The Niche Interiors team was hired by a San Francisco couple relocating to a larger property in Menlo Park, California. They appreciate modern design but wanted a warm, inviting and durable space where guests and young kids would feel at ease. The newly built 6,000 square foot home has a spacious open floor plan with generous natural light in every room. We worked with the clients to finalize finishes and fixtures for the home before designing furniture and interiors throughout. The homeowners love neutrals but challenged us to push them to incorporate color without feeling too bold in the main entertaining spaces. Our design team came up with a light, airy interior design scheme for the home, punctuated with deliberate but minimal uses of color.
The entryway opens up to the dining room on one side and the formal living room opposite. Commissioned artwork by local artist Yossi Ben Abu acts as the bold focal point of the dining room which is a mix of neutral tones, light oak and brass. The Niche Interiors team designed a custom white oak dining table with a splayed base and soft chamfered edges. A modern mobile chandelier named “Cassiopeia” by Andrea Claire adds an organic element to the room. Soft neutrals carry over to the formal living room which features a sculptural sofa upholstered in a light grey velvet and a tonal hand-knotted rug with irregular lines. Peacock velvet armchairs by Holly Hunt add a burst of color to the room, referencing the bold blue hues in the dining room artwork. Sheer drapery panels soften these spaces and filter harsh afternoon light.
The large family room and kitchen are situated at the back of the house, with views outside to the yard and pool. We designed a custom, modular sectional sofa to serve a range of functions for this busy family. The seven piece sectional can be taken apart and configured for weekend naps, entertaining larger groups of friends or the occasional fort-making. An asymmetric patterned rug adds movement to the space and provides a soft place to land for energetic kids. An oversized island with hefty marble countertops provides plenty of work space and room for seating in the kitchen. A custom walnut dining table is paired with hand carved oak dining chairs with wipeable leather seats for easy clean up after family meals.
Layers of warm neutrals, walnut tones, and clean-lined furniture create a calm retreat in the primary bedroom. We utilized a space at the end of a generous hallway on the second level to create a reading nook between the kids bedrooms, opting for a bold modular sofa with a mix of playful patterns. Modern built-ins in the kids playroom were designed to store toys and games and to display artwork with a magnetic white board.
