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Perched high in the treetops above Mill Valley, California, is a midcentury house boasting incredible views and impressive rock ‘n’ roll pedigree. Owned by the members of ’60s band Jefferson Airplane, interior designer Courtney Pena of CPD Studio believes it was where the group gathered to practice. “It has such a special feeling and some amazing features,” says the designer in reference to the octagon-shaped rooms (she was also just as taken with the retractable window above the cooker).
The Californian creative was enlisted by its new owner—a first-time buyer—to furnish the place as she was starting out from scratch. “I love mixing design styles and the client’s taste spanned from old English country to bohemian to Scandinavian,” explains Pena.
Embracing the original bones of the house, Pena curated a selection of vintage and custom pieces, and undertook a sensitive remodel of the kitchen. Ahead, the designer shares some of her best finds—and why she has no regrets reinstating all of the property’s quirks.
This house has three octagon-shaped rooms, what’s your takeaway for designing around such unusual spaces?
A large rug that’s actually a bound carpet! It meant I could have the exact shape cut, and was a way of adding coziness where there’s a lot of wood in those rooms. The binding is a hack I do a lot across all my projects: in a bedroom I’ll run the carpet from in front of the nightstands, so that when you step out of bed your feet are on it. And in living spaces, between eight to 10 inches away from the baseboards.
Were there any original features you debated stripping out?
When I first saw the wooden snake carvings on the wall, I was like, ‘Those are weird!’ But we think they are original from the band’s time in the house. We also considered covering up the tile around the fireplace which was all painted over, but in the end we exposed it and the deep jade tones inspired the color palette in the kitchen.
Was there a piece you really had to sell the homeowner on?
She had wanted to position a sofa against the bay windows facing into the living room and I felt strongly that we shouldn’t cut off the view. I suggested putting a bench there instead so we collaborated on a design that I had made by a studio in Brooklyn, NY. It’s covered in a plaid fabric from British brand Maharam, who do really cool textiles. We nicknamed it the “sunset plaid.” When the sun comes in, all of the colors just work together so well.
What’s your favorite artwork in the house?
I saw the cowboy hat painting by Ty Hayes at a store in Laguna Beach and immediately fell in love with it—it has so much texture and depth and the client was drawn to it too (even though she’s not a cowgirl). We thought it was going to live on the back wall in the kitchen, but it has such a presence that it ended up as the only piece of art in her meditation room.
What was the best vintage treasure you found?
I’ve looked at Chairish a thousand times and finally pulled the trigger! The desk and the trio of kitchen counter stools are from there—they’re 1960s Danish pieces by Vamdrup Stolefabrik in a beautiful tweed.
Who was the coolest artisan you discovered during this project?
I found the furniture-maker Jacob May on Etsy and was taken with the angular turned legs of the Flora dining table. Sometimes when buying things off Etsy it can feel a little unknown, but it turned out to be such a gorgeous and unique design.
Is there a material you’ll definitely use again in the future?
I spent so long searching for the perfect shade of linen for the sectional and landed on De Le Cuona, a UK-based natural fabrics specialist. The weave is so beautiful and it has this particular nubbiness to it. They do a great check called Ragamuffin that I’m using for another project.
What was your best save?
I bought the small designer coffee table for the living room in a local consignment store. I’d originally sourced a much larger piece from Round Top in Texas but the client was set on something smaller and airier. I finally found that table during the week of install, so that was a total win.
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