Oakland-based firm Buttrick Projects Architecture+Design is responsible for the transformation of a 1950s-era house into a luminous home in Berkeley, California. The scope of this project entailed a renovation of the house plus an addition and new interiors. The firm led both architecture and interior design.

The residence was long in need of an upgrade and expansion to capitalize on otherwise ‘good bones’ and to satisfy the needs of a family with young children. A kitchen remodel was the first problem to tackle. At that time the foundation work for the future upstairs addition was also put in place so that the second-level master bedroom addition would proceed more smoothly.

DESIGN DETAILS: ARCHITECTURE Buttrick Projects Architecture + Design INTERIORS Buttrick Projects Architecture + Design CONTRACTOR Jetton Construction STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING IDA Structural Engineers LANDSCAPE DESIGN Envision Landscape Studio

The organizing element of the plan is the stair, which replaces storage and mechanical closets, and otherwise opens a previously narrow and dark hallway. Combining storage, access, craftsmanship, materiality, a bar, transparency, and daylighting from above, the attitude towards the stair nodule combines many features that carry through the project.

Another unifying concept of the project was to use the yard to greater effect. This meant adding flush sliders to the family room/kitchen blurring the line between indoor and outdoor space. Basalt paving in the yard transitions to wide wood and concrete steps providing spectator seating when the kids perform on the lawn.

An exuberant magnolia gives the new upstairs primary bedroom a treehouse feel with full-wall sliding windows that have an ‘invisible’ glass safety rail. Direct western light and glare are controlled by exterior shades and deep overhangs.

The new, second-level 700-square-foot addition integrates with the humble wood siding/composition shingle exterior of the original house, yet is set apart through its use of a state-of-the-art rainscreen wall featuring cementitious panel siding. The new addition brings the house’s total size (including the garage) to 2,831 square feet.

Energy/Sustainability:

• LED lighting throughout
• Spray foam insulation
• Exterior shading + deep overhangs at the west elevation
• Rainscreen w/ air barrier at the addition

What We Love: This contemporary home has undergone a major overhaul that offers a fabulous indoor-outdoor living experience. Interior spaces are now airy and bright and more spacious thanks to an addition. We especially love the new staircase design with its functional built-ins for storage and providing niches for displaying personalized accessories and the homeowner’s book collection.

Tell Us: What elements in this house transformation do you find most intriguing? Please share your thoughts in the Comments below!

Note: Take a look at a couple of other fabulous home tours that we have showcased here on One Kindesign by the architects of this project, Buttrick Projects: A look inside this beautiful addition to a Palo Alto home: Art House.

PHOTOGRAPHER Cesar Rubio, Matthew Millman (Kitchen), Buttrick Projects A+D (Stair window)

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