Knocking down the house’s back wall made room for an extension. “It changed the entire flow,” says Woo, who can now watch over her kids in the new living room while she whips up lunch in the kitchen. At first it was outfitted with a craft table for watercolors and Play-Doh, but she quickly instilled a no-paint policy after the lipstick incident. (Luckily the stain came out thanks to a washable Perennials fabric.)
“That room is now reserved for watching movies and having dance parties,” she says, laughing. Roth, a mother of two young boys the same ages as Woo’s kids, was instrumental in coming up with such child-friendly solutions. Baskets are found throughout the home for corralling toys on the fly, and a sculptural Danny Kaplan lamp is propped on a pedestal to keep it out of reach—and to teach the little ones to treat objects with care.
Though it doesn’t look like it, the kitchen was a budget affair. The La Cornue range? It’s a floor sample that Woo picked up at 40 percent off retail. “It popped up on Renovation Angel and we jumped on it,” she says. The bespoke cabinets are actually IKEA frames with Semihandmade beaded fronts.
“Whenever we all get together, we cook a ton of Korean food. It’s my mom’s love letter to her kids and grandchildren.”
Above, from left: CornuFé 110 Stove, La Cornue; Zellige Tile, Mosaic House, Chop Whitewash Wood Bowl, CB2.
