Sunset's Idea House a wealth of ideas

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Sunset and the original owners of the property.
It offers six two-story floor plans. Square footage ranges from1,719 up to 2,998 square feet, and prices are from around $1.5million. These large homes are close together on relatively smalllots, but inside, with 12-foot ceilings and an abundance ofwindows, the feel is spacious and airy.
Barthelemy envisioned a house full of new things mixed with oldthings and the "stuff everyone has — stuff from family,collections of objects."
In the family room, a collection of vintage cameras is displayed onfloating bamboo shelving that surrounds the flat-screen television.Near the downstairs powder room, an old piece of painted wood hasbeen turned into a handy hook for purses and jackets with theaddition of old faucet parts and other items scavenged at OhmegaSalvage in Berkeley.
In the boy's bedroom, a clever headboard was constructed by PeterO. Whiteley, who recently retired as a longtime jack-of-all-tradesSunset staffer and now works as a consultant. The simple framecontains plexiglass pockets that showcase vintage album covers.Barthelemy points out that the pockets could easily be filled withphotographs or colorful pieces of fabric.
Whiteley also is responsible for the ingeniously simple privateoutdoor space that's hung with panels of Sunbrella fabric. Itserves as a "portable gazebo" in the small backyard.
"The city wouldn't allow us to build a regular gazebo because itwas deemed a 'permanent structure,'" says Gaffney. "So Peter wentto work and came up with this PVC frame that he spray-painted amatte silver."
In the large master bedroom suite, Barthelemy wanted a statementbed, but blanched at statement-bed prices. Whiteley came to therescue again, designing a lightweight foam headboard that lookslike a deep fireplace mantel shelf. It is painted a creamy whiteand hangs over a standard-issue bed on a standard-issue bed frame.
But in addition to all of the creative, inexpensive DIY projects onview in the Idea House, there are plenty of higher-end and customfeatures to make notes about.
In the dining room and guest bath, walls have been textured in asubtle Japanese technique that involves troweling on a mixture ofsand, straw and small fossils. In the family room, a shelf beneaththe flat-screen TV is made of BottleStone, which Fireclay Tilecreates from concrete and recycled glass. Fireclay alsomanufactured the buttery custom tile on the living room fireplace.
The enormous kitchen appears even more so because Barthelemy haschosen a creamy white color scheme: Cabinets are painted, thecounter tops gleam with sleek white CaesarStone quartz. Punches ofcolor come from accessories such as the big red-orange lightfixture over the spacious center island, which is topped withTeragren butcher-block bamboo treated with food-safe mineral oil.
Practical slide-out pantry shelves provide a slew of storage, and akid-friendly "snack area" is equipped with a small refrigerator andits own counter so it's out of the way of the main kitchen workspaces. A cork-lined "collection spot" is where keys are stashed,cell phones are recharged and grocery lists are posted.
The master suite is all about comfort. A vestibule leading into thespace has a plumbed four-cup coffee maker and refrigerator drawersto hold half-and-half or a few bottles of chardonnay. Walls arepainted a creamy taupe — the Benjamin Moore color is calledSpa — and the headboard wall is papered in a coral print. Bedlinens are pure white.
In the master bath, the comfort theme continues with a huge soakingtub surrounded by jewel-like glass tiles. Some are matte finish andothers are shiny, giving the space a richness of soothing goldencolor. A walk-in shower — Gaffney jokes that it's big enoughfor the whole family at once — gets similar treatment.
Throughout the Idea House, Barthelemy has used Benjamin Moorepaints from the company's new low-VOC Aura line. She settled on acolor called Steam, a warm white, for the kitchen, upstairs landingand other areas, while the living room gets bold swaths of Flint, asteely dark blue, with shots of Buttered Yam on the fireplace wall.
Outside, Shades of Green Landscaping from Mill Valley demonstratesthat even a small space can be effectively divided into "rooms." Onone end of the rectangular space is an alcohol-fueled outdoorfireplace surrounded by cushy chairs. The center dining area isanchored by a small outdoor kitchen with grill. And the other endhas the "portable gazebo" with its privacy curtains.
A stunning fountain by Sausalito designer Hugh McCloud provides afocal point and the soothing sounds of water. Low-maintenance andwater-wise plants include agaves and grasses.