Klopf Architecture and Envision Landscape Studio where tasked to take a tired, mid century house in the Bay area of Lafayette, California and remodel it for owners who where looking forward to moving into their “new to them” period house. Along with updating tired sections of the original home, the task included redesigning a kitchen “remuddle” from a previous poorly thought out renovation as well as reworking an awkward bedroom and family room addition that had been done in a past decade. The family of 5 where hoping the remodeling would give their home a unified look with a modern indoor/outdoor lifestyle in a sophisticated and warm aesthetic.
First on the agenda was creating the outdoor connection by opening up some of the exterior walls. At the same time interior walls where reorganized with sections removed to connect the eat-in kitchen to the living room.
The new kitchen layout included a new spacious chef’s kitchen with a row of skylights above to help keep the space flooded with natural light.
The kitchen is still semi separate from the rest of the social zone and is completely wrapped in cabinets, even so the room feels bright and spacious thanks to the 7ft ceilings, skylights and wall of windows.
The living room is positioned between the kitchen, family room and dining room, which just happens to be next to the outdoor social zone which was completely opened up to the outside with a La Cantina folding door system and the deck outside was clad in wood to create a continuation of the wood flooring inside.
While the home’s original framing and ceiling boards where kept, the rest of the mish mash of interior finishing was replaced with a cohesive selection of materials that would flow seamlessly from zone to zone. The new wood flooring and the same paint colors where used throughout the home to enhance the sense of unity and consistency.
The original dark and dated roof structure over the deck was replaced with an open trellis so that light could spill through and keep the new deck as light and bright as the interior zones.
Envision Landscape Studio was able to modernize the home’s outdoor areas, including the landscape without compromising the pre-existing trees.
A small sitting area was also created just outside the front door.
Inside the front door, a hallway was turned into a gallery for the homeowner’s collection of masks.
The hall leads to the living room with views to the swimming pool accessed by through the family room. The living room is arranged to face a fireplace as a room divider that hides the family room and media center on the other side.
The fireplace within the room divider is double sided so the fire and the TV can be watched at the same time.
While the family’s children are playing in the pool outside, the parent’s can keep an eye on them while relaxing in front of the fire inside.
A hallway off of the family room leads to the bedroom that was also opened up with a large sliding panel. The original walk-in closet was turned into an office area, accessed by another large sliding panel.
The ensuite includes a large wet area for the shower and tub. The wet room is kept fun by the gorgeous wall tiles.
The revitalization of the mid century architecture with the modern day upgrades has created a home that is both nostalgic and completely contemporary.
Klopf Architecture.
Photography by Mariko Reed.
Read about another modern project where similarly stunning results were achieved for an updated mid century home.
