A Modern Family Home Designed From a Distance
You might assume a major home renovation starting in March 2020 was headed for disaster, but you’d be wrong. Instead, the Minneapolis-based team behind Yond Interiors (formerly j miller interiors) rose to the occasion, designing a kitchen, fireplace, entryway, laundry room, and three bathrooms entirely at a distance. They brought their warm and well-edited style to this Northern California family home, even sourcing handmade tiles from their local Midwest maker in the process. While this project was quite the undertaking given the pandemic circumstances, Julia Miller sees it as a testament to the power of strong designer-client collaboration. And based on the photographs captured by SEN Creative, we couldn’t agree more.
A Modern Family Home in Pleasanton, California
Tell us about this project and the scope of work involved.
Our Alisal Ave project included the kitchen, living room fireplace, laundry room, guest bathroom, primary bathroom, kids’ bathroom, and entryway.
“The overall design integrated thoughtful selections for a busy young family.”
What were some of the key pain points for this project, and how did you problem-solve with design?
We labored over the kitchen design! It was a super tight space to get an island and functional workspace, but we worked hard to integrate maximum storage without the kitchen feeling overwhelming or heavy for such a small space. We added open shelves, small glass cabinets to integrate a little style into the space, and an appliance garage to store all the things! Integrating the appliances helped the small space to feel cohesive and not overrun with appliances.
Talk to us about the initial inspiration and the process of honing your vision?
The overall design integrated thoughtful selections for a busy young family. We sourced a plaster backsplash in the kitchen, standout natural stone, and handmade tile from local Minneapolis maker, Tess Tile.
More to read: An Interview with Julia Miller
Can you describe what went into the design process?
AH, the whole project ended up taking place during the pandemic. We kicked off in March 2020 and didn’t have any idea what was ahead of us. The project was completed entirely at a distance and is a testament to the power of collaboration. That, and Google docs!
Given that it was a complete distance design project, there were a lot of details to communicate! Most of the spaces were well-defined when we started, so it was really about aligning the clients’ vision and the material selections.
More to read: The Best White Paint Colors in 2021
“The project was completed entirely at a distance and is a testament to the power of collaboration.”
Any favorite details to share?
Being Minneapolis designers, it was fun to source materials from one of our favorite local makers, Tess Tile in the kids’ bathroom and primary bathroom.
Tell us what made working on this particular project so special?
The homeowner was so understanding and patient throughout the process. Although it was hard to work on a distance project during the start of the pandemic, we managed to have a lot of fun and translate the clients’ vision into reality!
Project Credits
Design: Yond Interiors | Photography: SEN Creative
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BY: ANASTASIA CASEY