From mustard-yellow accents to a panoramic grisaille mural, Chloe Redmond Warner shares the design decisions that transformed a challenging pass-through space into the heart of a California home.

The setting could not be more picturesque: a Mill Valley property with a stream winding through the backyard and a landscape studded with redwood trees. As designer Chloe Redmond Warner got to know the homeowners, she quickly realized that they were just as inspiring as the scenery. In her newly released first book, This Must Be the Place: Homes With Atmosphere, Warner recalls the striking brief for the project: “Make the farmhouse feel like a French fashion editor’s cottage in the forest.” She describes the mood they envisioned as “crisp, very poised, timeless, fizzy, witty, pretty and confident.”

Chloe Redmond Warner’s debut book, This Must Be the Place, features this Mill Valley, California, projectCourtesy of Chloe Redmond Warner