Halfway through the interview for this story, Louis Harrison politely excuses himself. To catch a rattlesnake. In his bathroom.

It’s a startling shift, as he was just sitting with his wife Natalie in their freshly renovated, Douglas Fir–lined home office, laughing and chatting, surrounded by art and bathed in light, their baby peacefully sleeping in the next room.

The couple (he’s a developer specializing in affordable housing; she’s a stay-at-home parent for their daughter, Lennox) had come to Napa Valley and this little cabin in the trees looking for a change. And if the bathroom wildlife encounter is any indication, they sure have found it.

Before: Kitchen

The San Franciscans started hunting for more space two years ago when a pregnancy and a global pandemic served up a double whammy of life-changing events. (“The city got a lot less fun during Covid,” says Louis wryly.) At first, they scoped out the burbs north of the Golden Gate Bridge, and then the Bay Area, but nothing quite caught their attention. Soon, they were scouring locations as far away as Napa Valley. It was there they came across a 20-year-old house designed by Obie Bowman. Poor photos and overgrown terrain had kept it languishing on the market for over a year.

After: Kitchen

The Harrisons didn’t have high hopes, but as they crept up the driveway and saw the house emerging from the trees, the couple locked eyes. “We just had this feeling: Oh my gosh, I think we like it,” laughs Natalie. “It just felt peaceful to be there, in a moment of our lives that felt quite chaotic. I felt like I was already home.”

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

Though the finishings and furniture were dated, Bowman’s architecture— ever reverent of sustainability and nature—shone through. Louis and Natalie hired Corine Maggio of CM Natural Designs to help them update the space, and their design brief came straight from Natalie’s closet. She arrived at an early meeting wearing a white tank top topped with a loose jean shirt, casual pants ,and Rainbow sandals—and at one point, Louis gestured to his wife and said, “Could the house look like her outfit?”

And so, “effortless” became the guiding philosophy of the project—though the beachy footwear hinted at the opportunity to have plenty of fun, too.

Before: Dining Room

After: Dining Room

“That word actually became really handy because every single time a decision was being made, we’d just ask, what is the most effortless?” says Maggio. To be clear, the effortless choice wasn’t always the easiest to execute—or the least fussy or least expensive. They just sought out the end result with the most ease to it, in the context of the space.

Before: Main Bedroom

After: Main Bedroom

The main floor brings the living room, dining room, and kitchen all together in one open-concept entertaining area. A skylight high above bathes the whole space in beautiful light. Douglas fir and redwood line the floors and walls. Linen and leather, stone and plaster fill in the gaps—the team sought out resources found in nature that can accommodate scuffs and scratches, and look all the better for it. Soapstone appears throughout the kitchen and bathrooms; it’s a warm, natural element that Maggio describes as “living, breathing, and changing.”

“You want every room to be special, but you don’t want to reinvent the wheel,” says Maggio. “The key is to not be afraid to repeat things.”

Before: En Suite

After: En Suite

Of course, it was also key to weave in a few surprises—remember those Rainbow flip-flops? The guest room dials things up with an outrageous feature fabric, hung over the windows and at the head of the open Murphy bed.

Before: Guest Room

After: Guest Room

Miles from San Fransisco, with the snake handily captured, life here is treating the Harrisons right—and thanks to Maggio, this home is now the perfect place for them to enjoy every messy minute of it. “I grew up in a house with three kids, and four dogs, and white carpets, and rooms that you weren't allowed to go into. This is a house that’s tough—a little bit of a backlash against that one—where everything is indestructible,” says Louis. Even if it may not be snake-proof, well... that’s just part of the adventure.

Before: Exterior

After: Exterior

More Before & After stories:

A Dreary Woodland Cabin Gets a Sparkling Update for $20K

A Ramshackle Barn in Northern California Becomes a Family’s Rural Retreat

A Storied Midcentury Home Begins a New Chapter on Its 70th Anniversary

Project Credits:

Interior design: CM Natural Designs / @cmnaturaldesigns

Contractor: Wright Residential

Architect of Record: Obie Bowman

Appears In

Before & After: A Nature-Forward Napa Valley Home Kicks Off a New Era