Marin Home / RENOVATION
But as the saying goes, happy wife, happy
life, so in 2017 the coupled teamed with
Jennifer Wundrow and Heather Brock,
of Nest Design Co. in Ross, to devise a
renovation plan.
The project started out small in scope,
then kept snowballing until it became a near
down-to-the-studs remodel. They expanded
the kitchen and tricked it out with all-new
custom cabinetry, marble countertops and
top-of-the-line appliances. Every bathroom
was reimagined. Engineered wide-plank oak
floors were laid down throughout. Out came
two old wood-burning fireplaces and in went
two energy-efficient gas units. The one in the
living room now has a surround fashioned
from carved Carrara marble tiles by Artistic
Tile; the one in the master is adorned with
Ann Sacks 6-by-12-inch stone pieces. New
built-in cabinets in the dining room were
designed to complement the couple’s existing
table and chairs, reupholstered to coordinate
with the wallpaper.
While the home still has quirks, including
a tight stairwell leading to the second floor,
the Millspaughs embrace them. One funky
detail that had to go was the original laundry
area. “It was outside. You had to walk outside
and around the back deck to a storage closet,”
recalls Sandy. “After doing this in the rain
for three years, I said, ‘Enough.’ ” The design
team carved space for a proper laundry room
from what was once a vestibule off the guest
bedroom. The outdoor storage room got closed
off and opened to the inside — making space for
another surprise. “It ended up being the perfect
place to put a small kitchen pantry,” Sandy says.
The outside also got a face-lift. “We stained
the redwood shingles gray, changed the house
trim to black, updated the front garden,
replaced all the exterior lighting and added
new landscaping,” Sandy says.
Renovations behind them, they are now
savoring family life in their quiet hillside home.
“Our grandson sleeps over all the time,” says
Sandy. “And we’re available for babysitting.”
CR AFTSMAN
PROJECT
A vintage Sausalito
home with a view gets an
inside-out remodel.
By Dawn Margolis Denberg
Photos by Thomas Kuoh
SANDY AND DAVID Millspaugh of Asheville, North Carolina, were drawn to the Bay Area after two f their children moved here. One ventually resettled out of state,
but the other put down roots, purchasing a
home in Marin to live in with his wife and son.
After many visits, the Millspaughs fell in love
with Marin and decided to buy a home here
too, planning on a bicoastal retirement.
Finding the right spot wasn’t easy. “We
looked on and off for at least five years,” David
says. Finally, in 2014, they settled on a hillside
Craftsman in Sausalito with postcard bay views.
The house had good bones, though it hadn’t
been remodeled since the eighties. “It was
very dated, which really bothered me,” Sandy
recalls. David says, “It didn’t bother me a bit.”
