By Coombsville, California is a quick 10 minutes from bustling downtown Napa, but it feels worlds away. The region’s newest American Viticultural Area (AVA), it has a unique volcanic soil that produces old-world style wine, and the quiet hills extend for miles. “It’s totally private and frankly a little rustic,” Justin Hafen says. As cofounders of the design firm HurleyHafen and exemplary hosts, he and his partner, John Hurley, were the perfect couple to steward a parcel of this unfettered landscape—and share it with their friends. High on a hillside, they built a contemporary home that doubles as a venue for every kind of gathering.
The design of the house is forward thinking but conscious of its agricultural roots: A modern, low-slung structure was built with firesafe materials like steel but is set within a grove of centuries-old olive trees (many of which were craned in from another town). Inside, custom modern bookcases corral an extensive collection that includes a first-edition Charles Dickens novel.
Outside, there’s a pool, a meditation and massage area, various canopied lounges, a bar, and a bocce ball court that turns into a dance floor. The grounds share a gardener with The French Laundry, the famed birthplace of farm-to-table cuisine. So whatever herbs and lettuces are on that menu are also likely to be served at Bar HuHa, the couple’s name for their backyard bar. “Hospitality is in our blood,” Hafen says. “We always think about how a home really lives.”
While the house is well suited as a venue for a Harry Styles–themed soiree, as one recent invite described, it was built for more intimate gatherings. “Pretty much everything was designed with our daughter in mind,” Hafen says. “When we were building it, she was engaged, so we were thinking about where we’d have parties for her and where, you know, her kids would play. ”
Backyard
Pictured above.
Teak shutters, sourced during a trip to Bali, filter the summer sunlight and slide on a track for easy positioning.
Loungers and side tables: Gloster. Umbrellas: Tuuci.
Living Room
“The windows are framed in mitered blackened oak, the same material as the island in the adjoining kitchen,” Hafen says.
Pendant: Anasthasia Millot. Paint: Wevet, Farrow & Ball. Art: Charley Brown. Sectional: custom. Armchairs: vintage André Arbus, reupholstered in mohair. Stool: Konekt.
Eat-in Kitchen
Copper accents and white lacquered cabinets glisten, while a blackened oak island grounds the room. Light fixture: Larose Guyon. Table: Florian Roeper of Studio Roeper. Rug: Kyle Bunting.
Powder Room
A custom pink quartz sink lightens up the moody space and adds a hint of warm color. Pendants: Murano glass. Wall covering: Phillip Jeffries. Mirror: RH.
Primary Bedroom
Hafen purchased the Modenature daybed on his 30th birthday during a trip to Paris.
Bedframe: custom. Bedding: Frette. Floor lamp: Formations. Art: Shinpei Kusanagi.
Bathroom
Office
Wine Cellar
Covered Dining Room
A custom plant wall is composed of preserved moss.
Paint: Off-Black, Farrow & Ball. Table: Phillips Collection.
Pool and Patio
“We wanted a black pool so it felt more organic with all of the mature trees around it,” Hafen says.
Loungers: Vondom.
Outdoor Bar
“We built the bocce court slightly wider than regulation so it could double as a dance floor and/or have a long dining table that can seat 80 people,” Hafen says.
Neon “Bar HuHa” sign: custom. Table: custom, from an old tree stump and solid stone. Court material: crushed stone and oyster shells.
Garden
An outdoor massage and meditation area is surrounded by greenery.
Coffee table, chairs, stone objects, and pedestal: Formations.
Fireside Lounge
Working with Heritage Olive Trees to select four old-growth trees from a Northern California town and planting them in a grouping, the couple created a naturally covered seating area. 200-year old olive trees were craned in from Corning, California.
Fountain: Formations. Sofas and throws: Summit. Armchairs: Henry Hall Designs.
