This bathroom underwent a complete transformation, but with only a minor change in layout. Richly green glossy colored Zellige tiles - a style of extremely variegated handmade tile originally from Morocco - are a showstopper element, and are carried through as a ledge from the shower to the window. Brass fittings and a classic white vanity and floor complement and ground this explosion of color.
A skylight over the shower was added to bring in much-needed light, and to highlight the handmade quality of the tile.
Contractor : FMS Projects
Cabinets : Segale Brothers
Photography : Open Homes Photography
The black and white color scheme was the starting point of this kitchen - with the intent that color would be added and changed easily from dishware and other decoration. An encaustic floor tile adds a rustic element, balancing out the crisp black and white of the traditional cabinetry and counters. The island inverts the black / white scheme.
At the sink, we maximized for light and ventilation, adding three pairs of high / low windows.
Vintage built-in display cabinets were a beloved feature of the original kitchen and were restored during construction. The rhythm of these cabinets was continued in new full height storage cabinets along that wall.
Like many Craftsman bungalows in Oakland, this house didn’t have a dedicated space for laundry. We added compact laundry appliances behind slide-fold doors, cleverly concealed in the bank of kitchen cabinets.
Contractor : FMS Projects
Cabinets : Segale Brothers
Photography : Open Homes Photography
This existing bungalow was long and narrow (only 12 ft wide for half the house!) Two rear additions had been added over time, which further emphasized this stretched condition and which left the house with 6 competing roof profiles as well as fragmented spaces inside.
By locating a new stair and bedroom suite towards the center of the long building, and expanding sideways into the driveway, we were able to erase these past mistakes. Much of the 100 ft long driveway was reclaimed as a private sideyard.
We vaulted the ceiling in the front half of the house, removed interior walls, relocated the kitchen, and added a massive skylight. Two custom wood slatted divider walls act as an entry vestibule and a stair guardrail. What once was a dark and compressed space now feels generous and light-filled.
While it is a contemporary design, the second story echoes the craftsman bungalow tradition of overlapping and offset gables.
Contractor: Gustavo Portillo, Timber Construction
Cabinetry: Custom Woods Design
Custom wood slatted walls: Lee Build
Photography: Bénédicte Lassalle, The Still Home
We tore off the rear of this house: a cramped and dark kitchen that was minimally connected to the backyard. We added on a sun-drenched kitchen, with a new primary bedroom + bathroom above. A utility corridor of pantry, laundry, and half-bath is tucked away by the kitchen.
By using dormers we kept the main roofline low and less noticeable from the street, while allowing for a generous height in much of the bedroom and bath.
The family are serious cooks; Ed of Ed’s Breads operates his commercial bread-baking business out of this kitchen. They are committed to sustainability; this project includes a greywater system and all-electric appliances.
In Collaboration with: Lise Thogersen Architecture + Design
Contractor: Dirk Setchko Construction
Cabinetry: Dickinson Cabinetry
Photography: Open Homes Photography
This galley kitchen was dark and constricted, lacking any sense of connection to the adjacent dining room or to the trees and light outside.
We refashioned this room into the heart of the house by adding a wall’s worth of windows, removing soffits, limiting upper cabinets to one wall, reclaiming an underused mud room, and widening the opening to the dining room. The kitchen is now lit by ample diffuse north light, is finished with materials and details that complement the 1922 Craftsman house, and is decked out with clever storage.
Contractor: C2 Construction, LLC
Cabinetry: Todd Kimmich
Photography: Erin Belisle
Contractor: Timber Construction
Cabinetry: Carl Bonfield
Photography: Open Homes Photography
The flow and function of this craftsman kitchen was greatly improved by reorienting the exterior door towards the side yard, and by absorbing additional square footage from an awkward mud room. Shaker cabinetry, handmade green ceramic tile, and stone quartz counter are all in keeping with the period details of the house.
In the bathroom, the relocation of a window (now running the width of the wall and aimed up towards the trees instead of at the busy adjacent road) allowed for a better configuration for the vanity and for ample recessed cabinet storage. Simple finishes provide a serene background for the show-stopping handmade hexagon tile in the shower niches.
Contractor: FMS Projects
Photography: Mitchell Shenker
This house in the Santa Ynez hills is shaped around multiple outdoor spaces - critically, ones that offer shade from the intense southern California sun. The windows are a critical part of the design of this small house - framing views of oak trees, connecting to the site, facilitating cross-ventilation.
The project was recognized for a design award by the AIA, and was published in LA Times Magazine.
project completed while at Fernau + Hartman Architects. role: Project Architect
This energy-efficient house has a focus on alternative materials. The wood exterior siding is from Kebony, a treated wood that ages to silver without any paint or stain and that is naturally durable to insects and decay. Inside, the siding treatment is continued with pine boards from trees that were killed by bark beetles, which leaves the wood with a streaked effect.
Big bifolding doors open out to a shaded courtyard, which is at the center of the open-plan house. The stair to the basement is flooded with light by skylights above and an adjacent window wall.
project completed while at Fernau + Hartman Architects. role: Project Architect.
This house in rural Montana is organized around a central hallway which opens to skylights and a thermal chimney on the upper floor. The building has extra insulation in the walls and roof - the windows are kept closed during the days of summer, and at the end of the day they are opened and a whole house fan in the chimney efficiently evacuates the hot air. This allows the house to stay cool in the extremely hot summers without air conditioning.
The project has been recognized with awards by AIA East Bay and AIA Montana. It has been published in Fine Homebuilding and Big Sky Journal.
project completed while at Fernau + Hartman Architects. role: Project Architect
This beloved and landmarked barn on the campus of UC Santa Cruz campus was a rare 1860’s example of mortise and tenon building tradition on the west coast, but it had fallen into extreme disrepair. During the reconstruction project the still-viable pieces of the structure were taken apart, catalogued, and stitched back together with new elements. An insulation layer was added with careful detailing so the added thickness was concealed and the barn wall looked as it always had. Eight new skylights bring natural light deep into the building, but are hidden on the western side so the historically-important entry view remains the same. The barn once had large wood sliding doors that would remain open in the course of the workday - but since the building would now be conditioned, enclosure was needed; giant sliding translucent panels were added which insulate and allow light to be transmitted.
This transformation saw the building go from a red-tagged uninsulated barn into an aggressively sustainable home for UCSC’s Center for Agro-Ecology and their Community-Supported-Agriculture program.
The project has been honored with awards from the AIA California Council, AIA East Bay, AIA Monterey Bay, the California Preservation Design Awards, the Society for College and University Planning, and ASHRAE.
project completed while at Fernau + Hartman Architects. role: Project Architect
