See A Mountain-Like Retreat Near The Heart Of Silicon Valley

"This house is away from the noise of the Bay Area,” describes interior designer Kristen Peña. Tucked into a redwood grove near one of San Mateo County’s many open space preserves, the residence, a 1970s ranch-style dwelling, provides the owner a true retreat in which to cook, read and relax, with myriad hiking trails at his doorstep. “He wanted a cozy home that reflects his appreciation of great furnishings and art, set against the backdrop of his true love: nature,” the designer notes.

“It almost has a Lake Tahoe feel,” Peña continues of the wood-accented California residence. Though it had been well-maintained, it “needed a little love,” she adds. Without changing its footprint, Peña, along with senior designer Anya Daniels, junior designer Sofia Huibers and general contractor Mark de Bibo, updated the windows, doors and floors, and sanded and restored the ceiling beams. Then the fun part began. “We embraced plaids, rich velvets and dark leathers— materials that don’t often find their way into the California experience, but they made sense here,” Peña explains. “Woodside gets foggy, and there’s a quietness in that, so we went for a saturated, cozy feel, like you might find in the mountains.” To keep the rooms fresh, she opted for light walls and plenty of natural stone, like the kitchen’s oxblood-veined marble countertops. “We introduced shades of violet and maroon to create a striking contrast with the lush green outside,” she explains. “This client made brave commitments, and that’s part of what makes the home so striking.”

One of those notable features is the feeling of being immersed in the forest. “When you step down into the living room, it’s like walking right into the woods,” the designer explains. And while she kept the focus on the views, the interior details don’t just fade into the background. Take the travertine of the fireplace wall that also lines the back of the adjacent bookcase. “A lot of our design work is less about pattern and more about texture, so that stone really sets the tone for everything else you’ll see,” Peña says, noting the room’s tufted leather sofa and the chunky woven fabric of the side chair.