This Artistic Northern California Home Celebrates the Unexpected

An Addison Woolsey ceramic vessel tops a walnut and rosewood table by George Nakashima. On the bluestone tile floor is a ceramic stool by Jane Yang-D’Haene. “Luke believes that what a person experiences as they step over the threshold sets their mood, deeply affecting the rest of their experience throughout the home,” says Witt. “He was adamant about protecting the entry composition and putting extra time into some key artisanal touches, and he was right to do so.”

To start, says Foss, they “created a hierarchy,” evaluating which areas were most important to begin with: “We did his primary and the living room spaces downstairs first. That was one summer. Then the next summer we did the upper living room, a kitchen, and his office. And the last summer was the accessories and bathrooms. It was ongoing, but the big pushes were always in the summer.”

The house itself represented a phase too. The homeowner was newly single, and he needed spaces to entertain and explore an interest in music and art, as well as a place that was comfortable for the kids. He wanted everything analog, and he wanted the flow and function of the house optimized. Working closely with Witt, the client, art consultant Nicolás Colón (founder of the contemporary art gallery in San Francisco called Climate Control), and contractors from Pete Moffatt Construction, the team leaned into a “loose, comfortable, casual” aesthetic, says Foss. Think Northern California: “Nothing too formal—always somewhere where people could sit on the floor or pull up a floor pillow and cram next to someone and have a conversation.”

The vintage rosewood armchair and ottoman are by Sergio Rodrigues. The drapery is washed canvas and the walls are painted in Cherokee from Portola Paints. On the shelves, colorful objects add intrigue while reflecting the room’s contrasting palette.