Maja Kristin spent nearly a decade searching for her “last” home to downsize from a 7,200-square-foot Mediterranean estate in Marin County when she discovered a midcentury “treehouse” with sweeping views of the bay and Mount Tamalpais. Her decision to make an offer wasn’t driven so much by the architecture as it was by the experience of walking into the home.
“It felt like air,” Kristin says. “My previous home was very earthy — grounded and heavy. This one felt light and easy.” With expansive sightlines, abundant glass, and blurred boundaries between indoors and out, the hillside three-bedroom, three-story home offered the perfect blank slate for a new chapter in the life of the retired lawyer and philanthropist.
Re-envisioned by interior designer Kristi Will and her team, the house is a masterclass in emotional design. The pastel-hued first floor evokes a sense of calm; the fiery, saturated palette upstairs reflects energy and passion; and the views that define life in Marin are celebrated throughout.
“Maja has a fun, spirited love of color and pattern,” Will says. “Not every client wants colorful rooms, but she really took note of how she wanted the colors to flow through her spaces.” That flow becomes the organizing principle of the house, guiding visitors through a gentle chromatic progression that mirrors Kristin’s daily rhythms.
“I love having my morning tea in my bedroom with — it’s all air and sunrise,” Kristin says. “And in the evenings, I spend time in the cozy living room upstairs with the fireplace on, watching the sunset.”
Kristin’s elemental awareness became central to the design, as she and Will shaped the house around three primary moods: air, fire and water — each expressed through color, texture and placement. The first level, just above the garage, mud room and yoga room, establishes a serene, welcoming tone. Soft pastels wash the walls and Stark carpeting softens the concrete underfoot. “This is the calm side of the house,” Will says. “It’s very feminine in spirit, but grounded.”
The primary suite embraces that softness and femininity. Cabinetry is painted in Dimity by Farrow & Ball, a neutral peach hue that adds quiet warmth without overwhelming the space, while vintage Venetian ceiling lights that Kristin acquired during her travels float overhead like sculptural clouds. “This color palette creates a sense of sky,” Will says.
Here, morning light filters through the oaks. Upstairs, the mood shifts dramatically. This level — home to the family room, office nook and entertaining area — embraces richer hues and deeper saturation. “She really wanted this kind of fire energy and vibrancy to it,” Will says. The family room centers on a fireplace clad in vivid red Heath Ceramics tile, pulling tones directly from Kristin’s contemporary art collection.
The collection — with pieces largely by women and emerging artists, like “Undivided Constellations” by Yuh-Shioh Wong and “Future Boy” by Ilhwa Kim — infuses every room with vibrancy and meaning. “Everything has color, and every color in my house looks good on me,” she laughs.
A custom A. Rudin sectional anchors the space, paired with Holly Hunt Lens side tables by McCollin Bryan in translucent purple, orange and golden yellow. Tai Ping rugs – durable enough for indoor-outdoor living — add softness and warm, playful color. “The family room has a lot of energy,” Will says. “She wanted it to feel lively.”
From the desk area, the view stretches north toward Mount Tamalpais, where the sun sets each evening. To the south, glimpses of the bay and even San Francisco peek through the trees. Despite neighboring houses on all sides, dense vegetation creates a remarkable sense of privacy — ideal for a home that celebrates an indoor-outdoor connection, most evident in the kitchen and dining areas, which open fully to a pergola-covered terrace via existing pocketing glass doors.
While the home’s original layout remained largely intact, the kitchen was fully refreshed: cabinetry refaced, new quartzite countertops installed, appliances upgraded and a sculptural plaster hood added by MatPel Builders. A glass mosaic tile backsplash in purple, amber and cream shades nods to the home’s midcentury roots while pushing the palette forward. Pendant lights by John Pomp, repurposed from Kristin’s previous house, were separated and re-engineered to suit the space.
The dining room features a custom Hellman Chang table with Holly Hunt chairs and a credenza from Sloan Miyasato. Another Tai Ping rug makes a statement in purple and peach tones. The round table seats five comfortably, a deliberate shift from the 10- to 12-seat formal dining room Kristin left behind. “This home is much more intimate, and that’s the right thing for me at this time of my life,” she says.
A nearby powder room introduces a Pierre Frey wallcovering from Kneedler Fauchère, its delicate pattern offering a soft counterpoint to the home’s masculine-leaning midcentury architecture. Anchoring the space, a sculptural vanity crafted by MatPel Builders is carved from a single slab of onyx sourced from Da Vinci Marble.
“Kristi has the capacity to see the seeds of what I had in mind, but then offer me things that were beyond my thinking. She’s really brilliant and has a lovely team,” Kristin says.
Outdoors, rebuilt steel structures by MatPel Builders frame a barbecue area, bar counter and dining table adjacent to the pool and sauna. On warm days the entire home opens up, easily accommodating larger gatherings that spill from kitchen to terrace to pool.
While the finished interiors feel effortless, the renovation was anything but simple. “What looks like an easy cosmetic upgrade was actually a super complicated renovation,” Will says. The original home lacked air conditioning and modern heating, a serious issue in this sun-exposed location. New HVAC systems, radiant heating, updated electrical and solar panels were installed to ensure energy efficiency and year-round comfort.
An existing elevator was also converted to a hydraulic system, improving functionality — critical for aging in place. “Ease of living was really important,” Will explains. From the garage, groceries can be brought directly up into the mudroom and kitchen without navigating stairs.
The serene primary bathroom renovation refreshed the existing cabinetry with new fronts painted in Farrow & Ball’s soft Dimity finish.
An avid gardener, Kristin also shaped the landscape with intention, working within a wildlife corridor to create plantings that support deer, birds and native species but still remain manageable. Compared to her former master garden, this one is “warm, yummy and cozy,” she says, with far less upkeep needed.
Asked how the home feels now, she pauses. “It has the feel of an inhale because of the beauty and color, but also an exhale,” she says. “I can relax here. It holds me very well.”
