Antique Tearoom

An antique home, built originally in the late 1700s, had multiple renovations over the years. The front parlor of the home retained its original fireplace in addition to rough-hewn timber beams. A shed subsequently attached to the exterior wall stored wool sheared from the sheep kept by the current homeowners, along with a tight and underutilized pantry. The space was used by the family as a children’s playroom.

The objective for this renovation was localized: to combine the three discrete spaces into a single adult space for serving tea and for dining with friends and family with food prepared in the adjacent kitchen.

We chose to retain the 10” wide plank floors and knit together the disparate spaces with reclaimed antique flooring. The pine fireplace mantel and surround were lightened to reveal the grain, and a new custom blackened steel firebox was inserted into the original wood burning fireplace with a carbon-free bioethanol burner. The space was kept spare and light-filled, with a band of new windows that blended with the exterior of the home. A tea preparation area along the windows backs up to the serving island, all supported by ample cabinet storage and discrete appliances.

The room was designed with an art piece in mind: No. 1394 Louvre, 2024, by Rana Begum. The work is hung within a recessed niche and surrounded by a hidden light source that reflects the stone and mirrored finish of the louvers. Black glass shelves exhibit the owners’ collection of tea services, and around the corner is an alcove for the presentation of storied Californian wines. Evidence of the hand work required in the application of the plaster is subtle and luminous on the walls and ceiling. A painting by Mercedes Matter hangs at the front entrance door above a stone wall that reveals the century’s old practice of forming the masonry along with imbedded timber.

The farm table, sourced by the architects, anchors the tearoom and is whimsically lit from above by seventeen globes of the Kadur Drizzle chandelier. This intimate and edited space elevates the act of preparing and sharing the owner’s beloved tea offerings.