S T A E • meets •
A determined homeowner with East Coast roots refuses to give up on her Marin dream house.
by Leilani Marie Labong photography by Trevor Henley
I
n 1985 when Marcia Kaplan and her husband Marty bought their family home in San Rafael, it looked like a rundown midcentury dwelling—the utilitarian, rectilinear style had lost its panache in those days. (Though, to be fair, the style has experienced a 21st century resurgence.) “We bought it because I wanted to live on the water,” says Marcia. Indeed, the home, located in the posh Country Club district, is a stone’s throw away from the shores of San Rafael Bay. “I grew up on the East Coast, so the water is in my blood.” Even though their realtor seemed to think that the home was beyond repair, the Kaplans remained undeterred—come hell or high water, they would build their Cape Cod-style dream house on this prized piece of land. Their architect, Dean Jones of the eponymous Tiburon design studio, was also dauntless in his mission, transforming the previously plain digs into what it is today: a generous grayshingled Cape Cod with bright and lofty rooms, lots of bay windows, sun-drenched window seats, and a stunning roofline of turrets and gable dormers—a drastic difference from the flat-roofed original. »
28 W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 MARIN HOME