| News - Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Miller Design Co. returns to Woodside
Noted interior designer opens remodeled studio with new partner
by Jane Knoerle
After four years in Portola Valley, interior designer Robert W. Miller is back in Woodside with a new partner and a new studio.
He and his new design partner, Jacob Scherer, have completely renovated the carriage house at 2934 Woodside Road, next door to Alain Pinel Realtors.
Starting with the cracked foundation, they have transformed the one-time Woodside ice house into a handsome studio painted taupe with white trim. A white awning and planter box filled with white cyclamen adorn the front window. A cupola and copper horse weathervane add to its "Woodside charm."
A wrought iron gate in the back of the building opens to stone steps leading to an outdoor garden, complete with fountain.
The carriage house adjoins Alain Pinel Realtors building, which is slated to be painted a deeper shade of taupe to coordinate with the design studio.
The carriage house that now bears the sign "Miller Design Co." is larger than it seems; there is room for four offices and a conference room. The foyer is cozy with hardwood floors, Oriental rug, and comfortable chairs. Walls are painted in a gold hue known as "Lion's Mane." An adjoining buffet station for coffee and drinks is striking with espresso walls, white counter, and hammered chrome sink.
Bob Miller is no stranger to Woodside. In 1995 he and Doug Dolezal moved their firm, Miller/Dolezal Design Group, into the little building at 1590 Canada Road, once home to the Almanac. The firm soon outgrew the Woodside location and moved into offices at 3000 Alpine Road. No longer with the firm, Mr. Dolezal now lives in Southern California.
New partner Jacob Scherer began his design career at 17 in his native Sonoma. At 25, he worked at Wroolie & Company in the San Francisco Design Center, and started his first interior design company, Marchisi. Four years later, he founded Da Lusso Design, a home staging company. He recently decided to partner with Mr. Miller, a longtime friend.
Mr. Miller was a principal at Flegel's Home Furnishings in Menlo Park for many years before starting his own company. He has served as president of the Peninsula chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and as chairman for ASID Designer Show Houses for 11 years.
Mr. Miller says a majority of his clients live in Woodside; however, he works internationally. He is just starting work on a 7,000-square-foot condominium in Shanghai for a client who lives in Los Altos Hills. He has decorated many homes in Hawaii, and won an ASID Award of Excellence in 2007 for the Krause Hawaii project.
Although his studio is in Woodside, Mr. Miller goes home to San Francisco. He says he likes living in both worlds.
| 
Send this story
Print this story
