School House Rocks
Exquisite redwood that has outlasted decades now shines once again throughout the abode that Assets School head Ryan Masa (pictured above) and his family call home, thanks to a bit of a revamp.
Perched atop ‘Alewa Heights at Assets’ high school campus, Avery Solmssen of Philpotts Interiors says the home’s redwood tongue and groove was some of the widest seen, measuring in 16 to 20 inches.
“It was a privilege to see a home that had maintained the redwood,” Solmssen adds.
Built in the 1950s, very little had been done to the residence throughout the years. In fact, aside from water staining and aging in the redwood, and one room that had been painted white, much was still intact, including original wood flooring, single-pane windows and glass jalousies. The overall goal was simply to “restore the home,” as Solmssen puts it.
“Try to honor the home’s original design intent and clean it up,” Solmssen adds. “We stripped away all of the additions that had been made over the years and replaced them with items that were more in keeping with what originally might have been there.”
In addition to restoring the redwood and removing the white paint in one room, Philpotts Interiors also increased the kitchen’s opening to the main room, as well as added a powder room and two bathrooms, while modern appliances and a walk-in pantry/laundry room completed a new kitchen.
Modifications to the home’s lanai, meanwhile, helped to bring a little bit of the outdoors inside.
“With its gorgeous views, we screened the lanai, so the family could use the house as an extension of the lanai,” Solmssen says. “We also added new flooring and used an outdoor rug material to the newly enclosed lanai to make it feel more one with nature.
“Additionally, to ensure the home would be properly protected from the elements, we replaced the roof, doors, and windows.”
All of it led to a pretty stunning result, to hear Eric Tema — Assets School board member and partner at The MacNaughton Group — tell it.
“Avery and her team from Philpotts Interiors brought the head-of-school home back to its original glory and beyond,” Tema says. “After decades of deferred maintenance, the house was in very rough shape with awkward fixes over the years. With period correct finishes and details, the irreplaceable 16-inch-wide redwood tongue and groove interior truly sets the tone for this amazing home.”
Working with Assets School, adds Solmssen, hit close to home for many Philpotts Interiors employees.
“From grandchildren attending the school, to seats on the board over the years, the request to bring this home back to life was something that was incredibly meaningful to the firm,” Solmssen says. “We wanted to give back to them, as they have done for so many students and families over the years.”