Making a Home Your Own
After decades in traditional Fair Oaks houses, Marlene and Jake Wilson moved to a new build in Huntleigh – then proceeded to make it entirely their own.
by Christy Marshall / photography by Alise O'Brien
Marlene Wilson saves ideas like some people save stamps. She spots a striking wallpaper pattern, an unusual light fixture, an unexpected piece of art and tucks the image away for safekeeping.
"There are so many things I use that I may have saved a picture from years ago," she says. "I thought, 'Someday I'm using that wallpaper. Someday I'm using this or that.' I just hang on to things I love. Eventually you do find a place for it."
A cozy nook with two Peter Manion pieces of art hanging on the wall.
For Wilson, a couple of those “eventually”s arrived when she and husband Jake purchased a 12,000-sq.-ft. Huntleigh home in October 2024. Getting to that moment — and the transformation that followed — wasn't exactly what she'd envisioned.
After Jake battled cancer and emerged on the other side cancer free, the couple entered a new chapter. Their youngest son was finishing high school, and they were trying to convince Jake's father to move in with them. The must haves included a main-floor primary suite and a main-floor guest room. Fresh start, fresh house.
"It was tough," Marlene admits. "Here I was getting ready to send my son to college and I was going to have to leave my home. But my husband fell in love with this house and with the setting in particular. I picked all of our other houses so it was his turn."
The five-bedroom house is undeniably impressive. Designed by Schaub Projects and built just four years earlier, it boasted all the bells and whistles of modern construction. But for Marlene, who gravitates toward an eclectic style and the character of older homes, the pristine spaces fell short.
This space was once a large wine room. The Wilsons had it split in half to make this wet bar and on the other side, a laundry with utility closet. The cabinetry is by Fixture Concepts.
"This was a new house and there wasn't anything wrong with it," she says, "But making it my style was a challenge. How am I going to make this new house more like me?"
She turned to two trusted collaborators: designer April Jensen and architect Paul Fendler, both of whom had worked with the Wilsons on renovating their previous Fair Oaks homes. Marlene made Jake a deal.
"I said I would do it if I can change it to be my style and if you don't mind living through construction," she recalls with a laugh. "Holy moly, we lived through a lot of construction."
Jake Wilson thought the renovation would be contained to the basement. Top of his wish list: a golf simulator where he and their son could practice together. Simple, right?
Not quite. The basement had to be excavated three feet deeper to accommodate the simulator, requiring new footings and new beams. While the construction team from Duggan Contracting was at it, the Wilsons decided to add a sauna, steam room, wine cellar, large bar, billiards table and two game tables.
"I was like, 'If my husband gets the golf thing then I get the game tables,'" Marlene says. Those tables — one for mah jongg, one for canasta — are the site of games with her friends.
Built for a party, the Wilsons had a wine cellar installed, as well as the bar and prime seating for watching TV or the golfers at the simulator.
Wilson faced a particular challenge with the basement's massive open layout. "When you have something that is so open and you're used to living in an older home, you stand in one spot and you can see six light fixtures from all different rooms at once," Marlene explains. "I felt like it was too much."
In shades of gray with marble from Two Rivers Stone Boutique
Fendler and Jensen's solution was architectural. "We dropped headers, added pilasters, trying to create a little bit of definition in space so that it wasn't just one big landing strip," Jensen says. "And we wanted it to seem cozy, to give it kind of a little bit of a speakeasy feel."
Duggan proved instrumental throughout the process, working at a pace that surprised even the homeowners. A month after purchasing the house, the Wilsons moved in. The basement was complete by March 2024 and by May, the construction team had completed the primary bedroom suite and had started on the main living room, kitchen, laundry, wet bar, office and the bathrooms on the second floor. Pool Tron built the pool in less than three months.
While the cabinets were existing, the Wilsons replaced the backsplash, countertops, sink and lighting. Steel artist John Beck made the hood.
"Duggan was great to work with," Marlene says. "They let me design as I went. April made that possible. She would turn out drawings fast and if we needed any architectural drawings for permits, Paul Fendler did that. All of that allowed us to keep the ball rolling."
Duggan's in-house cabinet company, Fixture Concepts, created the cabinetry.
As the basement transformation unfolded, Jake Wilson noticed the added transitions, the defined spaces. the thoughtful details made a dramatic difference.
"When my husband started to see the difference little changes made, by adding transitions to a really open plan, then it was okay, 'We will do the whole house,'" Marlene says.
"There isn't a room in this house we didn't redo," Jensen confirms.
The transformation started at the front door, where a stone wall with a double-sided fireplace once dominated the entry. Wilson wanted a proper foyer, a space that felt more intentional.
"We added archways," Jensen says. "We added pilasters to kind of bring it in and create a little bit of delineation and spacing. The entry feels like an entry now. Before, it just kind of felt open."
Off the foyer, a nook was built to house Wilson's collection of vintage soup tureens – one of many personal touches that transformed the house from showplace to home.
The Wilsons had a nook built for Marlene’s vintage terrine collection and for a cozy place to have breakfast.
In the kitchen, the original cabinetry stayed (so the Wilsons could live in the house during construction), but nearly everything else changed. Wilson's brother-in-law, John Beck — a steel artisan who used to co-own the downtown store Blend with Marlene — created a new range hood along with several light fixtures throughout the house and the drink rail in the billiards area. The backsplash, countertops, light fixtures and large farmhouse sink were all replaced.
"We put in a curved arch between the kitchen and dining room so we could define the two spaces," Marlene says. "In the kitchen, we squared everything off to get a little cleaner."
The former wine area was divided in half: one side became a wet bar for the main floor and the other a laundry room complete with whimsical wallpaper Wilson had been saving for years. "I was on some site and I thought, 'I love this wallpaper, someday I am using it somewhere,'" she says. "It always works out and you find a place."
In the primary suite, a rock wall at the entry gave way to an entire wall of cabinetry by Fixture Concepts. The two-story bathroom was reconfigured, with two former closets and a laundry area consolidated into one large closet with a stackable washer and dryer, allowing the bathroom itself to expand.
With a view into the gardens below, the small desk is vintage Marlene Wilson. The plumbing is Waterworks from Immerse
Throughout the renovation, Wilson focused on creating spaces for her art collection — an eclectic mix that ranges from $20 antique mall finds to works by local multimedia artist Peter Manion, among others.
"I love things that might be quirky but they make you smile," she says. "You might not know why you like it but you do."
An annual visitor to Art Basel, Wilson has developed an eye for emerging artists. Her collection includes significant pieces she's invested thousands of dollars in, but her favorites often come with more humble price tags. "My favorite is the Praying Man in the gaming area. I got that for $20 at an antique mall and just reframed it," she says. "I have lots of art that was like $20 which I just reframe."
The changes extended outside as well, where the orange cypress wood exterior was painted a sophisticated dark color. Combined with the crisp white interior paint throughout, the difference was dramatic.
"I went through my whole emotional roller coaster with April until I could make it look like me," Marlene says.
Jensen, who has been working with the Wilsons for years, understands her client's aesthetic intimately. "She's such a classic person," Jensen says. "She takes chances with color and texture and accessories."
A dramatic wallpaper highlights this main-floor powder room.
The result is a home that successfully bridges Marlene's love of old-world character with the modern conveniences and golf simulator Jake wanted. The couple hosts Thanksgiving for both sides of the family in their updated spaces. The lower level accommodates game nights and golf practice with equal ease. Every carefully chosen detail reflects Wilson's patient collection of ideas over the years.
"My biggest goal was to make it feel modern, edgier, crisp and to make it feel more like me," Marlene says.
The cabinetry was made by Fixture Concepts, Duggan Contracting’s in-house cabinet makers. The marble is from Two Rivers Stone Boutique.
From the first excavation in the basement to the final art installation, the Wilsons lived through plastic walls, construction dust and a seemingly endless parade of decisions. For Marlene, who finally found the perfect homes for wallpapers and light fixtures she'd been saving since college, it was worth it.
Sometimes the best things are worth the wait — and worth making a home entirely your own.