GreenSpace: New Beginnings

When newlyweds Lia and John Ray Fernandez decided to remodel their mid-century hillside ranch house in Northern California, what they got was more than a new home—the process was a crash course in green design.

The couple had spent a cozy three years in the house before collaborating with green designer Kimberly Rider—known for pairing sustainable materials with comfy, sophisticated style—whom they discovered after tuning in to Curb Appeal on HGTV. “I really liked what I saw in her designs,” says Lia. “She understood what I wanted.”

Because Lia favors darker colors, Rider decided on a palette of grayish-blue, black, and white to maintain a simple yet stylish aesthetic. In the family room she incorporated exotic touches like the peacock-feather screen designed by local decorative painter Caroline Lizarraga (who only uses nontoxic materials). The windows are dressed with subtly colored dupioni silk curtains. Rider retained the original red-oak floors and had them refinished with a water-based urethane.

The centerpiece of the room is the fireplace mantel, built with a  formaldehyde-free MDF (medium-density fiberboard), which is made out of wood waste fibers painted with a semigloss finish in linen white. The wood-planked ceiling was painted with a similar semigloss finish, which highlights the architectural detail.

Design:
Kimberly Rider, Atmosphera Home, 526 Third St., Suite A/3, San Rafael, CA 94901; 415/455-8430, atmospherahome.com.

Sources:
Sofa; drapery: owner’s collection.
Flowers: OrganicBouquet, 877/899-2468, organicbouquet.com.
Glass vase on mantel (“Urchin Small Flat vase’’ in Crystal Clear, $319); vase on coffee table (“Savannah Juice Glass’’; $55): Union Street Glass, 888/451-7752, unionstreetglass.com.
Paint: Benjamin Moore & Co., 888/236-6667.
Screen (custom): Caroline Lizarraga Decorative Painting, 415/724-3200, carolinelizarraga.com.
Mantel: fiberboard.
Custom furniture; cabinetry; custom trays: Ralph King, 415/822-5847, ralphkingcabinetry.com.
Vases on armoire: Erin McGuiness, 510/388-6346, erinmcguiness.com.

Photographs by Andrew McKinney
Text by April Hardwick
Produced with Heather Lobdell