees and plants rising up between street and home. When she tells you she runs her own botanical styling, succulent and floral design business, it seems the most organic choice in the world.

“Being around living things is fantastic and it keeps me outside a lot,” smiles the owner of Tanya Slye Designs. “Living in Half Moon Bay, you can garden year-round. Succulents grow really well on the coast.”

Perhaps most distinctive is Tanya’s work with these squat, fleshy plants, adored by both green thumbs and those green to gardening. “I like working with succulents because they’re really long-lasting—even when they’re not in soil,” muses Tanya. Among her offerings, Tanya incorporates her garden’s succulents into corsages, earrings, necklaces and even atop locally-grown pumpkins. They’ve been quite the smash!

Cover Photo: Courtesy of Tanya Slye / Photo: Paulette Phlipot

But let’s go back to her roots. From an early age, Tanya has tread the garden path. “I was always picking flowers and doing gardening and weeding,” she recalls of her youth, adding, “We traveled a lot when I was a kid and we visited any botanical garden in any place that we went. Some of my favorite traveling memories from childhood are from VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, Queen Elizabeth Park or gardens in Europe.”

Enchanted by flower shops, Tanya started working at one at 16, and in years to come, managed four: one in Davis, one in Seattle, two in New York. From there, she studied organic farming and sustainable agriculture at UC Santa Cruz.

Photography: Courtesy of Tanya Slye

It was while caring for UCSC’s Alan Chadwick Garden—tending to its raised beds fed by organic fertilizers and nurturing its orchards with 80+ apple varieties—that another area of Tanya’s life bloomed. She met her future husband Richard and the two cultivated a connection. “He is an estate gardener, so we definitely connected over a shared love of gardens, plants and food—and we continue to work together on projects,” Tanya says. Smiling, she adds, “We have quite a few friends who are also ‘Farmie Couples.’”

Then, nearly a decade ago, Tanya started making botanical jewelry with pea-sized succulents. “I studied with an amazing floral artist: Francoise Weeks,” Tanya recounts. “She opened my eyes to a world beyond just flowers and vases.”

In some ways, it’s unsurprising that pumpkins would later become a muse for Tanya’s expanded offerings. It’s hard not to think about Halloween’s favorite gourd when, every October, a traffic-halting influx of jack-o’-lantern junkies take Half Moon Bay’s pumpkin patches by storm.

Photo: Paulette Phlipot

Each fall, Tanya partners with local farmers to grow her pumpkins, then harvests them herself. (“So that I can get long stems and include some of the tendrils,” she explains.) She then adds succulents in crownlike combinations on top. “One great thing about succulent pumpkins is that they last for months!” she shares. “Many of my clients have mentioned that they plant them in the garden after the holidays—and then have succulents growing the next year.” Tanya’s white pumpkins are particularly popular for bridal showers.

“Every single one is different,” she reflects. “I love the diversity of shapes and textures and colors… Succulents come in such a wide array of rosettes and strings of pearls. Some of them are red-hued and some are purple-hued and lots of green, of course.”

Other plant projects for Tanya include bringing weekly floral arrangements to her clients’ homes as well as crafting customized moss walls. “It’s basically a way to bring greenery into your home that you never have to do anything to,” she describes. “You don’t water it. You don’t touch it. And it can last for years looking beautiful because it’s preserved moss.”

Photo: Paulette Phlipot

When Tanya isn’t nurturing plants, she tends to her husband and two teen boys. She also partners with four other founders to run Half Moon Bay’s wildly popular Jettywave Distillery. As the team’s creative chief, Tanya influences the nautical aesthetics of the distillery and cultivates the patio’s edible garden. The rosemary, sage, nasturtium flowers and countless other herbs and flowers flourishing around the property go straight from planter to plate (or cocktail glass).

And when Tanya returns home after a busy day, her own artful planter beds will be waiting for her—ready for a little therapeutic weeding, of course. As Rudyard Kipling once said, “Gardens are not made by singing,‘Oh, how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade.”

Sensational Succulents: 
tanyaslyedesigns.com
abodehalfmoonbay.com