Project Detailsx

Project Overviewx

The first day we met our clients at this home in Kentfield, Marin County, we were surprised at how nondescript the front yard of the house was, versus the all glass back yard with great views of the San Francisco Bay. Wanting to balance the house and open it up, we were asked to raise the ceilings and provide more glass and views to the entry front yard. The house was already large and expansive, so more square footage was not necessary, it just needed an architectural facelift.

The remodeled home is roughly 4,700 square feet in size, with additional area added being only 462 square feet, but the effect of lifting the roof three feet higher and opening the house views up are dramatic. The house reflects the owners’ interests and lifestyle which involves sports and entertaining. The existing family room became a game room for billiards and football-watching, and the entry forecourt has a basketball stand then off to the side is a Bocce ball court. A large swimming pool sits down below the main house.

A new concrete patio was designed to sit outside next to the kitchen, for outdoor cooking and dining. Overlooking the pool and the Bay view, it’s a perfect setting. Set off from the bedrooms, a new Zen-inspired garden with Corten steel planters provides a restful surrounding. Two mature Olive trees were brought in to sit at the entry parking forecourt, making manageable what was a large empty space.

The master bathroom received a lot of design attention, with separate his and hers closets, and a centrally located vessel tub by Badeloft. Several skylights brighten things and the vessel tub sits almost surrounded by glass, since the house lives in a private gated community.

The game room also features a stone wall where a rock picked up while hiking by one of the owners, was matched and included in the construction. The old house had a large existing fireplace in the middle of the living and dining rooms that was kept but was seriously updated with new gas insert, wood and stone cladding. The old house also had many Fleetwood windows and sliding doors, which were refinished and kept, with new matching units used as clerestories to increase the roof height.

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