Tierney Conner helps a family revise their vision for a spectacular home among the Marin hills.
Alfresco dining is part of everyday life at this reimagined Marin home.
THE PROJECT
Buying a home is an opportunity to make a statement about personal aesthetics and a way of living. So, when a couple with three teens bought a 5,500-square-foot house in Marin, they knew one thing: The statement needed consistency. As it was, the home’s design scheme was an unholy mashup of French Country, Vegas bling and midcentury mod. Their heads spun, and they reached out to the team at Oakland-based Tierney Conner (tierneyconner.com), which specializes in architectural, interior and landscape design.
A Siam ceiling light by Bover sets the tone in the living room, with its Womb chair from Knoll, Ethnicraft coffee table and track sofa from RH.
THE TEAM
“We have a formal approach to design— utilizing architectural principals of alignment, symmetry, scale and proportion—but with a modern eye and a tendency toward warm and rich expressions of materials, details and light,” says Erin Conner, one of the firm’s partners, along with Anne Tierney and Jarrell Conner.
“We’re generally edited and intentional with our work,” says Tierney, who notes that the firm works collaboratively with clients, ensuring each project comes out differently and reflects a client’s interests, family dynamics and functional needs. “We start with the space to ensure good light, function and alignment of architectural elements and views. We then overlay textures and colors to create a harmonious and holistic aesthetic.”
The team tackled every finish and fixture in the house and surrounding front and rear terraces. “The most extensive renovations were in the kitchen and living room. But overall, the work unified the entire house: new rustic oak floors from Monarch (monarchplank.com) and Benjamin Moore (benjaminmoore.com) White Dove paint throughout, Fleetwood (fleetwoodusa.com) windows and window coverings and glass railings on the porch and terrace,” says Jarrell.
Natural light bathes the dining room, which features a Skovby table and chairs by Midj.
THE GOALS
“They wanted a home for their busy family that was comfortable and unpretentious,” says Erin. “They prefer a bright and modern aesthetic but also wanted it to feel like they were on one of their vacations—they had traveled extensively to Africa, India and Asia. They also wanted every space to feel cozy and relaxing. To this end, we used a variety of seating options, soft rugs and many lighting levels.”
The design team leaned into the family’s many exotic travels for the design scheme in many rooms.
LIVING ROOM
Tierney says this dramatic space is the home’s aesthetic driver. “The porch and wide windows provided an opportunity to tap into our indoor-outdoor approach,” she says. “We replaced biparting French sliders to open the room to the breeze and the views. The balcony connects the living room and office, so it was furnished with seating areas and heated seats, making the space ideal for sunset cocktails, early morning coffee or online work meetings.”
The team maintained the wood ceiling since it established the warm material palette. “Because this is the room that everyone passes through on their way to the bedroom wing and is seen from the entry, it became the node that expressed a global modern feeling that our clients were interested in,” says Jarrell. “The adjacent rooms, such as the kitchen, office and dining rooms, transformed to a lighter color palette with all their travel mementos, art and accessories tying all the spaces together.”
The Siam ceiling light fixture by Bover (bover.es) showcases the clients’ faith in the design team. “We love how it brings focus to the ceiling and reflects the scale of the space and the incredible view you experience once in the room—without distracting or blocking that view,” says Erin. Standout pieces include a Womb chair from Knoll (knoll.com), a Moderna Track sofa from RH (rh.com), a Paulistano side chair from DWR (dwr.com) and a Tabwa by Ethnicraft (ethnicraft.com) coffee table from Sobu (@sobuoakland). Dunes tile by Island Stone (islandstone.com) via Ceramic Tile Design (ceramictiledesign.com) lines the fireplace.
Soft wicker baskets and a mobile crafted from natural materials offer hints of the exceptional design inside the Marin home.
DINING ROOM AND KITCHEN
A family dining area, bathed in natural light, sits on one side of the kitchen (two other dining areas grace the lower terrace). For this space, the team selected a Skovby (skovby.com) table and chairs by Midj (midj.com) from KCC (kccmodernliving.com) and a Delta IV pendant from Rich Brilliant Willing (rbw.com).
In the kitchen, the team elongated the island to make it more functional and chose a counter stone from IRG (@irg_stoneboutique) and under-counter Ann Sacks (annsacks.com) tile to coordinate with the white refurbished cabinets.
“The kitchen includes a dining area and a seating area around a fireplace,” says Tierney. “The fireplace surround was simplified with tile to match the island and complement the living room fireplace tile. While this room is quite different from the living room, the wood flooring, wall colors, lighting and rug texture maintain the feeling of the living room— allowing us to use a different color palette of furnishings. It still feels cohesive to the living room but connects to the house’s other rooms.”
Rich-colored bedding from CB2 adds a luxurious and cozy feel to the primary suite.
PRIMARY SUITE
“We worked with existing furniture, so we selected rich colored bedding from CB2 (cb2.com) in luxurious feeling fabrics to pull in the warm, cozy palette of the living room while balancing the darkness of the existing headboard,” says Jarrell. A shag rug from The Perfect Rug (theperfectrug.com) lines the room. In the ensuite bath, the team softened the bright palette with a rug from Annie Selke (annieselke.com), baskets from Pottery Barn (potterybarn.com) and Turkish towels from Maison d’Etre (maisondetre.com).
HOW THE HOME IS LIVING
The design team were guests at a recent dinner party hosted by their clients in the refurbished home. “With the sun setting amid outdoor dining, we felt like we were in another world or on vacation. All the guests seemed to feel the same!” says Erin. “Our clients told us they love how we highlighted the view in every room. They also love all of our furnishing and fixture choices. They find the home comfortable and livable.”
HOME DETAILS
Home Type
Single-family
Location
Marin
Designer
Tierney Conner
tierneyconner.com
RESOURCES
Ann Sacks
Under-counter tile, kitchen
annsacks.com
Benjamin Moore
White Dove paint, throughout the home
benjaminmoore.com
Bover
Siam ceiling light, living room
bover.es
CB2
Bedding, primary suite
cb2.com
Ceramic Tile Design
Dunes fireplace tile by Island Stone, living room
ceramictiledesign.com, islandstone.com
DWR
Paulistano side chair, living room
dwr.com
Fleetwood
Windows, throughout the home
fleetwoodusa.com
IRG
Countertop stone, kitchen
@irg_stoneboutique
KCC
Skovby table, dining room; Midj chairs, dining room
kccmodern.com, skovby.com, midj.com
Knoll
Womb chair, living room
knoll.com
Monarch
Rustic oak floors, throughout the home
monarchplank.com
RH
Moderna Track sofa, living room
rh.com
Rich Brilliant Willing
Delta IV pendant, dining room
rbw.com
Sobu
Tabwa by Ethnicraft coffee table, living room
@sobuoakland, ethnicraft.com
The Perfect Rug
Shag rug, primary suite
theperfectrug.com
Photography by: BESS FRIDAY
