About Us

In 2006, Maria & Sumana joined forces to expand Napoleon At Home from a retail store into a noted full service interior design, staging, and retail outlet. A shared belief in the transformative power of beauty and great design drive their vision to create stylish and comfortable interiors.

Maria Caldwell

Maria's love of design was evident by the age of ten when she began drafting floor plans for her parent's living room. At twelve, she thought she was in heaven when she found a job merchandising store windows. Her professional career began at the age of eighteen as an apprentice for award winning interior designer Jane Antonacci.

She continued her formal training at San Jose State University in the highly esteemed Interior Design and Architecture Department. While pursuing her degree in Interior Design, Maria became interested in preservation and apprenticed at the San Jose Historical Society. She also worked for the San Francisco firm Bradbury & Bradbury which specialized in historic wallpaper design.

A growing passion for furniture design and the discriminating style she had developed led her to create a signature line of home furnishings available exclusively at her retail store, Napoleon At Home. Established in 2002, the store quickly became a local favorite and served as a showroom for many local designers and their clients. Within a year, Napoleon At Home was named "Best Home Furnishing Store" by the Palo Alto Weekly.

In 2004, a full photo essay of a remodeled home in Palo Alto published in Gentry and Sunset magazines featured interiors by Napoleon At Home.

Sumana Rao

Sumana's passionate instinct to create beautiful interiors began at an early age. By the time she was eleven years old, she was already rearranging her bedroom furniture on a regular basis, eagerly anticipating the next issue of her mother's Better Homes and Gardens magazine, and informing her parents that their traditional furniture just wasn't working in the contemporary ranch home they had purchased.

Her desire for gorgeous surroundings was refined in the unique style she developed in each of her homes. Currently, she is transforming her 1940's bungalow in Palo Alto, California. The newly re-landscaped front yard was featured in the Palo Alto Weekly Home & Garden section.

She recently left a successful career in software sales to pursue her life long love of interior design. Her natural eye for the aesthetic and a strong sense of personal style led her to enroll in the Heritage School of Interior Design in Beaverton, Oregon which provided a framework for her creative process.

Sumana jumped at the chance to combine her love of design and business acumen when she fortuitously met Maria in 2005.

Susan Bacchi

Susan's formal education culminated with a BFA from the Academy of Art University, Interior Architecture and Design Department. During these years she and Maria spent time working on many projects together. Her exposure to the design world expanded to include large commercial projects as an AutoCad drafter of floor plans and lighting design with a prominent Bay Area electrical engineering firm.

Susan has had a lifelong passion for artistic expression. Since childhood she was continuously drawing and painting with a fascination for color. In 2005 she put her artistic talent to use creating a collection of designer artwork that is still evolving. In 2008 she was thrilled to be commissioned by Napoleon at Home and clientele. Her paintings are contemporary designer artworks that include applications of canvas, home décor, furniture, and murals. She was recognized in 2010 as a Best of the Bay creative painter.