Our longstanding clients purchased a 60-acre property in Pope Valley, east of Napa Valley, where careful planning resulted in a ranch blending agrarian heritage with contemporary design across a main house, barn, floating boathouse, and whimsical Tin Bar. The design balances the wife’s preference for a clean, fresh aesthetic with the husband’s love of rustic, masculine details, intentionally differing from their historic Italianate primary residence.
Inspired by the idea of inhabiting stone ruins, the main house utilizes dark gray stone from their own quarry, Shou Sugi Ban cypress, concrete, and blackened steel. A long cupola spans the great room, while 18-inch-thick walls frame doors and windows in blackened steel boxes. Inside, blackened steel beams and trusses contrast pale gray Italian plaster walls, charcoal concrete floors, and Austrian character oak ceilings and cabinetry accented with bronze hardware. Sixteen-foot pocketing steel-and-glass doors on each side of the great room take advantage of the views and dissolve the boundary between indoors and out.
An oversized hot-rolled steel island anchors the kitchen finished in minimal white oak cabinetry. Pale gray custom concrete countertops flow into the plaster walls, while discreet Bocci outlets blend seamlessly into the surfaces and gunmetal fixtures reinforce the masculine yet warm aesthetic. The wet bar, clad in hot-rolled steel, is concealed behind a barn door crafted from vintage leather belts, that doubles as privacy for the bunk room. Cement tiles inspired by Wappo basketry add detail to the bathroom floors and accent a cowhide mosaic wall treatment in the powder room.
Bespoke rugs inspired by Wappo basketry, European lighting, and custom furnishings with faceted edges, textured glass, hand-forged steel, and hand-stitched leather crafted by a saddle maker create a sophisticated yet approachable environment.
The black-clad barn houses vintage vehicles and events, pairing warm wood interiors and herringbone detailing with whimsical sconces crafted from vintage headlights and buffalo skulls. The floating boathouse offers relaxed entertaining, while the Tin Bar layers salvaged materials and found objects into a spirited homage to old Western saloons.