Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems
ThatPainter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More
A 1960 house in Los Gatos, California, became a calm, highly functional home for a family of six without sacrificing its midcentury identity. Interior designer and homeowner Cathie Hong retained the original redwood, paneling, floor-to-ceiling windows, double-height spaces, and open-riser stair structure, then reorganized the plan around an open kitchen, concealed storage, work nooks, and durable family spaces.
The result is best understood as Japandi-inspired rather than a formal style exercise: a restrained foundation of wood, stone, and simple forms, enlivened by relief tile, wallpaper, art, and carefully chosen color.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The project at a glance
| Detail | What the feature reports |
|---|---|
| Location | Los Gatos, in California’s San Francisco Bay Area |
| Original construction | 1960 |
| Size | 2,400 square feet |
| Household | Cathie Hong, her husband, and their four children |
| Design team | Hong with Byungki Kim of Story Build Design; custom cabinetry by Scott Strong |
| Published | Architectural Digest home tour, November 20, 2023 |
Hong and her family chose the property for its distinctive architecture and proximity to nature. It was not move-in ready: the house had leaks and was described as unlivable when they found it. The renovation therefore had to solve basic building problems while protecting the features that gave the house its character.
Architectural Digest’s account is a magazine home tour, not a permit file, contractor estimate, energy audit, or post-renovation inspection. It does not report a budget, measured energy savings, comparative construction costs, code findings, or the home’s present condition. Landscaping was planned as a second phase, but the feature does not establish whether that work was completed.
#1 Best Overall
- 【𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐀𝐬𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧】No messy ashes everywhere！The incense holder captures all the fallen ashes to ensure that the ashes do not mess up on the table and can be easily removed and cleaned. You don't have to worry about the wind, air conditioner or fan blowing ash everywhere.
- 【𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐩】CEREMONY incense holder comes with Upgraded Clip,the opening size of the clip is 1mm~5mm, which can firmly hold different sizes of incense. The metal holder is firm and not easy to bend and deform. It is easy to use and will not lose the fragrance or damage the incense sticks.
- 【𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬】This insence-stick holder can not only be used as an incense burner, but also as a great home decoration, artwork, and desktop decoration. The fragrant smoke flows from bottom to top in a glass bottle, with dreamy and beautiful movements. This is a design that brings joy and anticipation.
- 【𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬】Its unique aroma is pleasant and relieves fatigue.The incense holder creates a relaxed atmosphere in any space, whether it's meditation, stress relief, yoga room, spa, reading room, tea house, temple, church, home, or office.
- 【𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐆𝐢𝐟𝐭】This incense burner is an ideal gift for housewarming, birthday, Mother's Day, and Thanksgiving, with the best wishes.
Preservation came before the new finishes
The house already supplied the strongest visual elements: extensive redwood, original wall paneling, floor-to-ceiling glazing, double-height ceilings, and an open-riser staircase. Rather than cover those elements with a generic contemporary envelope, Hong kept the wood details the family valued and designed new work around them.
The stair is a clear example. The steel stringer remained, while damaged treads and the railing were replaced with white oak. That approach preserves the structural expression of the original stair while making the surfaces safer and visually consistent with the new cabinetry and furniture.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →In the daughters’ bedroom, original wall paneling also stayed in place. The room’s custom headboards, floral wallpaper, a Calico Wallpaper mural, and bedside reading lamps add softness and pattern without erasing the midcentury shell. The lesson is not to preserve every component automatically; it is to identify which elements carry the house’s identity before demolition begins.
A practical preservation test
- Keep: features that define the architecture, such as structural stair elements, characteristic paneling, redwood, and the relationship between glazing and ceiling height.
- Repair or selectively replace: damaged components whose form still suits the house, as with the stair treads and railing.
- Layer over: sound original surfaces that can act as a backdrop for wallpaper, rugs, art, and upholstery.
- Document first: household history and material condition before making irreversible changes.
Opening the kitchen without losing the house’s structure
The original kitchen was a dark, cramped galley. Hong’s team opened it to the living room, turning the kitchen and adjacent spaces into a great room that could support cooking, conversation, and family life. The change was a reorganization of circulation and sightlines, not simply a cosmetic cabinet replacement.
White-oak cabinetry gives the new kitchen a warm, quiet surface that relates to the preserved wood elsewhere. Paneled appliances reduce visual interruption, while terrazzo countertops introduce a fine-grained, durable-looking surface. A floating shelf from Concrete Collaborative adds display space without filling the room with upper cabinets.
Rank #2
- 3 LEVEL BRIGHTNESS: The button on the side of this plug in night light can adjust the brightness 30/60/100LM to meet your different brightness needs
- Auto-Sensing Nightlight: With dusk to dawn light sensor built in, it will automatically turn off in 2 seconds when there is plenty of light and turn on when the environment is dim
- UNIQUE DESIGN: Featuring a black cylindrical minimalist frame. The stylish and sophisticated outlook of night lights does not block the bottom outlet for other devices
- WIDE APPLICATION: DORESshop LED dimmable night light is the perfect lighting choice for bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, kids room, hallways and stairways. Create a warm atmosphere
- SAFE & RELIABLE: The maximum power consumption of our night light is only 1w, which helps protect the environment and save your electricity bills
Opening a kitchen in a midcentury house requires restraint. Removing too many walls or adding oversized cabinetry can make the original ceiling volume and window walls feel secondary. Here, the palette and low visual noise allow the kitchen to read as part of the living room rather than as a separate white box.
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallCrashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteWhat the kitchen strategy accomplishes
- It replaces a dim galley arrangement with a connected work-and-living zone.
- It uses white oak to bridge new cabinetry and retained wood architecture.
- It conceals appliances so the open room is not dominated by equipment.
- It reserves a small corner for a dedicated work nook elsewhere, instead of asking the kitchen to perform every household function.
Living room: sculptural pieces around the windows
Hong wanted the main living space to feel “open: big, open and grand,” while acknowledging that the 2,400-square-foot house is not large by the impression created by its glazing. Floor-to-ceiling windows and double-height space make the room feel expansive, so furniture had to provide comfort without blocking views.
The room combines an inherited sectional, a vintage coffee table, a locally sourced lounge chair, a sideboard customized for the space, and an Armadillo rug. Hong selected varied silhouettes so the pieces read as individual forms rather than as a matching suite. The strategy is especially useful in a glass-heavy room: lower or visually open furniture preserves sightlines, while a few rounded or sculptural forms keep the composition from becoming severe.
Materials that create the Japandi-inspired atmosphere
“Japandi-inspired” describes the project’s balance of Japanese-influenced simplicity and Scandinavian warmth; it is not a formal standard that the house claims to follow. The feeling comes from how materials are edited and repeated.
| Material or element | Where it appears | Design role |
|---|---|---|
| Original pine and redwood | Ceilings, paneling, and existing architecture | Maintains the home’s midcentury identity |
| White oak | Kitchen cabinets, stair treads, and bathroom vanity | Introduces a consistent, pale wood tone |
| Terrazzo | Kitchen countertops | Adds texture without a heavy pattern |
| Quartzite | Dining table remnant and balcony table top | Provides a natural stone focal point |
| Relief and finger tile | Children’s bath and balcony coffee table | Brings tactile, hand-scaled detail |
| Wallpaper, rugs, and upholstery | Bedrooms, guest/music room, and living areas | Softens the wood-and-stone foundation with pattern and color |
Natural materials do not force a neutral result. The house uses blush-pink tile, olive paint, graphic wallpaper, and floral motifs alongside oak and stone. The restraint is in the number of major gestures, not in eliminating color.
Rank #3
- Warm Soft Glow to Your Home: A nice, warm and romantic atmosphere will be created thanks to the 2700K warm white color temperature and the linen fabric lampshade. SEESINY small table lamp with soft ambient light makes you feel comfortable alone or together with your beloved.
- Minimalist Design Decorates Your Room Effortlessly: The night light lamp is well made and elegant in design, making your surrounding more modern and stylish looking. Your best choice for bedrooms, living rooms, baby rooms, offices, coffee tables, college dorms, cafes, and bookcases in your library or den.
- Eye Caring LED Bulb Included: To save you from trouble in matching the right bulb, the bedside table lamp comes with a qualified E26 LED bulb, which helps to save up to 80%. Designed to bring soft, stable & non-flickering lighting, the small Led desk lamp is friendly to your eyes so that you can enjoy what you’re doing for longer.
- Delicate but Powerful for Lighting: Its 400 Lumen is bright enough to light up an entire bedroom when all other lights are off. It is just the right amount of light for reading, working and studying. This night stand light lamp is also a great gift for your family.
- Safe and Easy to Assemble: The bedside lamps for bedroom is easy to be assembled and complies with UL-certified. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us. Quick and friendly service will be provided.
Dining areas: custom work with a personal reference
The dining nook centers on a custom table that combines a remnant of fusion-blue quartzite with a custom pedestal base. The table and its upholstery were inspired by a woven artwork by Korean fiber artist Mimi Jung. That reference gives the dining area a specific visual origin instead of relying on an interchangeable “organic modern” look.
Outside, a teak dining set from the family’s previous home was reused. Reusing an existing set can preserve continuity and avoid treating every room as a blank slate; it also demonstrates that a renovation’s new aesthetic does not require replacing every possession.
Bedrooms and the balcony extend the material story
Primary bedroom
A custom multifunctional bed provides storage for seasonal clothing, turning a large piece of furniture into built-in organization. The room layers a graphic rug, textiles, bedding, art, and sconces around that practical core. The approach keeps storage close to where it is used while allowing the rest of the room to remain visually calm.
Balcony
The balcony uses Roly Poly chairs and a tile coffee table made with Japanese tiles Hong had collected. A quartzite remnant tops the table. The combination links a personal collection to a new piece of furniture and echoes the indoor use of stone, tile, and rounded forms.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsChildren’s rooms
The daughters’ room retains its original paneling and adds custom headboards, floral wallpaper, a mural, and reading lamps. The son’s room takes a more graphic direction with leopard wallpaper and a reader-sized desk from Akron Street. These rooms show that a restrained whole-house palette can accommodate distinct children’s spaces rather than forcing every room into the same beige scheme.
Rank #4
- Aesthetic Decor: The reading thinker statue is a great addition to any bookshelf. It depicts a thinker reading a book, elegant and unique in design, adding aesthetic and artistic style to your home decor
- Premium Material: The thinker figurine reading room decor is made of high-grade resin, sturdy and strong structure, easy to clean and maintain, and can be used for a long time
- Package and Size: You will receive 1pc reading sculpture home decor, the size is about 4.53*3.35*2.36 inches, fits most decor styles and is a great addition to the collection
- Widely Used: The reading statues figurines are great home decorations, adding stylish and artistic to your space. Ideal for living room, office, bedroom, library, book shelf, reading corner, coffee table, desktop decor,etc
- Great Gift: The abstract art sculpture is a creative art collection, a great gift for reading lovers, librarians, student, family and more. Ideal for Birthday, Anniversary, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas Day, housewarming gift, etc
Bathrooms: family function and deliberate color
The primary bathroom keeps an original pine ceiling. A white-oak vanity with a marble top sits below illustrated wall covering, pairing the old ceiling with new, lighter millwork and a decorative surface.
The children’s bathroom is organized around shared use: a double vanity and a long soaking tub support several children getting ready or bathing. Geometric raised-relief tile from Smink Studio supplies texture at a close, tactile scale.
A former half-bath became a guest bathroom with a walk-in shower. Dusty-pink Japanese grid tile covers both floor and walls, creating a continuous field rather than a small accent strip. A Ferm Living mirror and satin-brass California Faucets fixtures complete the room’s warm, graphic palette.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Storage and work zones for a family of six
The music/guest room hides children’s toys in built-in cabinetry with integrated seating. Concealed storage keeps a multipurpose room ready for guests while allowing it to function as a family room day to day. Deep olive paint and matching upholstery make the built-ins feel intentional rather than purely utilitarian.
Two work nooks use spaces that might otherwise be wasted: one occupies a dead corner near the kitchen, and another is carved from a small room for Hong’s husband. These interventions acknowledge that a family can need separate, quiet work areas even in a relatively compact home.
Best Value
- Luxurious Boho Texture: Crafted from super-soft, premium corduroy, these decorative throw pillow covers are a must-have for boho decor and bedroom decor, adding instant character with an elegant stripe pattern.
- Create Cozy Corners: The ultimate accessory for reading nook decor or window seat decor. These 18x18 inch decorative pillow covers in a rich pine green add a lush, enveloping calm to your interior decor, making spaces feel like a secluded forest retreat.
- Sleek Hidden Zipper: The discreet zipper ensures a seamless look, perfect for sophisticated home decor styling. Easily swap these pillow covers to refresh your space seasonally.
- Easy Care Guide: For long-lasting beauty, we recommend hand washing or machine washing in cold/warm water on a gentle cycle. Tumble dry on low heat. Do not bleach or iron.
- Package & Color Note: The set includes 4 pillow covers to enhance your indoor decor. Please note: Insert not included. Colors may vary slightly due to lighting and screen differences, which is normal for textile products.
The laundry required a more fundamental correction. Washing machines had originally been installed inside a bathroom. The architect separated the laundry and bathroom, then connected them visually through a green-and-pink palette that relates the laundry room to the children’s bath. This is a useful example of improving function while retaining a visual conversation between adjacent rooms.
What the renovation suggests for another midcentury house
- Map the original character. Photograph paneling, ceilings, stairs, window walls, and built-ins before making a layout decision. Identify which elements are structurally or emotionally important.
- Fix condition problems first. Leaks and other habitability issues must be resolved before finishes can be evaluated meaningfully.
- Open selectively. Connect rooms where circulation and family use demand it, but protect ceiling volume, window relationships, and the architectural rhythm that makes the house midcentury.
- Repeat a small material vocabulary. White oak, terrazzo, quartzite, tile, and existing redwood recur throughout this project, creating cohesion without identical rooms.
- Design storage as architecture. Concealed toy cabinets, a storage bed, and paneled appliances keep visual clutter from overwhelming an open plan.
- Use color strategically. Olive walls, pink tile, murals, and graphic wallpapers provide personality while the wood-and-stone foundation keeps the house legible as one home.
- Reuse what still works. The outdoor teak set came from the family’s previous home, proving that continuity can be more valuable than total replacement.
- Reserve room for real routines. Shared bathroom fixtures, work nooks, and a separated laundry respond to daily use rather than to photography alone.
How to read the project’s shopping references
Architectural Digest’s “Shop it out” section offers products for achieving a similar mood, but it is not a verified inventory of what Hong purchased or installed. The list includes recommendations such as the Safavieh Home Jacynda Honey Brown End Table Ottoman, a Brooklinen Classic Percale Duvet Cover, a KINTO SCS-S04 27573 Brewer Stand Set, and a De’Longhi 15-Bar Pump Espresso Machine, with retailer links including Amazon.
Those items should be treated as sourcing leads, not proof of authorship or installation in the Los Gatos house. Product names, stock, and availability can change after the November 2023 feature. The more durable takeaway is to shop by qualities visible in the rooms: warm wood, tactile tile, sculptural seating, concealed storage, and textiles that introduce pattern without competing with the architecture.
Why the result feels both minimal and lived-in
The renovation succeeds by separating visual calm from visual emptiness. Original redwood and pine provide texture; oak and stone establish continuity; wallpaper, art, upholstery, and tile add evidence of individual rooms and family life. Furniture is selected for silhouette and use, not merely for matching finishes. Storage absorbs clutter, while color is concentrated where it can create identity.
Hong described the renovation as “eye-opening” and said she walked away with “so much empathy” for her clients. In this house, that empathy appears in practical decisions: a bathroom arranged for children, a laundry room no longer forced into a bathroom, toys hidden but accessible, and workspaces fitted into overlooked corners. The Japandi-inspired appearance is therefore the visible result of a deeper process—preserving what mattered, reorganizing what failed, and making every remaining space work harder.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
