Homegrown

Napa Valley gets a taste of its own rustic beauty at the Carneros Inn, a resort by Shopworks and William Rawn Associates

Jaime Gross -- Interior Design, 2/1/2005 12:00:00 AM

Something fresh has sprouted amid the rolling vineyards and cow-dotted farms of Northern California's Napa Valley. The Carneros Inn, the wine region's first new resort in 20 years, takes its design cues from its surroundings: barns, silos, ranchers' cottages, and orderly rows of grapevines marching across the landscape. The approach is a departure from the region's existing high-end resorts, which often take their inspiration from distant lands, as is the case with Auberge du Soleil, the Provençal fantasy up the road. "I wasn't going to imitate something else," recalls Keith Rogal, the inn's founder. "No faux wiggly paths. It was to be sophisticated and genuine-something you couldn't imagine anywhere else."

Rogal turned to Shopworks to create a plan for the inn's interiors that would capture Napa's distinct charm. Principals Dan Worden and Kimberley Nunn responded with an aesthetic they describe as "agri-chic." "No one has done places that look true to Napa," Worden says. "It has an edge, but also a rural American side-the real California that most people who come to the valley want to see."

Formerly a neglected trailer park and RV storage yard, the 27-acre site first had to be transformed into a rustic-modern enclave on the outside. Architects William Rawn and Doug Johnston, principals of William Rawn Associates, built a complex of 83 tin-roof cottages grouped around nine ' central courtyards. Each cottage cluster is named after a local family who shaped the region-Cabral, Bartolucci, Larsen. The structures balance a sense of neighborliness (front porches) with intimacy (secluded outdoor showers and gardens).

Common spaces-reception, the dining room, the spa, and the roadside Boon Fly Café-are set within six barnlike structures with soaring ceilings and exposed framing. Geometric plantings and traditional farm elements such as board-and-batting siding and galvanized-steel troughs, which serve as courtyard fountains, reference the rural landscape without lampooning it. "Everywhere you turn," says Johnston, "you get the sense that you're surrounded by a real, working landscape."

Shopworks' furnishings and finishes took inspiration from the architects' structures. "We started with the look of the cottages and picked up the aesthetic of agricultural equipment," explains Worden. For example, in the great room, the designers created 10-foot-high barn-style sliding doors and hung them from wrought-iron bracing; they installed French doors and simulated board-and-batting siding in the cottages. Rogal demanded everything be infused with authenticity. "The materials had to weather and have a patina, like zinc, leather, and wood," he states. In an attempt to replicate "the natural process through which great houses evolve over time," says Rogal, the team slowly selected one item at a time, as a homeowner might. They brought in up to 50 options for every object, then narrowed down the choices. ' "I became a little obsessive," he admits.

The attention to detail paid off.

Unlike in the guest rooms of cookie-cutter hotels, the closer one looks here, the more delightful details one finds. Small, apple-green birdhouses perch atop signposts. Bathroom vanities stand on mirrored legs. And tiny red and green LEDs take the place of "do not disturb" signs.

With the exception of lounge chairs by Le Corbusier and burnished-steel bedside tables, guest-room furnishings are Shopworks' custom designs. Among the highlights are tall linen-covered headboards, sleek concrete-faced fireplaces, and playful striped lampshades that Rogal describes as "very Cat in the Hat." Elsewhere, organic shapes and textures reign, from the sensual curves of Italian leather wingback chairs by the check-in desk to the weathered slate tiles on the bathroom floors.

Perhaps the property's most customized element, though, is the art. Reproductions of photographs culled from the scrapbooks of dozens of local families adorn walls throughout the inn. The images celebrate the distinctive character of workaday life in the valley. "Why look elsewhere for beauty?" asks Rogal. "In well loved places, there's always something interesting right where you stand."

Previous spread: On guest cottages at the Carneros Inn resort in Napa Valley, California, architects William Rawn Associates used tin roofs and front porches to balance the region's wine-culture allure with its rugged charm. Photography: Mark Hundley.

Top: The Infinity pool overlooks family-owned vineyards, irrigated in part from the inn's water-recycling system. Photography: Art Gray. Center: The porte cochere formalizes the barnlike reception building. Photography: Mark Hundley. Bottom: The communal great room, across the foyer from reception, features club chairs upholstered in leather or suede, a leather-covered sofa, and sliding doors. Photography: Art Gray.

Opposite: A two-panel photograph by Steve Galloway hangs above the great room's limestone hearth. The floor is Brazilian cherrywood. Photography: Art Gray.

Opposite: A guest room's eclectic furniture mix includes Le Corbusier's chaise covered in pony skin and leather, Shopworks' custom linen headboard, a painted-steel nightstand, and linen curtains. Photography: Art Gray.

Top: William Rawn Associates created courtyard fountains out of galvanized-steel barnyard feeding troughs. Photography: Art Gray. Center: Each cottage has its own outdoor shower and a garden enclosed by a fence of wood and steel. Photography: Mark Hundley. Bottom: The inn's five suite cottages connect through the garden to a structure housing a private living room. Photography: Mark Hundley.

Above: A massive shale fireplace attached to the inn's dining room is used for outdoor cooking. Photography: Art Gray. Below: Steel beams run beneath the dining room's clerestories. The double-height space seats 50 in Philippe Starck's Neoz chairs and opens to a patio. Photography: Art Gray.

Opposite: A tubular-steel sculptural extension of the porte cochere serves as a visual icon for arriving guests. Photography: Art Gray.

Project architect (William Rawn Associates): David Bagnoli. Umbrella, cushions (pool): Smith & Hawken. Chaise longues: Kingsley-Bate. Adirondack chairs (pool, porte cochere), rocking chairs (porch): Janus et Cie. Urn (entrance): Mick Handley. Club chairs (great room): Richter Furniture. Daybed: Gérard. Pillows: Sutter Furniture. Floor lamps, chairs: Christian Liaigre through Holly Hunt. Coffee table (great room), table (lounge): Troy Wesnidge. Custom lamps (great room, bedroom, suite lounge area), ceiling pendants (foyer, reception, bathroom): Scott Lamps. lounge chairs (great room): Baker Furniture. Custom curtains (great room, guest room): through Moderne Drapery. Chaise longue (guest room): through Design Within Reach. Fan: Modern Fan Company. Custom chairs (suite lounge area): Charter Furniture; Pollack (fabric). Custom rug (guest room, suite lounge area): Decorative Carpets. Chairs (restaurant): Driade; Maharam (fabric). Tables: West Coast Industries. Project consultant: Casper Mol Architecture and Planning. Landscape architect: Olin Partnership. Civil engineer: J.M. Turner Engineering. General contractor: Andrews & Thornley Construction.