The teahouse in this Sonoma Valley farmhouse features a curated mix of vintage furnishings, creating an intimate, contemplative escape.
A Cotswolds-style farmhouse in California’s wine country might seem an unlikely pairing. England’s rolling pastoral landscape and Sonoma Valley’s vineyard-dappled hills are, after all, worlds apart. Yet, this expected juxtaposition was exactly the vision entrusted to designers Aimee Kirby and Mariam Mollaghaffari, who were tasked with creating a home for a Los Altos–based family eager to honour their British roots while embracing life in Northern California.
From the outset, the property’s secluded setting – tucked away from the main road and overlooking Sugarloaf Mountain – appealed to the clients, who imagined creating a retreat for their multigenerational family. But the original house, which one of the homeowners calls a ‘Santa-Fe-meets-log-cabin’ structure, fell short of her vision with its orange-hued wood, plaster, and slate floors. ‘It felt very out-of-context for the area,’ says Los Angeles-based Mariam, a licensed architect heading the multidisciplinary studio, Miriam Grace Design.
The open living space, overlooking Sugarloaf Mountain, is anchored by a Studio Valle de Valle sofa around a Minjae Kim coffee table. Subtle yet elegant accents, including an In Common With sconce designed by Sophie Lou Jacobsen, illuminate the space.
To address that disconnect, Aimee, whose practice, Ferox Studio, spans landscape design and interior design, and Mariam, drew on their respective backgrounds to transform the outdated interiors into an airy, family-centric home that Aimee says ‘made more sense and felt of place.’
Above all, the home needed to strike a balance between discrete spaces tailored to the interests and needs of different family members and generous communal areas where they could come together. ‘A lot of the intention was around how to make the home comfortable for the people in the family,’ says Mariam.
In the kitchen, a custom wood island and table, designed by Mariam, is accompanied by four DeVol chairs. Rimadesio sliding glass doors offer an unobtrusive divide between the dining room and the surrounding living spaces.