Entry Hall

Read more about our Palo Alto Idea House

The front door opens to a foyer and stair hall, with the dining room on the left and the living room on the right. Straight ahead is the kitchen-family room. A major goal was to make the interior light and bright, incorporating eco-friendly materials like bamboo flooring in the process. The bamboo is lightweight and very durable because of its hardness. Pennington specified contrasting bamboo insets—like area rugs—by the front and back doors.

Stair patterns: Pennington chose a vertical-stripe bamboo pattern for the stair risers. Combined with the stair rails—which are made of alternating light and dark woods to reinforce the stripe motif—puts a contemporary spin on the Craftsman practice of treating a stairway as a piece of furniture.