330 Homes Spring 2021

Cynthia J. Hoffman Interior Design majorly renovated the home in 2015, adding on an owner’s suite with a bedroom, bathroom, sitting area and loft, relocating the kitchen and more, all with the vision of turning the formerly traditional home into a sanctuary for the couple living there. “The wife does yoga, and she’s very much into that quiet, meditative sort of feeling,” says designer Cynthia J. Hoffman. “That’s what they wanted — a sanctuary where they can feel protected, safe and meditative.” That mood is set in exterior details such as copper-out lined windows, smooth black stones below the back door and graduated Shou Sugi Ban siding, which is a tech nique using wood-burned planes of different widths championed by Japanese architect Terunobu Fujimori. The great room immedi ately immerses you in that same tranquil atmosphere. Throughout, there is a neu tral color palette accented with black and red, chosen to complement the natural wood of the hand-planed beams, as well as other natural materials. “What happens with Japanese hand planes is that … you don’t have to finish it, paint it, stain it,” Hoffman says. “It burnishes the wood and reveals the true nature of the wood, and it’s abso lutely beautiful.” The couch provides a view

foyer, which has a floor with graduated slates matching both the exterior siding and the black slate fireplace in the dining area, which high lights pendant lights. “That fireplace is such a monumental statement,” Hoffman says. “We wanted something that would be contemporary and fun, and that would really show up against that beautiful wall.” The old-growth redwood slab dining table is set with high-back patterned host chairs and several smaller chairs in different styles that can be moved into the living area for the couple’s entertaining. The custom buffet nicknamed the “Walnut Wave” has sliding doors, a traditional Japanese style. Above it hangs a

watercolor painting by California artist William E.A. Berger that incorporates the

a soapstone counter, a bamboo bookshelf for cookbooks and a black-and gray mosaic backsplash with pops of red. In the breakfast nook, the built-in seating is augmented by repurposed painted piano stools. Together, the areas are “contemporary with a Japanese aesthetic,” linked by a real linoleum floor.

couple and their barn. Sliding doors take you

from the great room into the kitchen and breakfast nook, which used to be the sunroom. The “Sun Kitchen” features natural bamboo cabinets with sliding doors,

of the reflecting pond out front, and the TV is

mounted on the convex side of a floating concrete wall. On the concave side is the

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