This Redwood City, CA home was built in 1948 and features five bedrooms, five and a half baths, and is 4,050 square feet. But it was in its original state, without any upgrades over the last 75+ years. “The house hadn’t ever had a full facelift,” shares designer Lissette Fernandez-Hilson of Together Home. “So, we took her down to the studs, kept the original layout, and gave the home new life by updating not only the inside but the home’s exterior and the sprawling grounds.”
“Our scope of work was to re-envision the home through a modern lens with two constraints,” adds Chelsea Lembi Murawski, co-founder at Together Home and Lissette’s creative partner. “First, to stay within the confines of the original home’s exterior walls, and second, to honor the best parts of the home’s original layout—which had a few good things going for it—while making the parts that weren’t functional more useful.”
Their clients are environmentally conscious and wanted this remodel to reflect that. The pair had worked with them in 2020 on a property in Hawaii, and it had been a great relationship. “They see the interior designer as a real partner that is there to bring their dream home to reality which is exactly why we do what we do,” Lissette shares. “Ultimately, this family of four focuses on the future and what we are all leaving to the next generation. They themselves have two Taylor Swift-obsessed little girls, ages 8 and 10. Mom and Dad met as tech execs in Silicon Valley. While Dad still works for a major Bay Area company, Mom just finished her tenure as the Mayor of Redwood City and now works for a company looking to renovate government and civil society for the 21st century. Their busy schedules and family needs factored prominently into the design as they regularly host both fundraisers and playdates.”
For the design, they looked to an eco-modern aesthetic, organic warmth, whimsical charm, and functionality. “The design mandate was to be eco-conscious, seamlessly integrating the outdoors into the interior, much like a sustainable greenhouse,” Chelsea says. “The result is a harmonious blend of nature and contemporary living.”
The environment was considered at each step. Rather than wood, they used bamboo floors throughout. They chose many stone and tile vendors that were local and handmade. All of the lighting throughout the home is LED and automatically timed to circadian rhythms to conserve energy. The fireplace went from wood-burning to gas, so there are no longer particle emissions to worry about on California’s “spare the air” days. They utilized VOC-free paints throughout the home. They also stayed away from “fast fashion” furniture and focused on vendors with proven sustainability practices, and used as many vintage finds as possible. Outside, much of the yard is drought-tolerant, while the rest is dedicated to growing fruits and vegetables. There’s a hard-wired electric vehicle charging station as well as solar panels on the roof.
Style-wise, they opted for bright wall and cabinet colors, appropriately scaled furniture, and slender, airy lighting, which Lisette explains took the space from quite dark to inviting and visually expansive—a result that made the two-year remodel well worth it. “It doesn’t get any better than this email we received from the client the day after they moved in: ‘The house is insane. We are truly blown away. Wow. It was hard to imagine it all together, but wow! It sings. Thank you doesn’t quite describe the feeling. We were sitting in the family room last night just reveling in how beautiful everything around us and how peaceful and calming the space is,’” she shares. The ending to the email summed it up perfectly: “We call it the ‘exhale’ house because it is the emotional equivalent of a deep breath.”
Take a tour in the slideshow.
