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FROM RECYCLED-DENIM INSULATION TO SUSTAINABLE WOOD CABINETS, THIS BALINESE RETREAT IN BANKERS HILL LEAVES A LASTING IMPRESSION
Two sculptural and striking purple womb chairs greet visitors to this home in Bankers Hill. Eero Saarinen’s iconic midcentury seats also provide a bit of irony. Not because they’ve been upholstered in the color of royalty. You wouldn’t expect to see them in an entry in the first place, let alone inside a home inspired by frequent trips to Hawaii.
“I was really hoping they would pick the womb chair,” says Kellie McCormick, ASID, the interior designer behind the transformation of an old rental property into this modern, East-meets-West retreat. “When you open the front doors, there’s nothing better than seeing their scooped backs and sculptural form. And they have a lower profile, so you can look beyond them to the pool.”
The chairs aren’t the only unexpected finds. There’s recycled denim in the walls. A kitchen designed with three types of sustainable wood. LumiCor shower panels made of recyclable resin with grass inside. You’ll even find two elementary-age boys living here. It’s a modern home designed for today’s family—with adequate, rather than overabundant, gathering space; seamless interaction between indoors and out; an unassuming yet chic design palette; and conscious thought to environmental impact.
“We were pretty committed to being as green as possible with the house, given that it’s not all that green to do a remodel in the first place,” says homeowner David, a property investment manager who lives here with wife Sarah, a corporate librarian, and sons Henry and Isaac. “The architects knew that from the start, as did Kellie. We weren’t that familiar with green design, but we did our research in investigating materials and often brought these ideas to the team.”
For a growing family, the design of the original 1,100-square-foot house was limited. Half of the backyard couldn’t be accessed without exiting through the side of the house and going around. The kitchen was so small, David says, that you couldn’t open the oven and refrigerator at the same time. What began as a kitchen remodel quickly evolved into a whole-house renovation that would leave only one wall of the original structure standing.
“Our three priorities were to maximize the use of the lot, have a more open floor plan that incorporates the outdoors and add a pool for the kids,” Sarah says. “David was really the lead in thinking about how the house should look. He especially wanted to have one great big room that incorporated the kitchen, because everyone ends up there. We also both like Hawaiian-style homes and the idea of bringing the outdoors inside.”
The couple hired Smyer Architecture to design the site layout. Solar panels were a must, so the plan maximized sun exposure. To keep the main living area cool during summer months, Smyer’s team suggested shifting the entire second floor back toward the pool to create an oversized awning. It provides shade for the indoor and outdoor spaces beneath it, as well as ventilation for the floor above.
“You have to be really com mitted if you want to complete an eco-conscious remodel,” says McCormick, a member of the Bast-Wright interior design firm and also a teacher with San Diego State University’s design program. “David and Sarah really did their research, and they were willing to spend more money for green products.”
Inside, eco-choices range from recycled-glass tile in the boys’ bathroom to FSC-certified tiger-wood flooring to custom concrete pavers enhanced with bits of recycled glass and copper. Cabinetry in the kitchen and kids’ bathrooms contains a formaldehyde-free core, while those in the master bath have a reconstituted mahogany veneer. The team reduced waste by repurposing stone, glass and wood and simply sticking to a slim selection of materials. Seagrass limestone, for instance, appears on the exterior columns, the master bath floor and shower, and the living room fireplace.
The kitchen island is one testament to the group’s commitment to green. It features three types of wood, each an environmentally responsible choice. Considered “the new bamboo,” palm wood exhibits a beautiful grain and is an ideal alternative to rain-forest timber. Strong and dense, ipe is harvested only from naturally sustainable forests and resists rot, decay, insects and mold. Bamboo, of course, has become part of the everyday vernacular for sustainable design.
“You always have to weigh the pros and cons when determining what is ‘green,’” says McCormick. “In the end, every decision was simply about making sure it was the right fit for David, Sarah and their kids.”
While the couple had to sacrifice some of their green desires—such as more-efficient radiant heating—they didn’t lose one bit of their home’s aesthetic appeal. They desired a Hawaiian feel, so McCormick turned it up a notch and gave them a boutique, Bali-inspired design. And where tropical floral print was requested, she brought in edgier modern versions by Romo and Pollack upholstery.
“The interior is an eclectic blend, so it’s interesting,” McCormick says of the palette, which is neither tropical nor starkly modern. “I wanted to mix classics with clean-lined pieces, such as McGuire and Saarinen. I never want a design to be over-themed; I want it to last.”
Where she didn’t source from showrooms, McCor mick worked closely with Clyde Turner of CTT Furniture to create custom pieces. In addition to the eco-friendly cabinetry throughout the house, for the living room McCormick and Turner collaborated on a sleek palm-wood media nook with a door that lifts to reveal a flat-screen TV. Beside it is a fireplace surround made of stainless steel pressed and stained to imitate copper.
“We needed the copper,” McCormick says. “We already had plenty of stone and wood, so we needed another element to add sparkle.”
Recycled copper also adds pizzazz to concrete pavers that weave in and out of the backyard and main living area. It’s one way the team blurred boundaries between indoors and out.
“This is one of my favorite parts,” David says as he folds multipaneled glass doors to reveal a linear pool lined with recycled tile. “We didn’t want any sort of threshold between the outside and indoor space, so now you don’t know where one ends and the other begins.”
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