Renovations and Remodels
Whole-home renovations, kitchen and bath remodels, additions, ADUs, and period-home intervention work, designed with the discipline that begins by reading what is already there.
Wanderluxe Interiors is a Silicon Valley-based interior design studio working on renovations and remodels across the full spectrum of existing-home projects: whole-home renovations, partial renovations, kitchen and bath remodels, additions, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and period-home intervention work on Eichler and Bay Region heritage stock. The work is led by Jodi Deister, who lives in Los Gatos. The discipline is consistent across project type. Read the building first, design with the architecture rather than over it, coordinate selections with the builder's schedule, and treat the client's privacy as part of the brief.
The renovation and remodel landscape, and where the studio fits
The vocabulary in this category is unusually loose, and clients arrive using the terms interchangeably. The distinction matters because it changes the permitting, schedule, and Title 24 obligations a project inherits.
Renovation. Restoring, refreshing, or updating an existing space without significantly changing its purpose, layout, or structure.
Remodel. Changing the structure, layout, or function of a space. A kitchen that gets new cabinetry in the same footprint is a renovation. A kitchen whose wall comes down and whose island moves three feet is a remodel.
Refurbishment. Cosmetic-only updates (paint, finishes, fixtures, soft goods) with no demolition of permanent assemblies.
Addition. Net-new conditioned floor area attached to the existing structure. Triggers a different Title 24 and planning pathway than a like-for-like remodel.
Whole-home renovation. Comprehensive overhaul of an entire residence. In the Bay Area, often combined with an addition or an ADU.
ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit). A separate dwelling unit on a single-family lot. Made dramatically easier by California's AB 68 (2019), SB 9 (2021), and SB 10 (2021). One of the fastest-growing categories on the Peninsula.
Period-home intervention. Renovation work on Eichler tracts, Bay Region post-and-beam stock, Mediterranean Revival, and Italianate estates. The discipline of working with an existing architectural language rather than imposing a new one.
Wanderluxe is built to work across all of these. For comprehensive whole-home renovation projects specifically, see also New Construction Homes, the studio's sibling service page for that scope.
How the studio runs a renovation. The Wanderluxe Experience, scoped to existing-home work
The studio's four-phase client experience adapts naturally to renovation work. The first read is always the existing building.
Dream it. A detailed understanding of how the family lives, what is missing in the current home, and which rooms carry the project. The studio names the project category accurately at this stage (renovation, remodel, addition, ADU, or some combination), because the category sets the permitting and schedule path.
Feel it. Spatial direction, atmosphere, light, materiality. The architect's drawings, the existing structural conditions, and the building's original architectural language are read together. Where a structural constraint cannot be removed, the design is built with it, not against it.
Design it. Materials, finishes, tile, paint, lighting, kitchen and bath, custom millwork, FF&E. Specifications are issued with builder schedules and lead times in mind from the first day.
Build it. Construction documents, integration with the architect's set, OAC (owner-architect-contractor) meetings, milestone site visits at demolition, framing, MEP rough-in, drywall pre-cover, millwork install, finish install, and punch. Jodi leads each phase personally.
What's included
Spatial reconfiguration and circulation
Architectural interior detailing and custom millwork specifications
Material, finish, tile, and paint selection coordinated with builder schedule and lead times
Kitchen and bathroom design
Lighting design direction integrated with architectural and electrical plans
Mechanical, AV, and smart-home pre-wire coordination
Furniture procurement, styling, and installation
Coordination with your architect, builder, and trades throughout construction