The Domino Effect

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Architect Andrew Mann and interior designer Chloe Redmond Warner uncover a seemingly small tweak that prompted massive change in this East Bay home

The entry door was created by West Coast Architectural and Fleetwood. The skylights are by Royalite. MN Builders fabricated the cabinetry and millwork. Photo by Jose Manuel Alorda.

A beautiful space invariably rests on its great underpinnings, pleasing proportions, beautiful light and an easy, instinctive flow that make a room work. Optimizing them is at the heart of a successful design. Take this two-story home in San Francisco’s East Bay. “The clients wanted a house that supported their everyday life,” remembers architect Andrew Mann. “To achieve that, we spent as much time imagining how people would experience these rooms as we did selecting materi- als and furnishings,” explains interior designer Chloe Redmond Warner.

Schumacher x Iksel White Blossom No. IK4200 sets an intimate tone in the dining room. B&B Italia’s Alex table is surrounded by Silvio Coppola for Bernini dining chairs. The vintage glass sconces are by Barovier & Toso. Photo by Jose Manuel Alorda.
The kitchen’s cabinetry was constructed by MN Builders. The blue version owes its hue to Benjamin Moore’s Evening Sky. The Carob counter stools are by Sun at Six. The counters are topped in Calacatta Antico discovered at IRG Stone. Photo by Jose Manuel Alorda.

Mann and Redmond Warner immediately recognized that a successful renovation would rest on creating a workable entryway. “Two professionals, three school-age kids, lots of stuff. What happens to it?” wondered Mann. “There were backpacks in the living room, coats in the dining room, shoes in the hallway. It all needed to go somewhere.” Mann envisioned a modest addition to the front entrance accented by a wall of cabinetry.

The kitchen’s breakfast nook is illuminated by a vintage Hans-Agne Jakobsson pendant light and Apparatus’s Twig sconces and softened by Gregorius Pineo Fine Hemp grasscloth in natural tint on the walls. Photo by Laura Resen.
A custom Eglomise mirror from A. Tyner Antiques sits by a sink carved from soapstone found at Da Vinci Marble with Henry wall- mounted lavatory faucets with cross handles from Waterworks. The flush- mount fixture is the Reprise Ceiling Extended Medium by Apparatus. Photo by Jose Manuel Alorda.

He commissioned a new door with a generous window that opens to a hallway lit by a skylight. Both openings work in harmony to allow natural light to flow in and soften the transition from outdoors to inside. Floor-to-ceiling cabinetry runs along one wall, its sleek lines deftly concealing closets, drawers and a nook positioned for quick mirror checks. On the opposing wall, a slender niche proffers a bench for corralling packages or dealing with shoes. “It sounds so simple,” Redmond Warner admits. “But it completely changed the family’s daily life. It gave everything a place to land and made space for the connection they were hoping to achieve.”

The calm primary bedroom is dominated by a four-poster bed by Mauro Mori and flanked by the custom Bronson nightstands with shelf by Croft House. The Larissa table lamps were found at Soho Home. The custom color hand-painted wall covering in Ink Blots is by Porter Teleo. The rug is by Erik Lindstrom. Photo by Jose Manuel Alorda.
Kalon’s Stump side table flanks the Paris bathtub by The Water Monopoly. The floor is composed of Cipollino Marble mosaic tiles by Artistic Tile. The Highgate Wall-Mounted Exposed Tub Filler with Handshower and Metal Cross Handle is from Waterworks. Photo by Jose Manuel Alorda.

The graceful casework extends from the front door toward the home’s original art deco–era staircase and frames the opening to the bright living room. “How the house captured light was also a big factor in the redesign,” Mann notes. “The darker front of the house is all about privacy while the back of the house has more openness.” The living room’s glowing brass console showcases a record player. “The children love choosing and playing an album,” says Redmond Warner, sharing one of the family rituals prompted by the home’s newfound calm. Directly opposite is the dining room, its deep burgundy palette underscoring the profound intimacy of sharing a meal.

Ceraudo’s Sonia Stripe in Artichoke upholsters the walls in a children’s bedroom. It’s paired with Farrow & Ball’s Cooking Apple Green No. 32, which also colors the custom raised platform bed. The Roly Poly Armchair in Peat is by Faye Toogood. Stark Carpet’s Miniveni in Ivory covers the floor. Photo by Jose Manuel Alorda.

The sinuous design of the entryway’s cabinetry is mirrored in the kitchen. “The breakfast nook’s window mediates the outdoors and makes the room glow,” Redmond Warner points out. “With architecture this good—generous, light-filled rooms, an art deco underpinning and views galore—it would’ve been easy to skew fancy.” Instead, her work leans into the comfortable, layered materiality that is her signature, beautifully documented in her new book, This Must Be the Place. “The architecture has integrated ornamentation, like the thoughtfully detailed casework, the charming bunk rails, and the sassy vanity feet. It means you can do less decorating and still have an atmosphere that feels considered and welcoming.” When the team came back to take photographs, Mann clocked the kids’ drawings taped to the walls. “The depth and richness of the design supports both the order and the chaos of modern life,” he stresses. From a small tweak, a big change and a home that works wonders.