f ever there was a perfect ecosystem for a
remodeling company to grow and prosper,
it is the Bay Area of Northern California.
Iris Harrell, past owner of her namesake
company in Palo Alto, California, certainly
picked the right location when she moved
from Dallas in 1985. Today, the employee-owned com-
pany is prospering in the heart of a booming Silicon
Valley and earning the respect of clients who consistently
come back for more.
Such is the case with an active, empty-nester couple,
living in Los Altos Hills, California. ey had previously
hired the company for an extensive exterior renovation
to their mid-century home. ey came back only a few
years later to remodel their kitchen and great room and,
subsequently, they have moved on to adjacent outdoor
living spaces.
eir kitchen remodel, which won a 2016 Master
Design Award gold recognition for Kitchen More an
$150,000, replaced a much more compartmentalized
space. e existing kitchen was much smaller and two
stair steps away from a breakfast nook. And it was two
additional stairs from there to the neighboring family
room. e spaces lacked the kind of connection that many
homeowners seek today.
A three-person team from Harrell ran the project: Lisa
Stern is the design team manager; Gloria Carlson, CKD, is
a senior designer; and Scott Marshall is a project manager.
According to the team (interviewed jointly), the couple
was especially interested in creating a kitchen for two
cooks that would work well for entertaining.
"So what they came to say was, 'is kitchen does not
work anymore. e countertops stain. It is very discon-
nected from the family room,'" Stern notes. "ey enter-
tain, they cook a lot and they wanted it more connected
to the family room. In addition, their tastes were very,
very contemporary. [e homeowner] wanted it to be
'uber modern'—her words."
Harrell Remodeling Inc.,
of Palo Alto, California,
unifies and enhances
a difficult existing
kitchen and great room
combination, resulting in
a seamless modern oasis.
By Patrick O'Toole
I
Photos: Bernard Andre
QualifiedRemodeler.com QR January 2017 23