Casa Gerona

Few renovation projects begin with this kind of foundation. Designed in 1926 by prominent Bay Area architect Charles Kaiser Sumner, this 5,882 square foot Spanish Mediterranean home on a private Stanford lot arrived with a century of character already built in — elaborate plaster walls, hand-carved oak doors, a showpiece curving staircase, and wrought iron railings that no contemporary build could replicate.

The work was not to replace that character but to honor it, extend it, and make it livable for the way people live today. TCLee Design approached each space with a single discipline: intervene where necessary, preserve where possible, and never let the new overwhelm the old.

The kitchen was the project’s most significant transformation — a small, irregular footprint with an awkward nook and disconnected butler’s kitchen was reimagined into a cohesive, enlarged space that finally matches the scale and ambition of the rest of the home. The primary bath received equal attention: expanded by converting an adjacent bedroom, it now features an arched shower enclosure finished in marble and limestone tile, and a proper walk-in closet — spaces that feel original to the house rather than added on.

Underutilized spaces throughout the home were quietly reclaimed. A den and basement were brought fully into the living program — drywalled walls and ceilings modernized their function while existing exposed beams were deliberately preserved, keeping the bones of the house visible and honest.

Throughout, the existing fabric of the home remained the design guide: original plaster walls untouched, wrought iron railings retained, hand-carved oak doors kept in place. New recessed lighting, pendants, and chandeliers were selected for their modern Spanish character — updates that feel as if Sumner himself might have specified them had he been working today.

☐ 5,900 sf | Comprehensive Renovation