Rustic Charm With Contemporary Touches

Inside designer Glenda Martin labored on the workplaces of a few of Silicon Valley’s largest tech corporations and, later, on the luxurious properties of the individuals who based them. However what she thought-about her finest work was her smallest—a 650-square-foot barn-turned-house that she designed for herself in Sonoma County. Midway by the six-month challenge, Martin was recognized with pancreatic most cancers. She lived within the residence for less than eight months earlier than passing away. By the home windows Martin had rigorously positioned at every finish of her bed room, her household may see the solar setting within the west and a full moon rising within the east.

“The orignal staircase was actually a ladder,” says Jessica. “I had a tough time imagining how my mother would match correct stairs into the house, however I had little question they'd be stunning.” Minimalist floating stair treads had been Martin’s reply.

Glenda Martin renovated the small barn to make it a house for herself. She designed the kitchen to take up almost half of the primary flooring.

When Martin bought the barn, the small loft was paneled in tough knotty-pine planks. Martin recreated it as a peaceable, light-filled retreat. She was a tall lady and will arise fully solely within the middle of the room, however as a result of the house was centered round relaxation and reflection, that didn’t matter.

“My mother was very proud of this home and with residing right here,” says Jessica. “ it, I can see the complete arc of her profession and every little thing she adored: the stone wall she fell in love with in France, the pebble tile within the lavatory and the sleek flooring with radiant warmth beneath. After she died, I assumed it might be a tragic place, but it surely’s the alternative. It has a beautiful power.”

At the moment, her household retains the home as Martin designed it and makes use of it as a retreat for household and buddies. “My mother beloved magnificence; she sought it out and created it,” says Jessica. “Folks known as her Glenda the Good Witch, and he or she actually was. She may make stunning issues occur.”

Jessica believes that Martin beloved the barn due to her rural roots. “I believe she was reliving her childhood,” she says. “It turned a quiet and therapeutic place that helped her put together for what lay forward. Whereas she was sick, she obtained guests typically. For a lot of, it was like a pilgrimage. Her buddies nonetheless go to the barn and say they really feel her power right here.”

The need for a ficus tree in her residence was what launched Martin’s design profession. “She wished an enormous ficus tree for the middle of the staircase, however my household had no cash to purchase it,” says Jessica. “One of many neighbors steered Mother set up herself as a landscaper so she may get the tree for a wholesale worth, after which the remainder of the neighborhood may purchase their crops from her. Mother thought it was an amazing thought.”

After Martin handed away, she left a plethora of notebooks containing her inspirations. The picture exhibits her at age 17, leaving Missouri for California.