Design Principal Heather Hilliard, and interior designer in San Francisco, and her team designed a contemporary new home for a young family of four immersed in the Silicon Valley scene in Los Altos Hills. Working closely with the contractor, Hilliard, and her team were responsible for the design of the house including the great room, kitchen, bathrooms, fireplace, stair detailing, media room, home office, bedrooms, dressing rooms, custom millwork, finish selections and installation details, in addition to the furnishings, fixtures and decorative lighting.

Settled on an acre of land, the four-level house, two of which are subterranean, boasts a squash court and generous spaces for entertaining. To reflect the client’s Japanese heritage and love for color, we implemented a palette inspired by Japanese indigo and black found in the client’s series of traditional woodblock prints. As a counterpoint, we installed contemporary art by Japanese artist Kohei Nawa.  Dark bronze metal finishes are found throughout the home on various scales, from the gunmetal plumbing fixtures and door hardware to the expansive darkened steel fireplace mantel and shou sugi ban charred wood cabinet in the great room. Various hierarchies of formality, family friendly spaces, and privacy are created through furnishing placements, materials and finish selections.

A dramatic all-black kitchen with a deep inky blue French lava stone island, custom twelve-foot-long walnut dining table and sculptural cocktail tables from France are a few elements that mark the great room as a sophisticated entertaining space. Bold reds and whimsical fabric patterns define the media room and other kid-friendly spaces. Furniture selections are a compilation of modern and custom pieces, whimsical forms, and unique one-of-a kind pieces by notable designers. After three years of planning, the result is a modern but warm home specially crafted for this family to enjoy for many years to come.