Revived Retreat

Author:Lindsey Shook

Amanda Teal infuses a weekend escape with one simple ingredient, love

“I develop close relationships with my clients and believe success in the design process is the result of ongoing collaboration with the build team, craftsman and artisans, and finding inspiration in the smallest details,” says designer Amanda Teal on how she designed this Los Altos home. “I believe that one’s environment has a profound impact on all aspects of well-being and that design is transformational and should change the way you feel, for the better.”

This 3,500-square-foot home served as a weekend getaway for a busy S.F. family. “When a pipe broke and flooded the first floor of their Los Altos home, they didn’t realize it for a few weeks,” says Teal. “Soggy and completely destroyed, their weekend home where they escaped from the fog for some sunshine, now needed a complete makeover.”

Originally a spec home, the unfortunate disaster allowed Teal and her team to tailor the home to the family’s likes and personalities. They started by rotating the layout of the kitchen, connecting it with the dining room. “Our client loves to cook, and establishing that connection where she could entertain and host friends on the weekends was really important to her,” says Teal. “It sounds simple right? Just add a doorway, but there were steel engineered beams involved and reshuffling of the entire kitchen to make it possible. But it flows beautifully now and the it is much more functional for a serious chef.”

Hired via Instagram, the clients fully entrusted Teal and her team to execute their vision. “They were so elated the first time they walked through the house after our installation,” says Teal. “And even though having a flood is awful, the timing was fortuitous; they spent the last half of quarantine in their new home and are living there full time now!”