Ansley Majit and Stephanie Waskins are the creatives behind LARK+PALM, a full-service, residential interior design firm based in Northern California. “We founded LARK+PALM with the principle of delivering exceptional service to our clients, marked by trust, strong communication and attention to detail,” says Ansley. “For us, the magic is how each project takes shape organically—imagining a space transformed before pencils ever hit paper or a single sample has been pulled from our extensive library.”
This house, located in the hills of Kentfield, CA, was first inspired by the expansive treetop views that greet you the moment you open the front door. With the trees as the focal point, they embraced a natural aesthetic that would complement the surrounding nature of the property. The brought in layers of texture, neutral tones with hearty pops of green, and the space is now joyful and welcoming…perfect for the father / daughter duo who call it home. The designers tell us more.
First, we’d love to know more about your client!
It was great fun to work with this serial entrepreneur and his teenage daughter, who lives with him part-time. The house and surrounding property were largely under-utilized, so the goal for this full scale, down-to-the-studs remodel, was to maximize both and make it a great place to entertain, and a comfortable place for family time when he is with his daughter. When our client is not building his businesses, he’s surfing, listening to live music, or driving his RV around the country, a casual yet “cool” vibe was absolutely necessary for this project. He relied completely on LARK+PALM to dream up the aesthetics and execute on making this dream a reality. Such fun for us!
How do you describe the style?
We would describe the aesthetic of our Kentfield project as Organic Modern. Mixing materials such as abaca, mohair, heavy linens, and boucles with warm woods, burnished metals and glass speak to the organic nature of the aesthetic while the shapes of the custom furniture pieces, showstopper living room rug, and tile selection all contribute to the modern effect.
How did you bring the father / daughter love of surfing to the space?
We incorporated their love of surfing in subtle ways with the custom surfboard by Danny Hess and black and white image of John John, who, if you surf, you definitely know! Also, the photo by Matt Albiani in the daughter’s bath is a favorite. Matt has an entire portfolio of amazing surf images and is part owner of Mate gallery in Montecito.
Could you “walk us” through each room? We’d love to hear more about your favorite details.
One of our favorite items in this project is the custom Abaca rug by Patterson Flynn Martin. This was hand-woven and took over six months to create – a true work of art. It really is the grounding element in this room and one of the reasons we commissioned a custom glass-top table. The table, a beautiful hand forged piece by RT FACTS, allowed the rug to be visible in the space. We also love the custom floating media piece in the living room. It was created to fit snugly between the two side walls. We went through many samples to get just the right dark fumed look we were after.
We are also quite fond of our client’s daughter’s room. It’s a space where she is surrounded by her favorite things and it truly feels like her. While it was designed with her in mind, the intention was also to blend with the overall feel of this home.
We fell for the backsplash tile in our client’s bathroom when happening upon it at the Ann Sacks studio. Such a unique shape, when applied en masse creates an artistic and masculine feel in the space.
How long did the project take?
The project took about two years from planning, budgeting and construction through final furnishings and art install. Our client really trusted us when it came to the creative vision of the space, we would show him samples and his answer was always “I trust you, let’s do it” – such a dream project! He was thrilled with the final product!
