76 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {home & design} The project’s scope encompassed floorplan changes to the main story and renovating and repurposing the upstairs rooms. The full-gut project included remodeling four bathrooms and adding a fifth. Two bedrooms transformed into designated guest rooms. They dedicated a new den for coworking and a former bedroom as a background-worthy office for remote work. Mindful of their primary goal, they carved out three entertainment areas on the lower level, including a movie room, a fitness space and an expansion of their existing wine cellar. Another priority: upgrading the power infrastructure. That included adding a microgrid with a 40-panel solar array, efficient heat pumps and two car-charging stations. “We are nearly energy independent and have taken our electric bill to net zero,” they confide. When empty-nesters from Burlingame pondered flight from their 25-year home, instead they stepped out on a limb. They chose to stay put and reimagine that nest for the next quarter-century. “We briefly thought of other places we might want to live, but we landed back right where we are, in a great city surrounded by wonderful friends and neighbors,” the couple says. In fact, it was a friend who led them to Katie Raffetto Interior Design. Instantly syncing with Katie, the owners settled on the desired vibe for their “new” home. As they reimagined the house where they’d raised their two sons, entertaining and hospitality claimed top priority. Soon, the compartmentalized 1990s floor plan gave way to an open kitchen, a room-like exterior entertaining nook, and other conversation-cozy areas. As former winemakers and committed oenophiles, they designed spaces to relax and connect with winemakers and wine collectors. “We also wanted to be able to accommodate the boys and their lifemates,” as well as any future grandchildren, they add. Frequent business travelers, the homeowners developed much of their design aesthetic from hotels in London, Vienna, Barcelona and Berlin. “Katie understood what we were envisioning and helped bring it together,” they say. The designer caught the sense of the vintage and timeless entwined with updated luxury, to create rooms that the owners call “warm, inviting and calm.”
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