Builder Nick Maimone drew on his artistic background and the ’60s counterculture movement as he reenvisioned a home set where the Russian River meets the Pacific in Northern California.
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For decades, California’s Bay Area has been a hotbed for counterculture, especially when it comes to art and design. For designer and builder Nick Maimone, that history of DIY craft and making, along with a stunning coastal setting along the Russian River, made renovating this 1960s home in Jenner, California, something of a dream project.
Situated where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean, Goat Rock State Park in Jenner, California, is about three hours north of San Francisco. Nick Maimone renovated a 1960s cabin here, drawing inspiration from the coastal setting and the area’s legacy of art and craft.
Photo: Anna Schneider
Having studied ceramics and worked in the museum world before moving into carpentry and the building trades, Nick has an affinity for projects with an artistic bent. So, when he was approached by a client who wanted to reimagine a 1967 cabin in Goat Rock State Park with an approach grounded in history and craft, Nick was ecstatic. “When I got the phone call from my client Earl, the first words he said to me were, ‘You’re the contractor we want to work with,’” recalls Nick. “There was something he saw in my approach with my company, Sunrise Homestead, that resonated with him.”
Builder Nick Maimone founded his construction company, Sunrise Homestead, in 2016. The firm unites his background in fine art with his interest in craft and carpentry.
Photo: Anna Schneider
That “something,” it turns out, was Nick’s ability to converge art, craft, and the natural world in his design and construction projects. Considering the cabin’s quirky midcentury design and its idyllic location in a coastal prairie landscape dotted with windswept Bishop pines and Monterey cypress trees, Nick set out to create a place that embraced its setting, both in terms of the region’s design legacy and its stunning locale. “As a builder, you have this idea of what an ideal project would be, where you get to do all the creative things you dream of,” says Nick. “This became that project for me.”
The two-room coastal cabin was in massive disrepair when Nick kicked off the renovation. Rebuilding the windows, doors, framing, and floors, Nick brought his close eye for detail and sought to recreate interior elements in the spirit of the original midcentury design, but with a contemporary edge.
Photo: Anna Schneider
See the full story on Dwell.com: Construction Diary: This Coastal Cabin Renovation Is a Master Class in Craftsmanship
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