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First came the art collection. Next was the combination guesthouse and private art gallery that could showcase that collection.
The Palo Alto home on the upcoming Silicon Valley Modern Home Tour on June 9 is actually next door to the main house, which was remodeled from a 1920s bungalow in a more modern cast. The new construction includes the guesthouse, cabana and playroom, all around a central courtyard with lap pool.
The home is one of five on the tour, including an updated Eichler with a butterfly roofline and eyebrow roof; a second modernized Eichler with an enclosed atrium; an ultra-contemporary home in Los Altos Hills with a 15-foot front door; and a floating glass box in a canopy of trees in Cupertino.
The tour, presented by The Modern Architecture + Design Society, is self-guided, with addresses being provided to ticket holders 48 hours beforehand. Architects, designers and homeowners will be on hand to discuss each project.
For the Palo Alto home, “The private spaces are in the front and the public spaces in the back,” said architect Jerome Buttrick of Buttrick Projects A+D in Oakland.
The family “wanted to have a place to hang paintings and house visiting family and friends,” Buttrick said.
He designed a light-filled — both day and night — two-bedroom, two-bath home with plenty of wall space for showcasing that art.
“It’s in the spirit of a contemporary gallery, but more broken up because it has a residential program,” he said.
The home’s colors are quiet: Flooring is large pale gray Pietra Serena Italian limestone tiles (the same material as in the Laurentian Library in Florence, Italy); the cabinets are bleached and stained oak; the walls are white with no moldings.
Along a large wall in the dining area are three large paintings by Hung Liu, a renowned contemporary Chinese-born American artist.
Between the dining and living-room areas is a sculpture, “Warrior With Color Face” by San Francisco sculptor Wanxin Zhang. Distributed throughout are pieces by portrait artist Chuck Close, Chantal Joffe, and more.
Ceilings vary from 9 feet to 18 feet, with walls broken up by large sliding-glass doors leading to the back. No thresholds mar the smooth transition outside.
Light streams in through those large windows, with a screen made of perforated, corrugated zinc that both filters light and reduces heat gain. “It’s like having a tree outside the house,” Buttrick said, “and it shimmers at night.”
Downstairs are the two bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom. The bathrooms continue the quiet color theme, with white Turkish marble on the walls, wall-mounted Vola faucets, white Silestone countertops and clear glass shower walls.
The kitchen is sleek, with stainless-steel appliances and sink (and stainless-steel-faced pull-out pantries), a concrete island topped with a slab of bay laurel wood and a matching shelf above the sink. The back splash is a distinctive dual-glaze (shiny and matte) tile by Heath Ceramics. “It randomizes (the design), loosens it up,” Buttrick said.
The floating staircase with its metal siding was inspired by a piece of art by Sean Scully. “He does horizontal, stripey things,” Buttrick said. The staircase leads to the loft/study that overlooks the living room.
Outside, the house is faced with Swisspearl siding with the properties of cement, which the architect called “cementitious,” that never needs painting.
Two other structures complete the compound: A playroom on the right sports exposed aggregate concrete flooring and a half bath. The cabana behind the lap pool has its own half bath and an outdoor shower.
Freelance writer Carol Blitzer can be emailed at carolgblitzer@gmail.com.
What: Silicon Valley Modern Home Tour
When: Saturday, June 9, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Five homes in Palo Alto, Los Altos Hills, Sunnyvale and Cupertino
Cost: $35 (with coupon code PAWEEKLY18) online in advance; $50 day-of tickets; children under 12 free
Info: welovemodern.com