About an hour-and-a-half north of San Francisco, sheltered from the rest of the world by a lush canopy of oaks, is a dynamic young family’s year-round escape from city life. But this place is more than a quick getaway – it’s pure devotion to the art of living.
The house, located on an acre-and-a-half-lot in the heart of Sonoma’s wine country, sits on an idyllic acre-and-a-half lot with sweeping views of the Mayacamas Mountains and the region’s famed vineyards. What was once a traditional 1960s Spanish hacienda-style home has been transformed into a stunning contemporary retreat thanks to Chroma, the San Francisco-based interior design studio led by partners Alexis Tompkins and Leann Conquer.
The entryway to a Sonoma home designed by interior design firm Chroma.
‘[Before we got involved] there was a discussion about whether to embrace the Spanish style or modernise it,’ says Tompkins, noting a whole-house renovation by award-winning Oakland-based firm building Lab set their design stage. ‘In the end, they really wanted to modernise it because of their incredible art collection.’
The living room is anchored by a custom sectional in a chartreuse mohair and a pair of '50s-era lounge chairs by Lawrence Peabody
And, while the homeowners are serious art collectors who serve as board members of a prestigious contemporary art museum, being parents to two soon-to-be teenage daughters also meant creating an equally welcoming, playful environment. ‘They’re super laid-back,’ says Conquer. ‘The kids are into music and reading, and activities like archery and fencing, and really they just love being outside.’
To that end, the design duo conceived a vibrant, textural and wholly mid-century aesthetic that paid a convivial deference to the native landscape surrounding the 3,900 sq ft, four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom home.
The living room includes unobstructed views to the landscape and swimming pool.
In the living room, a full wall of sliding doors opens onto a pool deck and the countryside beyond. ‘It’s very much indoor-outdoor living and, although they wanted an overall casual feel, [she] wanted this particular space to be a little “turned up,”’ said Tompkins.
Central to the room, a pair of vintage 1950s lounge chairs by Lawrence Peabody were reupholstered in a patterned ecru fabric by La Manach. ‘We liked the delicateness of the silhouettes in contrast with something that was a little more solid, warm and earthy like the Kerman Coffee Table in natural cork by Egg Collective.’
Completing the main gathering area, a bespoke rug, a walnut-framed lounger chair by Rob Parry, a curved custom-designed sectional in a chartreuse mohair, and a large-scale work by abstract American artist Wyatt Kahn coalesce effortlessly.
The dining room has a custom table, vintage rattan chairs and a metallic pedant with an iridescent finish.
Similarly, the dining room opens onto the gloriously endless native plant-filled yard, envisioned by Lucy McFadden Landscape Design. ‘We often design the dining tables for our projects,’ Tompkins shares, noting the table was handmade in San Francisco by Julian Giuntoli Custom Furniture.
A set of 1960 rattan-backed Danish dining chairs, upholstered in blue leather. Above, a pendant finished in iridescent chromate by Luft Tanka Studio adds a modernist touch. Conquer, ‘The rattan brings in a more casual reference while its perforations mirror those in the chandelier,’ Conquer explains.
This painting, by painter Andrew Jansons, was a gift to one of the clients' fathers.
On the wall behind the table, a painting from the 1970s by Latvian-born American painter Andrew Jansons was a gift from the late artist to one of the clients' fathers, and, at the head of the dining table, a collection of abstract portraits by Kenturah Davis give the impression of being regular dinner guests.
A view into the tranquil primary bedroom, which features a burl headboard.
Elsewhere in the home, works like a 1910 impressionist portrait by J. Phillip Schmand and a petite oil, Still Life with Smelt, by 19th-century English-born American painter Samuel Marsden Brookes are juxtaposed with a complex assemblage by contemporary Chicana artist Lorena Ochoa (that include elements such as a Toyota truck tailgate) and a pair of 2019 cyanotypes, by Sean McFarland.
The landscape was created by Lucy McFadden Landscape Design using a mix of native plantings.
Likewise, a separate guest cottage on the property presents itself as a work of art itself. ‘The walls and ceiling are so epic,’ says Tompkins of the Chroma-designed mural — a dreamy watercolor-like landscape — that was brought to life by Rafael Arana. ‘I’m really into atmospheric impact in a space where it’s all-consuming — you walk in and you feel transformed; it’s kind of magical.’
Here, furnishings like a Tito Agnoli lounge chair by Tito Agnoli, a custom coffee table, a marble top dining table by Sergio Rodrigues, and a set of four Gio Ponti dining chairs feel right at home with artworks from Los Angeles-based artist Patrick Martinez and Shannon Ebner.
A view into the guesthouse, with its immersive custom mural walls.
For the clients — and designers alike — the country compound is the ultimate expression of l’art de vivre. ‘The homeowners are very open and experimental which matched perfectly with [our] design process that often pulls from obscure references,’ shares Tompkins. ‘And they were excited that we were excited about that kind of conceptual approach.’
