Owners of one gem on tour are interior designer Carol Corcoran and her husband Quintin Gomez, who added a master bedroom and bathroom above the garage to enlarge their now 1,550-square-foot home, without affecting the footprint. Architect Mark Donohue, of Visible Research Office (VRO) in San Francisco, came up with a way to unify the home, both inside and out, by "wrapping" various materials: Outside, horizontal red cedar planks run across the front door, then continue along the front wall; the charcoal slate on the kitchen island spills down the side rather than ending abruptly at the counter top.
Instead of walking directly into the living room, Corcoran wanted a real entryway, with ample storage so they wouldn't be tempted to just drop things and let them pile up. A "coat" closet with roll-out wire baskets helped solve that problem.
"The idea was to keep it open, but zone the space with the ceiling treatment and cabinetry. I loved the old house, but there was no place to put anything," she said.
Today there's a place for everything -- from the huge mangle needed for ironing sheets (hidden in the kitchen island, complete with 220-amp outlet), to a drawer with an electrical outlet for recharging cell phones in the foyer.
Zones are also subtly delineated by color: pale lavender-gray for the living room, a gray-green for the dining room, palest blue for the foyer, dark brown for the foyer niche. Each color is repeated in other rooms of the house. The palette throughout is calm and sophisticated, demonstrated by dark gray, beige and cream hand-cut, Israeli limestone tiles surrounding the living-room fireplace.
A large wooden cabinet, hiding an entertainment center, separates the living room from the dining room and kitchen. (The rest of the electronic paraphernalia is hidden in a built-in side cabinet.)
Facing the dining room table is the taller part of the kitchen island, with cubbies running across to store wine bottles, and a handy drawer for the corkscrew and placemats, as well as bar stools.
The kitchen is a tightly constructed galley, with drawers located across from the dishwasher for quick unloading of china and silverware. Special touches include a built-in espresso machine, a steam oven for cooking fish and vegetables and a faux door that will someday hide the microwave. Further storage includes a pull-out pantry, closet for cleaning supplies and a large file drawer for record-keeping.
The challenge, Corcoran said, was keeping it open while finding places to display her grandmother's china.
"We tried to make it efficient, useful, smart," she said.
Again, colors are kept to a minimum, with charcoal slate and Pietra Cardoza stone on the island counters, pale glass tiles in the backsplash, gray elm veneer cloaking the appliances.
Double doors lead to a side deck, with a built-in "bench" that hides the trash/recycle center. The containers are easily rolled out to the street.
En route to the bedrooms is a laundry area, completely hidden behind frosted glass sliding doors. On the bottom to one side are the washer and dryer, to the other, piles of dirty laundry. Above are the cleaning supplies, as well as the linen closet -- all behind those frosted doors.
Both the baby's room and Corcoran's office (she runs her design firm, One Interiors, from home) open to the back garden; each has nooks and crannies that lend themselves to hiding the printer, or providing a future desk area.
To accommodate the new master bedroom/bathroom suite upstairs, they needed to lower the ceiling of the garage below, thus meeting the 17-foot height limit. The arrangement meant they could have a roof deck, accessible through the bedroom window. (A mechanical room, off the roof deck, houses their tankless water heater and radiant heating mechanics.)
Nothing sits out on the master bathroom counter: Everything is built in, with niches for toilet paper in the separate toilet room and niches for shampoo and soap in the shower, as well as storage with electrical outlets behind doors.
Two large windows (with the bottom half frosted for privacy) provide plenty of light in the shower, while side lights augment the overhead lighting near the twin bowl sinks.
A sealed concrete floor runs throughout the house, including the bathroom, where small limestone tiles were added for both safety and design.
Between the new windows, insulation, radiant heating and concrete floors, the remodel really keeps their home cool in summer, Corcoran said, adding that friends lingered during last summer's heat wave.
Other homes on tour include:
* a recent second-story addition to a 1920s Craftsman bungalow, with a commitment to maintaining the original style;
* a Johnny Grey-designed great room/kitchen with curves, circles, exotic woods and inlays and a cherry-wood column hiding structural beams;
* a Cape Cod-themed update of a 1945 home, with a display of antiques, collectibles and heirlooms;
* an expansion of a 1924 Colonial Revival that now offers an ample kitchen, raised living room ceiling and a porch converted into a family room.
Homes may be toured in any order over the two-day period. Visitors are advised to wear comfortable shoes (and be prepared to take them off). Notes are allowed, but no photography.
What: Charming Cottages of Palo Alto
When: Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Five homes in Crescent Park, Palo Alto
Tickets: $30 in advance, or $35 at the door (459 Fulton St., Palo Alto) after April 13. Checks and self-addressed, stamped envelopes may be mailed to PAAMCC, c/o Bishop, 664 Draco Lane, Foster City, CA 94404-2755.
Info: Call 650-325-2990.
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