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"An older house with hardwood floors, wainscoting, and real wood windows" was how Gina Gattuso described her dream cottage to her real estate agent. But when she and her husband, Phil, began house-hunting in Healdsburg, a small community north of San Francisco in the heart of Sonoma Valley's wine country, they soon discovered that the older homes in their price range needed a lot of work, beginning with new paint and sometimes ending with new wiring, plumbing, flooring, and a roof.
Frustrated by their findings, the Gattusos began to consider a new house if it had a great location and classic design. "We liked the simplicity of one builder's floor plan, but he wanted to make the interior details modern, and we wanted it just the other way—timeless," says Gina, an interior designer. "We knew we'd have to remodel an older house in town, so we thought, 'Why not remodel this house?' " The walls were about to be roughed in to an 1,800-square-foot cottage on a charming neighborhood street when Gina and Phil negotiated with the builder to make minor alterations that would bring the plan closer to the classic California bungalow they had envisioned.
photography: Dominique Vorillon
To charm up the kitchen, Gina painted stock oak cabinets white and gave them rubbed-bronze hard-ware. The Mexican tiles add a handmade look. |
Gina's first request was to modify flooring and cabinetry materials that were inconsistent with her vision of an early 20th-century cottage; the best fix for the oak cabinets in the kitchen and baths was white paint. Gina also tossed out all fixtures in the builder's specifications. "People are reluctant to change something that's new and perfectly functional, but selecting your own hardware and light fixtures is an easy way to make a spec house feel more personal," she says. The builder's allowance still applied, but she allotted it toward her own selections and paid the difference when her choices came in over the budgeted amount.The cottage's bathrooms took the biggest hit because the builder's standard options weren't in keeping with the vintage look Gina wanted. In place of sheet mirrors glued to the wall, which "felt more like a hotel than a home," she hung individual mirrors with substantial frames above each sink. Instead of using the sliding glass doors planned for each tub, Gina had custom floor-to-ceiling shower curtains made. "With 10-foot ceilings like we have, standard shower curtains leave a big gap at the top while full-length curtains accentuate the height of the ceilings," she says.
photography: Dominique Vorillon
For a custom feel, Gina selected the same Mexican Saltillo tiles she used on the kitchen floor for the fireplace surround in the living room. A classic mantel adds definition and gives extra prominence to the room's focal point.
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Having painted, changed, or completely removed all of the materials and details that didn't fit the look of the cottage they wanted, the Gattusos knew it still needed a little enrichment to create authentic character. To add texture to flat gypsum-board walls, Gina added wainscoting with regularly spaced battens and standard finished lumber at chair rail height throughout most of the first floor. Custom cabinetry and bookcases transformed the back end of the kitchen into a breakfast nook and display area for her collection of white stoneware. Saltillo tiles from Mexico add warmth and personality as flooring in the entry, hall, kitchen, and baths, and as the fireplace surround in the living room. With construction decisions made, Gina shifted her focus to decorating the cottage's interior. She visually expanded the small rooms by painting everything the same grayish off-white shade. "The spaces flow without being broken up by any jarring colors," she says. "The dining room is isolated, so I went with a deeper tone there, but it's still a grayed green." The furnishings, too, have one tonal look in white with gray accents. Although the couple paid a premium for certain changes, they felt fortunate to be able to eliminate unnecessary things from the builder's budget. "The key to personalizing a spec house is to find a floor plan you really like and then change the design details to fit the style you want," says Gina. "Builders aren't likely to object when you are removing incompatible details rather than moving walls. And the earlier in the construction you ask, the better." | 
