Home & Real Estate
Sunny Scott
Upon opening the front door, visitors can see directly into the back yard. scale; they have hosted weddings, political gatherings and reunions, (continued from page 37) comfortably seating 54 between the not change it. One of the first items dining room and living porch — and of business was taking the warren of up to 400 outdoors. Scott re-configured a row of small tiny rooms — a miniscule kitchen, bedrooms, which had been added to butler’s pantry, mud porch and eat-in breakfast nook — and creating one Wurster’s original design, to better huge, workable kitchen with plenty reflect “his philosophy of natural of storage, eating space and a sitting light,� she said. “He liked big rooms, large, open, naturally lighted spaces, area with a fireplace. Today there are actually three which you cannot do with lots of working kitchens on the property: little rooms.� One Wurster idiosyncrasy she the enlarged kitchen in the main pointed out was his use of ceiling house, one in the guest house and a spare in the garage, where the Scotts heights to reflect each room’s dimensions. That means the large living re-used the original cabinetry. “They were solid wood with earth- room has very high ceilings, while the smaller bedrooms or bathrooms quake catches,� she said. The kitchens have come in handy have much lower ones. Scott consulted early historical when the Scotts entertain on a large
House tour
photos of her home before taking on renovation of the gardens. Since she found Church’s designs “very masculine, with mass plantings, angles,� she set out to feminize the garden. She kept the straight brick pathway to the front door but brought back boxwood hedges along the sides. Then she set out to add curves to his straight lines, ripping up the brick patio and re-setting the bricks at an angle. At certain points, she paused the path with brick ovals, sometimes with a fountain in the middle. At the back, the brick pathway was cut off on two sides: “The solid brick looked like a prison exercise yard,� she said. One side now merges into an Asian-inspired area, with a shallow bridge over river rock; the other segues into Connecticut bluestone pavers that wind around the side of the house. Working with Richard Krammer of R.K.L. Design, Napa, Scott’s goal was to soften the symmetry, bringing in rivers of rounded rocks, mounded planting areas, granite boulders and an occasional fertility goddess. “I had to have a landscaper who could put up with my sense of humor,� she said, and her desire to “push back on Church.� Scott was careful to preserve the older trees, even winding a fence through oaks that border the neighboring property. And she was thoughtful about color, adding to Church’s masses of purple and white agapanthus with colorful dahlias and splashes of orange Clivia. White wisteria winds
up an arbor in one room, blending well with the white azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias that are lit at night. The garden room outside her office, with its parrot plant, scarlet trumpet vine and red salvia, draws hummingbirds, which Scott likes to photograph. Just beyond that is a restored formal rose garden. “He (Church) would approve of the geometric lines of this,� she said. Further along the side, Scott brought in a Japanese Shinto gate with a bench hanging from it, “swinging between the temporal and the physical,� she said. Also on tour will be: s A #HARLES 3UMNER #OLONIAL Revival-style shingled home with leaded-glass entry, original Philippine mahogany floors and a built-in “gossip seat� that may have held a telephone. s A *OHN "RANNER -EDITERranean, with fig vine-covered stucco walls and red-tile roof. The house was extensively renovated to include a home theater designed by Alberto Pratelli, an Italian professor of architecture; a solarium and indoor swimming pool; a two-story entry hall with a Czech crystal chandelier; and shelves to house 7,500 books. s A #HARLES 3UMNER 3PANISH Eclectic-style home with painted murals, arched display niches in the living room and a patio around a fountain-pond. s (ANNA (OUSE DESIGNED BY &RANK ,LOYD 7RIGHT IN WITH A HONEYcomb grid floor plan. (This house is
also on tour four times a month, by ADVANCE RESERVATION ONLY CALL FOR INFORMATION All five houses are located within walking distance (but park at Tresidder Union lot). Visitors are advised that there are uneven paths and stairs without railings. 4HE S HOMES ARE FEATURED IN “Historic Homes V: Southeast San Juan Neighborhood, Stanford University,� which will be available for ON TOUR DAY 0ROCEEDS FROM THE tour and book sales go towards the Stanford Historical Society’s Historic Houses Project. N Associate Editor Carol Blitzer can be e-mailed at cblitzer@ paweekly.com. READ MORE ONLINE For more Home and Real Estate news, visit www.paloaltoonline.com/real_estate.
What: Stanford Historic House & Garden Tour When: Sunday, April 25, 1 to 4 p.m. Where: Five homes on campus Tickets: $25; can purchase at 593 Gerona Road, Stanford, on day of tour Parking: Park at Tresidder Union lot, with shuttle from front of Stanford Faculty Club. Info: http://histsoc.stanford. edu/2010/2010TourPreview.pdf or call 650-725-3332 or 650324-1653.
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