Bigger isn’t always better, as a Southern California family discovered during visits to their St. Helena vacation retreat. “We wanted to build a second structure for guests while we stayed in the main house,” says the wife. “But as we spent more time on the site, we realized we wanted a smaller, more efficient structure for us to stay in.” With that idea, their focus shifted to using the guesthouse for themselves. Working with architect Luke Wade and designer Jennifer R. Macdonald, the couple had requested a structure that “felt like it came from the land,” says the wife. And with that concept, the 1,200- square-foot building began to take shape. “A lot of times when you’re in the wine country, things can turn into a barn or an agricultural building form,” says Wade. “This is more of a woodsy cabin wrapped with a veranda. It’s cozy, yet expansive; nestled into the site, yet embracing of the views.”
Within that light-filled shell, Wade and Macdonald, who are longtime collaborators and worked together closely on this project, chose the basic interior materials palette. “It was important to bring interior design in early so that all of the finishes and colors owed seamlessly,” says Macdonald. To that end, the duo wrapped the interior shell—walls, trim and the nearly 24-foot-tall vaulted ceiling—with reclaimed wood and then grounded the space with integral color concrete floors. Steel elements, including a massive central replace surround, play off the textured wood.
Given the open nature of the design, throughout the house Macdonald worked with a color palette of various hues of green and silvery gray inspired by the landscape. She chose a deep green Farrow & Ball paint—which is picked up in the replace plaster—for the kitchen’s cabinetry and paired it with an Ann Sacks mirrored-tile backsplash. She also took great care to select or custom-design furnishings that worked with the scale of the room. “Careful attention to proportion allows a smaller space to feel spacious,” says Macdonald. “But things also had to be laid out to address the views, the replace and the TV, as well as be functional for the family.” To help meet those goals, she designed a sofa and chaise to anchor the living area and further defined the space with a wool rug by Stark. A built-in dining bench does double duty as a reading nook, and for the upstairs sleeping loft, Macdonald had two custom twin beds made on casters to accommodate the couple’s teenage boys or visiting guests.
Another departure from the open concept came with the design of the master bedroom. There, the room is enveloping, and Wade added a peaked sub roof above the bed that creates a room-within-a-room effect. Macdonald carried the nature-inspired color palette into the bedroom, and included accents of pale amethyst to “give it a jewel box effect,” says the designer, who had a bed custom-made for the space and upholstered the headboard with a tactile fabric by Dedar. As in the master bedroom, Wade and Macdonald’s seamless working relationship is apparent throughout the house. Their holistic collaborative approach “creates projects where the interior design doesn’t overlay onto the architecture,” says Wade. “Instead, it becomes embedded within it.” Adds Macdonald: “When the interior materials, finishes and furniture complement the architecture, the line between architecture and design is blurred.”
As for the owners, the guesthouse, which they’ve dubbed the cottage, is working out better for them than they could have imagined. “We prefer the smaller footprint, and it’s not so much to take on when we come and open it up,” says the wife. “It’s made us focus in on what you really need to live simply and comfortably.”
—Linda Hayes