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	Photo: Terry VanderHeiden

At first all Mark Palmer and Judy Wong wanted to do to their Sea View Parkway home was reface the kitchen and change the paint in the first-floor rooms. The counters were cracked, the appliances were dated and the Navajo White walls practically screamed late 80s. Then they met designer Erika Durnberger de Arnez and their vision of the home’s potential changed. “I knew that if we just did the kitchen, the rest of the house would be a downer,” says Palmer, a real estate agent with 30 years’ experience. So together with de Arnez, they expanded their vision and ultimately committed themselves to a complete remodel from top to bottom. 
    From the start, they put the entire project in de Arnez’s hands, from paint colors to the placement of new furniture and accessories. Impressed by her portfolio and credentials (her experience includes costume and stage design for the Austrian Opera House), they trusted her European sensibilities, which place an emphasis on details and quality of materials. “Fashion is temporary,” says de Arnez. “You want to replace things when they’re worn out, not when they go out of style.”
    The Palmer-Wong house has an unusual effect on a visitor. Instead of taking your breath away the moment you walk through the door, it evinces a small series of “wows” as you move through it. Details emerge, like the subtle shade of gray-green paint in the living room that changes color as the day wears on. New hinge plates and knobs brighten every door (including cabinets), and small pieces of art reveal themselves in surprising corners.
    De Arnez likes to mix it up with furniture and accessories from different countries, so elements throughout the home reflect a variety of cultural aesthetics. Hanging just inside the front door, a lamp from Japanese-American designer Isamu Noguchi looks like a giant stack of origami boxes. In the dining room, three Julia Plates reflect the playful sensibilities of Italian artist Piero Fornasetti. Classic Eames chairs from England preside over the den and dining room, and charming decoupage pictures from France are tucked away upstairs.
    Words like privacy, retreat and sanctuary come up again and again when de Arnez describes her approach to residential design, so it’s no surprise that the home’s most dramatic changes were made to its most personal room—the master bath. Originally laid out with an awkward wrap-around vanity, cultured marble shower and wall-to-wall carpet, the room never took full advantage of its ample square footage and Bay views.
    De Arnez’s solution? Gut and reface every inch of the space with rich textures, sleek finishings and state-of-the-art fixtures. Now, the morning shower has become an exquisite ritual, as bare feet pad across hardwood floors and Berber carpets to step into an oversized shower made of glass and tile with a translucent crackle glaze. Other striking elements in the room include a tub by Philippe Starck and double-sink vanity with extra-deep freestanding basins.
    De Arnez’s philosophy is to work with a home’s existing architecture rather than try to fight it. Consequently, only one change was made to the home’s floor plan; a wall was knocked out between two bedrooms to create a second master suite for the Palmer’s 12-year-old daughter, Tiffany. Here, de Arnez’s emphasis on privacy allows a seventh- grader to not only sleep and study in her room but also entertain friends in a small nook furnished with a sofa bed, bean bag chair and custom cabinetry. For primping and moments of self-reflection, Tiffany also enjoys a walk-in closet and remodeled bathroom with freestanding sink and oversized mirror.
    While the Palmer-Wong home embodies the feng shui principles of good chi, or life energy, de Arnez doesn’t consciously practice the ancient art of furniture placement. Instead, her natural inclination is to create an order and flow about the rooms that soothes the psyche and nurtures the soul. Her talent at furniture arrangement has also given Palmer and Wong a terrific party house where as many as 50 guests can easily meet and mingle among conversational groupings scattered throughout the house or on the back deck with its dramatic 180-degree view of the Bay.
    Prior to the remodel, Palmer and Wong thought they would have to leave the neighborhood to find a home that truly suited their lifestyle. Then they met de Arnez, who worked her magic and created the ideal transition. “We didn’t have to move,” says Wong. “We just got a new house instead.”