Tucked into the rolling hills of West Marin, a family’s ranch-style home peeks out from a verdant meadow. The property is surrounded by towering oak trees and borders a national park with views of Tomales Bay. It can be hard to tell where the Northern California wilderness ends and the landscaping begins. An orchard and vegetable garden dot the sprawling expanse; a creek babbles below. It’s the kind of place that can seduce even the staunchest of East Coasters.
“I don’t think everybody understands California, unless they are from here or spend a lot of time here. I never understood Joni Mitchell before I moved,” says Roman Alonso, a founder of the Los Angeles studio Commune Design. “The minute I landed here, all of a sudden I was like, ‘I get it.’ ”
Born in Venezuela, Alonso moved to Miami with his family as a teenager and later lived in Boston and New York before relocating to California in the late 1990s. He started Commune in 2004 with three co-founders, including current partner Steven Johanknecht, and they have built a design practice that emphasizes clean-lined style and close collaboration with local artisans, artists, and builders. Alonso began coming to this corner of Marin County 12 years ago.
Over time, in addition to his work on the firm’s hospitality and retail projects, Alonso has become the go-to designer for stylish West Marin retreats. So when a young family bought this particular home, which was built in 1959, they sought him out to update the space without compromising its distinctive character: the laid-back feel combined with rich craftsmanship that defines many houses in the area. “There’s a type of luxury that has nothing to do with luxury, but it has everything to do with nature that I really understand,” he says. “For me it’s very easy to do a house like this.”