84 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {home & design} “The home itself is a sculptural architectural wonder,” says Julie, who retained the contemporary intent of its design by keeping its signature features. The main floor’s Douglas fir ceilings—supported by white spruce posts in graceful offset “Vs”—slope from 12 feet high down to 8.5 feet, where they meet the glass walls. These retractable walls “allow the living and dining areas to become indoor/outdoor,” explains Julie. Detailed, intense discussion brought all three into harmony on how to elevate the interiors to equal the architecture. “I make sure that my clients have a very, very deep understanding of the approvals that they’re providing and what those results are going to entail,” says Julie. The project Just a few minutes’ drive from the Palo Alto birthplace of Silicon Valley sits a U-shaped home resonating with the same innovative spirit. The brainchild of a design engineer, the house features sloping roofs and ceilings as well as polished concrete floors. Glass floor tiles illuminate the great room from below at night and light its basement with sunshine by day. When its present owners stepped into a new phase of life, so did this Crescent Park residence. Both widowed after long, happy marriages, the longtime acquaintances reconnected, got married on a mountain top and sold their respective homes in favor of buying “our home.” “We felt the process of adapting the home design and furnishings to our taste would be a great adventure in our new marriage,” the couple shares. Drawn to the 2017 build’s unique style and “beautiful bones,” the newlyweds thought they could work with its existing segmented spaces and ultramodern decor. Yet over time, “they started to understand the house was special on its own,” says Julie Cavanaugh, founder and principal interior designer of Menlo Park-based Design Matters. Having worked for the husband before, Julie proved the perfect match for the newlyweds’ emerging ideas, including an open floor plan.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==