For nearly a decade, Andrew Mariani, the founder of Scribe Winery, held on to a property a few miles from his Sonoma vineyard, certain it deserved a second act. The run-down, single-room adobe, dates to 1847, making it one of the oldest surviving structures in Northern California. The landmarked building once served as the residence of the town’s mayor, an unruly figure whose tenure ended when famed Union military leader William T. Sherman arrived at its door to place him under arrest. Mariani always intended to do something with the storied home, but exactly what remained unclear.
Mariani discussed the building’s possibilities with Leigh Salem of multidisciplinary design firm Post Company, but the project “didn’t follow a traditional design approach,” Salem explains. At one point, Mariani considered making the lodging his own home, but once his family grew to include three children, the idea proved impractical. In 2025, after four years of work, the process yielded a flexible house that now serves both as a hospitality space for Scribe Winery events and a guest retreat for extended family.
Rejuvenation Vintage Stringed Seat Chair
Rejuvenation Vintage Turned-Leg Farmhouse Dining Table
“Our approach to the renovation was to keep the historic section as honest as possible,” Mariani says. “Basically, to do the minimum to it, to maintain its palette and texture and beauty.” Achieving that while making the structure functional required a carefully calibrated expansion. Post Company proposed a discreet U-shaped wing—with two bedrooms and three bathrooms—set behind the adobe, “something that you couldn’t perceive from the street at all,” Salem says.
Idaho Wood Lighting Ravine 448 Table Lamp…