los gatos ranch house

Here’s a familiar California scene, a sprawling ranch house with a pool inserted into the middle right outside the patio doors. (love the kidney-shape!) The house was originally a L-shape, with the garage on the right, and in the 1960s the center was infilled with a glassy “Likeler” addition. (like, but not, an Eichler).  Taking a cue from the board & batten siding, and the potential for vaulted ceilings, the proposed project will transform it from tired rancho to bright, modern with a farmhouse overtone. A view inside the infill addition above, with deep wood beams below a tongue & groove ceiling. The roof / ceiling is sloped just slightly that the doors at the exterior wall are limited in height.  Below, a stone-floor ‘old west’ bar and fireplace – perfect to order a flaming drink!  Accordian doors separated the rooms…Below is a view at the rear of the old garage. It had been converted to living space, and we’re opening it up to create a family / play room with lots of windows and doors. We removed the low, rearmost portion that would barely allow for new doors. The entire roof had to be reframed since it will be vaulted in its new life. The bottom photo shows openings for (3) sets of french doors. When I first visited, I appreciated the asymmetrical view of this roofline in front of the pool. It reminded me of another asymmetrical ‘old west’ house from my distant memory – Little House on the Prairie! OK maybe a little bit of a stretch. In the middle photo above you can see the new bank of windows, and doors around the side. (too many for windows for a prairie winter…I’ll stop now) From the inside, below:

The owners decided on polishing the existing concrete floors that were buried below old carpet and flooring tiles, in this room and the main Likeler room. I love it. Other attached spaces (kitchen and dining area) will have stone or tile to match the concrete closely.  A closeup of the concrete below: 

The view above is the beamed ceiling after it had been lifted, to create a flat plane. The Jenga-type blocks are temporary 🙂 until the new posts were inserted. The new doors will be (3) pairs of french doors that fit up in between the beams, with no upper transom windows. We considered a full-wall multi-panel slider or bi-fold, but those would require a steel beam header, below the wood beams, that would minimize the overall door height.  It was a challenge but we decided the tallest possible french door with 2×2 divisions would be appropriate throughout the house. 

Around the corner from the tall french doors is the kitchen with window-wall breakfast nook, mimicking the one in the play room. This area seen from the outside, below: Stay tuned, more to come!

 

 

 

basement remodel

Things are wrapping up down in the basement first floor – the homeowners have started moving back into the remodeled spaces gradually, even holding a graduation party in the new family room!  The window above is a new one, high above the stair landing, facing south = lots of sunlight.  The 8′ tall french doors out to the deck bring in the views and light, facing east and a forested hill beyond.  Interior shot above, exterior shot below (in case there’s any confusion…)

The stairs from below in the family room.  The ledge was clad in the same wood / nosing as the stairs – a good place to sit.  The handrail is temporary, installed for the party.  The stair landing above, I’ve been told, is where karaoke performances will take place viewed from the family room, hence the spotlights.  I’ve already got some songs picked out!  (Note that this project is more traditional than I normally do – I was happy to be involved in the overall design, space development, windows/doors/stair/etc, but the owners are choosing the finishes.  “Provence goes to Mexico” was how she described the overall feel she was going for. )  Above, the wet bar at one end of the family rm, perfect for entertaining with sink, dishwasher and min-fridge. The second-floor living room, now almost doubled in size.  The opening overlooks the new stair to the first floor.  This area and two windows at the corner used to be a bedroom, which was combined with the dining room about where I’m standing to create one large living room.  Good scale!  (The former living room will now be used for dining.)This last photo is of two skylights poking through a small deck off of the kitchen.  One goes to the laundry rm and one to the bathroom at the first floor.  A good way to get light into what would have been windowless rooms, and as you can see they do get good sunlight.  This deck will be used mainly for grilling and potted herbs.  Maybe herbs de Provence!