Rebecca and John Lane were avid fans of “This Old House” and looking for a new project when they first laid eyes on this 1905 Neoclassical Victorian. The San Jose house with its Roman-style round columns and dentil moldings was in nearly original condition, but needed a lot of work. With the help of architectural designer Lynn Miller in 2007, they took the house down to the studs and began a four-year project that included every weekend of do-it-yourself projects, from refinishing floors to stripping and replacing moldings throughout the house. They tore out a carport and built a detached garage, with John custom-making seven types of molding to match the house. They graciously opened the home for the Rose Garden Homes Tour this fall.
Along the way, John, a mentor in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, taught teenager Devon Hunter the art of carpentry (and the fun of demolition.)
“He’s practically a member of the family at this point,” said John, who began mentoring 19-year-old Devon when he was just seven.
The Lanes left the front rooms in their original configuration, but opened up the back of the house, extending a breakfast nook onto an old porch area, and converting two bedrooms into a family room and stairwell. By excavating nearly two feet of dirt from under the basement, they turned the low-ceilinged space with exposed pipes into a complete living area with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a wine cellar and a “secret door.” The couple was surprised to find that a trap door that led them to the attic revealed 10-foot ceilings above. Adding extra dormers, this became their master suite. Rebecca found vintage-style corbels to use as shelf supports for the luxurious closet. They shopped at antique shops for vintage light fixtures and recovered stained glass windows from John’s parents’ attic in Portland to use as transom windows in the kitchen.
They named the house “Villa Roseto,” Italian for “Rose Garden Estate.”
“It was a much bigger deal than we originally anticipated,” John said of the project. But the 4,000 square foot result, he said, is worth it.
Here’s the complete slideshow:
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Buisson, who came to the United States two decades ago, is a personal shopper at Neiman Marcus in San Francisco and does interior design work on the side. A dining room he decorated with zebra skin and a custom-made topiary of his dog Winston, of all things, was featured in the Summit League’s “Homes for the Holidays” tour last Christmas.
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“The biggest piece he ever bought was an 18th-century Aubusson tapestry. My mom just freaked out,” Buisson said. “My dad had to justify every purchase, either hide it or bring it out for a birthday.”![5465530667_596145a3b4_b[1]](http://www.lookiloos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/5465530667_596145a3b4_b1-233x350.jpg "5465530667_596145a3b4_b[1]")
The front walkway is lined with potted citrus trees, giving you the feeling of approaching a French “orangerie.” Inside, a 19th-century, hand-painted French vaisselier for storing and displaying china sits in the living room — a find from friend Darin Geise who owns the Coup d’Etat showroom across from the Design Center in San Francisco. Atop a leather ottoman is a bright green tray and a Moroccan lantern. Louis XVI chairs are covered in charcoal grey Pierre Frey toile. French doors lead you to a deck that looks like the courtyard of a boutique hotel, with topiaries and Moroccan-tiled wrought-iron tables. On an end table in a guest room is a collection of miniature porcelain busts he collected from the Alameda Point Antiques Faire. In his room, he keeps a collection of antique boxes. His sister, who owns an antique shop in the seventh arrondissement of Paris called “Fauve,” sends him a tiny box for every birthday.![5312999145_cd2a5cea9b_b[1]](http://www.lookiloos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/5312999145_cd2a5cea9b_b1-550x366.jpg "5312999145_cd2a5cea9b_b[1]")
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“It’s not a good feeling to go into someone’s house who has gone![5312994237_602f8d582d_b[1]](http://www.lookiloos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/5312994237_602f8d582d_b1-250x166.jpg "5312994237_602f8d582d_b[1]")
They also ripped out a kitchen wall and hanging cabinets that separated the kitchen from the big dining and living rooms, creating an open, entertaining space. From Ikea to Lowe’s and Home Depot, they found rolling coffee tables, modern pendant lights and peel-and-stick, rectangular metal plates to add a contemporary dimension to the kitchen backsplash — as well as the corners of her dining room table legs.![5312994959_be7309ec10_b[1]](http://www.lookiloos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/5312994959_be7309ec10_b1-250x166.jpg "5312994959_be7309ec10_b[1]")
“My husband and I had our moments,” she said. “But at night, when we sit by the fire, we think we did alright and we’re happy.”
A piece of milky white ethnic art inspired designer Thierry Buisson to
The inspiring artwork was a painted piece of carved mahogany that a
Perhaps from his Parisian roots, Thierry loves to bring the outside in
For whimsy, he had a custom topiary created to look like his Norwich
This beautiful home has been remodeled four times, but it looks like it’s always been just the way it is, situated so perfectly on a Saratoga hilltop. From the living room, you look out upon tree tops. From the dining room behind it, floor-to-ceiling windows look on the lovely — and level — back lawn. And the kitchen area opens to a charming courtyard.
What started as a simple ranch house built in 1954 has been transformed over the past 20 years by the Kenny family into a French Chateuu in the country manor style. And Linda Floyd of 
The dining room was spectacular for the tour, as Sharon Watts of Peony created an astonishing table display.
David Stonesifer of David Stonesifer Interior Design and Decoration appointed the family room, including a couple of oil paintings he created himself.
Upstairs, the daughter’s bedroom was decorated by Wahlberg Designs, The Duke & The Duchess of Morgan Hill. 
So far, out of all the areas in my home that I’m decking out for the holidays—I’m loving how my dining room turned out! Keeping with the green walls and my silver candle holder that’s mounted to the wall—I decided to do everything in silver, glass and mirrors with touches of green. I took an old wreath frame and wrapped a white boa around it. I finished it off with a string of very tiny silver jingle bells.
The large vases were from my husband’s company function years ago. I filled them with different sized silver jingle bells. I purchased the bleached dried flowers and the greenery was from the bottom of our tree—love the zero cost there! Then I gathered all my frames that were either silver or mirrored and added old holiday or winter photos. I loved putting this room together.
I’m not sure where I’d put them if not on the stairs. Now, it’s time to put all the empty boxes back in the attic until January.
Walk in the front door of this charming 1940 brick cottage and the front rooms are as traditional as you’d imagine: graceful dining room on the left, formal living on the right. But step through the front hallway and the back of the house opens to a modern, light-filled space.
couple wanted sleek, modern lines, but also were adamant about connecting with the rest of the traditional house. Hinderberger used wood detailing in rich stains, but gave modern details, including aluminum accents, on the stair railings and support columns.
When Nora Sandoval first stepped into this house in 1997, lockers lined the entry way, desks were scattered through the living room and baby cribs lined the library. Surely this wasn’t a house for sale, she thought. In fact, though, it was a home for some 16 teenaged unwed mothers run by the Volunteers of America. 
For years after they moved in, people would leave bags of baby clothes and diapers on their front porch. When the mailman left soap samples, he would stuff 20 through the mail slot. 
Liz Page was pregnant with their first child in 2002 when she and her husband Mark first laid eyes on this charming New England-style home. Liz grew up in Massachusetts and the traditional home with the formal entry hall and central staircase just felt right. 
great bones, it was in its original 1940 condition and needed updating. Construction began two days after her son, Douglas, was born.
Both their children, Douglas and Anna, attend St. Martin of Tours elementary school. Liz sought out 
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