Bursts of glamour offset the traditional carved-wood banister and black-and-white tile floors in the foyer.

SONOMA SOPHISTICATION

A young family enjoys the best of both worlds in a country house designed by George Bevan and urbanely outfitted by designer Ken Fulk.

BY JULIE CARLSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHEW MILLMAN

The classic center-hall colonial house that architect George Bevan designed for a young Sonoma family is, in some ways, a house of paradoxes. It's the type of majestic manor you'd expect to see surrounded by similarly serious edifices on a stately, elm-lined street in an established East Coast neighborhood. It's location, however, is on an eclectic residential block in Sonoma, overlooking vineyards and open fields.

While the house's exterior persona is strictly grown up, the audacious interior, by San Francisco designer Ken Fulk, puts a twist on tradition with its surprising youthful exuberance.

The husband is a devotee of American history and a staunch traditionalist; his interests informed the couple's ideas for the house. Sonoma-based architect George Bevan, a family friend, was able to translate their vision into a Colonial Revival with Georgian references. Starting with a grand center-hall colonial form, Bevan added two faceted wings, with bay windows and gables, on either side of the structure. To make the house seem as if it had been added on to over the years, the master bath on one end and the breakfast room on the other have interior clapboard siding to resemble enclosed porches.

Bevan brought the house squarely into the 21st century, however, with steel windows and ample outdoor living areas. The interior floor plan is also decidedly modern: The clients dispensed with a formal living room altogether, instead requesting an open-plan kitchen and living area with a breakfast room and a modestly scaled dining room. "We practiced a lot of restraint in the detailing," Bevan says. "The house was designed to be a canvas."

When it came time to bring the canvas to life, Bevan recommended Fulk, whom he had collaborated with on a previous project. Working at warp speed to move his clients out of the guest house and into their home, Fulk swept the couple away with his vision of casual, offhand glamour. "They gave me free rein," he says. "They didn't want the interiors to be too serious, and since they love to entertain, they wanted lots of space for parties."

"Above all, I didn't want the house to seem suburban," Fulk says. "I was aiming for a sophisticated urban vibe."

A study in contrasts: The library (above) is soberly hued, while the second-floor media room (below) is a riot of vibrant color, with a curved sectional sofa and swervy Panton chairs.

A wall of vintage art makes the room feel "collected," Fulk says. The paprika-hued wicker sidetable from Swallowtail provides a punch a color.

From the moment you step into the home's soaring entry hall, Fulk's dramatic way with color and pattern is immediately apparent. With its graceful, curving staircase, ceramic-tiled floor and glittering silver chandelier, the space could have been intimidating. But an ebonized settee upholstered in persimmon patent-leather and a mod turquoise runner from Stark Carpet, immediately let you know that this is not your great aunt's house.

Turn left and you enter the library, which could easily double as a hunting lodge or cigar lounge. Detailed with a vintage mantel and cast-iron antique columns from Ohmega Salvage in Berkeley, the room centers on a round table surrounded with gray leather club chairs. A coat of C2 paint in Portland, a shade of moody blue-green, covers even the architectural trim; the walls are adorned with etchings and paintings from the 1930s and '40s, found at Lost Art Salon in San Francisco. "I like to use collections to give a house depth and make it feel personal, as if the interiors have evolved over time," Fulk says. Indeed, Fulk's expert assemblages of mounted antler heads, crossed antique épée blades, framed butterflies and zebra-print pillows add to the aura of timeless refinement.

In the dining room, Fulk juxtaposed neutral shades (grass cloth wallcovering, unfinished farm table) with flamboyant splashes of color in the Murano chandelier and vintage étagère.

Architect George Bevan created a vintage-meets-modern kitchen, with classic elements such as beveled subway tiles paired with a sleek, stained-wood island and appliance wall.

Opposite the library, the dining room is a montage of texture and wit, anchored by a hand-blown teal Murano glass chandelier that sets a luxe tone. To keep the room from feeling too formal, Fulk swathed the walls in grass cloth for an organic feel and sourced a long, rustic farm table from Mecox Gardens. Black Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs and a pair of linen-upholstered wing chairs create an effortless mix of stylistic notes. Glittering mercury-glass accessories and voluminous drapes, in LuLu DK's Moondance print, add glamour.

At the back of the house, the family living space affords views of the pool and vineyards and opens onto a wide porch for a true indoor/outdoor feel. "When the family entertains, they throw open the doors so the kids can run in and out and the guests can circulate," says Bevan, who created a spacious and light-filled kitchen with a soapstone counter separating it from the living area. He convinced the owners to make a few modern concessions: Concealed behind a sleek bank of stained-alder cabinets, there are double wall ovens from Wolf, a Miele espresso machine and a Thermador refrigerator. A handsome sliding library ladder from Putnam Ladder Company provides access to the upper cabinets, which were stained for a European feel. "The stained wood looks more sophisticated and provides a nice contrast to all the white in the room," says Bevan.

In the breakfast room off the kitchen, Bevan covered the walls in clapboard to suggest a former life as an open-air porch. The pitched-roof guest house can be seen out the window.

In the living room, Fulk arranged the furniture on the diagonal to inject a note of informality and to maximize vineyard views.

The living area has a mix of custom, repurposed and off-the-shelf pieces for eclectic ease. "I am big on reinventing secondhand and vintage furniture," Fulk says. A Chippendale side chair, sourced from a thrift shop and refreshed with a coat of C2 Candy Apple Red paint and fur upholstery, shares the room with a plush Montauk sofa piled high with colorful cushions in fabrics from Galbraith & Paul. Above the fireplace, a painting by Bay Area artist Deborah Oropallo anchors the space, and a pair of antique corbels from Sonoma's Artefact Design & Salvage add a touch of historicism.

Although the interior feels anything but low-budget, Fulk performed a bit of wizardry to keep costs down. At the start of the project, Fulk offered his clients two proposals; they chose the lower-priced option, and then cut the budget in half. "We went back to the drawing board and took a new approach," Fulk says. "We sourced pieces from local vintage and antiques stores, and purchased the living room shelving at Restoration Hardware rather than doing built-ins. Then we picked a few pieces for the couple to splurge on. I actually think working with a budget made this a better project. It reflects that adage, 'Necessity is the mother of invention.'"

In the master bath, a soaking tub is positioned to afford views of the vineyards; a side door leads directly to the outdoors, so the owners can go straight from pool to spa.

Fulk chose a palette of chocolate brown and green in the master bedroom and sitting area. Custom bed linens from San Francisco's Haute Home add a luxurious note.

The couple saved their big splurges for the master bedroom suite, where unabashed luxury reigns. Custom linens from Haute Home in San Francisco dress the bed. The marble bathroom, with a soaking tub and bulbous glass chandelier from Napa Style, evokes boutique-hotel living at its best. Adjacent to the bathroom, a capacious walk-in closet contains a washer/dryer and ironing station, ensuring that domestic clutter is kept out of sight.

"The night that our clients moved in, we worked until nine in the evening getting the house ready for them," Fulk says. "When they opened the door to their master suite, they almost swooned." Indeed, the family was so thrilled with the house that they hosted a celebratory party for the design team that stretched into the early hours—4 a.m., to be exact.