Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Dream Builder: Mark De Mattei, 40, founder and owner of De Mattei Construction, will remodel a 63-year-old, one-story, 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow in an 'old, well-respected' Willow Glen neighborhood.
Willow Glen home to be filled with good ideas for 'Sunset Magazine'
Monthly publication's 'Idea House' to be built by De Mattei
By Kate Carter
Sunset Magazine is coming to Willow Glen. In fact, the magazine of western living has been in Willow Glen since last summer, working with San Jose's De Mattei Construction and a team of architects and designers on a house remodel to be featured in its April issue, hitting newsstands and mailboxes this month.
Willow Glen is the latest site of Sunset's Idea House Program, which began in 1998 and has featured home rebuilds in Menlo Park, Cupertino, Seattle, Portland, Sacramento and Denver. The feature follows every stage of each project, overseen by Sunset editorial staff and the construction and design team, in a three-part series in the monthly magazine, included in this year's April, July and October issues. The magazine's goal is to use the latest products and techniques of its major advertisers in the context of an actual home that people can read about, visit and gain ideas from.
"Sunset has never done a chronicle of a remodel," Sunset spokeswoman Lydia Lyons said. "In fact, the story is called 'Diary of a Remodel.' With the Willow Glen house, we're working within the guidelines of what the house had to offer. It's about the practical side of a remodel. Really, it's a joint venture between our editorial staff and marketing."
Sunset and De Mattei aren't allowed to divulge the location of the remodeled home because of the city's concerns that traffic will increase in the neighborhood. However, they can say that the house started off as an average, 63-year-old, one-story, 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow in an "old, well-respected" Willow Glen neighborhood. It is in the process of being transformed into a two-story, 3,400-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-bathroom Monterey-revival-style stucco home reminiscent of historic California, with balconies and railings, an adobe exterior and a mission-tile roof.
"It's mixing some of the Old World and the new world," says Mark De Mattei, founder and owner of De Mattei Construction. The house is nearly complete construction-wise, and finishing work will begin this month, he says.
Sunset approached De Mattei last June to lead the construction on one of its two homes. The magazine features two "Idea Houses" each year, Lyons says; this year's other home is a reconstruction in Palo Alto.
She says Sunset chose De Mattei because it liked the quality of the company's work and it came recommended to them by other builders.
"We interviewed several local builders and took a look at their work in the neighborhoods," Lyons says. "And of course, [De Mattei's] signs are everywhere. [Mark De Mattei] really saw the opportunity of partnering and doing a project that would get him tremendous exposure. It has to be the right builder, to take a piece of property that it has and sort of turn it over to us."
Lyons says that Sunset chooses the builder first, and then, together, they interview and choose a design team, which includes an architect, landscape architect and interior designer. This project's architects are Terry Martin of Los Gatos and Michael Layne of Napa. The landscape architect is Irving Tamura of Tamura-Iwanaga, and the interior design firm is McDonald Moore.
"We started meeting together as a team from the very beginning," Lyons says. "We want this to have a cohesive flow from the get-go."
Lyons says she prioritizes the candidates, remembering that the team must work together for a year, based on their enthusiasm, sense of humor, strong design and understanding of what Sunset is.
"Our houses are about practical living," she says. "We want the houses to be very hands-on."
Sketch courtesy of De Mattei Construction
A Great House: This is a sketch of what the 'Sunset Magazine' 2002 'Idea House' in Willow Glen will look like after completion. The house will be transformed into a two-story, 3,400-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-bathroom Monterey-revival-style stucco home, reminiscent of historic California, with balconies and railings, an adobe exterior and a mission-tile roof.
The magazine also works with the builder to choose a location, which the builder then purchases and can sell when the entire process is complete.
Mark De Mattei says he chose a home in Willow Glen because "it's the area I work in a lot. It's an up-and-coming community, and I think it's got it all; it's home for me. It's exciting for me, and it's exciting for Sunset."
De Mattei Construction specializes in high-end residential remodels and ground-up construction, usually in Willow Glen, the Rose Garden area at San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Monte Sereno and Los Altos, he says.
"It's a big feather in my cap; it's a huge honor; it's definitely a career-topper," De Mattei says of being chosen to build a Sunset Idea House. "Even if we don't recoup our costs, it won't matter."
De Mattei purchased the home soon after the company was chosen, and four weeks later, he had all the permits needed to begin construction, he says. De Mattei began construction two months after the home's purchase.
Lyons says that choosing local members to lead the team helped streamline the permit process, especially in designing around San Jose's building-to-lot-ratio ordinance, also known as the "monster-home ordinance," which requires residential reconstructions to undergo additional review if the new building will be more than 45 percent of the lot size.
"That was really key, having a local architect, landscape architect and builder," she says. "You want people who know what the codes are."
The first Sunset issue will address those initial remodeling stages of identifying members of the design team, recognizing financing sources and deciding the goals of the remodel.
"It's about exploring what's important to you so you can effectively communicate it to your design team," Lyons says.
Future issues will discuss the actual construction process, deal with any surprises or complications that arose and recap the project. Sunset will open the home for public tours in July. More information can be obtained by calling Sunset at 800.786.7375 or by visiting their website www.sunset.com.
The home's existing first floor was extended into the backyard to incorporate a large living room connected by double doors to a kitchen and dining room. A staircase separates the back of the first floor from the front, which has a guest room or office and a front parlor by the front door, with a ceiling that extends up to the new second-story roof.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Idea Man: Mark De Mattei, 40, founder and owner of De Mattei Construction in San Jose, was selected to build the 'Sunset Magazine' 2002 'Idea House,' situated at an undisclosed location in Willow Glen.
The second-floor hallway and small library overlook the opening down to the front parlor. A front balcony is accessible from the hallway, as are two bedrooms connected by a shared bathroom, a master suite with walk-in closet and balcony out on the back, as well as a laundry room.
The home's existing partial basement below the kitchen was turned into a wine closet.
Lyons says the construction incorporates General Electric's 2002 appliance line, James Hardie exterior siding, Kraftmaid cabinets in new colors and finishes, work and fixtures by Saratoga Plumbing and products from San Jose's Fireclay Tile. Its windows are by Marvin Windows. It will be furnished for the tour with Norwalk furniture, and a line of Monrovia plants, developed in conjunction with Sunset, will be used throughout the home, she says.
The home also includes a high level of insulation, special window glazing, reclaimed flooring, environmentally correct demolition work and new environmentally oriented products and techniques, De Mattei says. It is also smart-wired for computer and phone data systems.
The home's backyard is landscaped with an existing large redwood tree, a garden, patio pizza oven and several removable water features. The home's use of its outdoors was an important feature in its design, as it is important to Sunset's theme, Lyons and De Mattei say.
"The thing that sets us apart from the rest of the country is we get to enjoy our outdoor rooms as much as our indoor rooms," Lyons says. "We really worked hard to create the whole indoor/outdoor feel of the home."
A detached two-car garage in the backyard, typical of most Willow Glen homes, is accessible from the street.
The team hasn't yet selected colors for the interior or exterior of the house, De Mattei says, but those decisions, like all the others, will be made by the group.
"It's all decision by group; it's not really decision by any one person," he says. "It's different, not having a client. There are so many people involved, and they all know what they're doing. I'm learning a lot with this."
De Mattei was still able to incorporate some of his signature ideas into the Idea House, which is to focus on the appearance of the house from the street.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
