Phase 2 of our St. Helena Executive Suite project involved the completion of the exterior patio, which serves as a community gathering place for Lawrence Wine Estates' team and guests, overlooking their picturesque surroundings in Napa wine country. The space was designed by Sonoma Interiors from top to bottom, to serve a range of functions and provide a special place for team to break away during a hectic work day. The patio was designed to meet cooking and entertaining needs with an outdoor kitchen complete with built-in BBQ grill and prep space. The patio is anchored with a massive community table that's outfitted with tableware for an elegant, formal gathering or wine event. On a day-to-day basis, the space is used casually for lunch breaks, outdoor meetings, and moments of solace.
CEO & Managing Partner, Carlton McCoy, requested a table large enough to bring his team together. With that, Andrea went to work sketching a table fit for the hospitality industry leader: a custom12-foot fire-and-ice table. Andrea designed the table to have two three-foot vessels, to hold either ice for chilling bottles, or a removeable insert with "cannonballs" for a glowing fire. As the name implies, this unique table, dubbed the Sonoma Table, can do both at the same time!
If you follow our Instagram, you may have seen our video about the story behind the custom top for the table, which was made from hand-selected fallen trees salvaged from the client's property following the devastating Glass Fire of 2020. Finding the right wood for the size and shape of the table was no easy feat; the wood was scorched substantially, and had to undergo nearly a year-long process of uncovering layers, refinishing, and staining to reach the final result and coloration. This was made possible, in part, through the painstaking work of a retired sea boat captain, who took an interest in the project, and brought this battered wood to its beautiful splendor. He used expertise from his former profession to make it perfectly water resilient and suitable for many years of outdoor use (with use of a custom cover of course!) at its home in St. Helena. The tabletop's blackened marks, remaining scars of the fire, are still visible which enhances its beauty, making it a wonderful conversation piece.
The key to the patio's natural décor is Andrea's use of olive trees and branches, which are prevalent on the client's estates. She selected four olive trees, which are beautiful on their own, not just to preserve privacy for the adjacent offices, but also allow easy live table décor opportunities for the kitchen and patio. Olive branches elevate the look with an almost fool-proof ease; they can last several weeks without needing much maintenance, or even a water change.
The patio connects to Office M, a community workspace with a collection of four private workspaces for guests. Because the patio access is through Office M, Andrea wanted to begin telling the story of this beautiful table from inside. She chose privacy partitions in a blackened woodgrain (to tie into the scorched wood selected for the table outside), and created a defined path to the community gathering spot - preserving the privacy of the office occupants while still making it inviting for those wishing to utilize the patio. The walls of Office M display a mural depicting the beautiful Ink Grade Estate property prior to the Glass Fire.
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