Robinhood

The primary bathroom has a custom concrete ramp sink and a wet area with shower and bathtub. The tub deck, tub spout, sconces and walls are of rift sawn oak, with a clear ceramic coating (“liquid glass”) from Japanese, which will help it stand up to the constant moisture it will be exposed to.

The guest bath has both a walk in shower and a small soaking tub squeezed into its tiny footprint. A carved stone basin and live edge counter lend themselves to the more natural feel of the house. The floating mirror in front of the glass shower wall allows the skylight above to be experienced from the sink and allows the shower stall to be less claustrophobic.

A wood partition with cabinets below help define the entry on one side and the dining room on the other. Upon entering the home, one gets glimpses through this element, hinting at the view beyond. A guardrail with steel rods laid up in a random stick-like pattern, leads to the primary bedroom at the left of the photo.

A pivot front door leads to a small entry vestibule, with a place to sit and take off one’s shoes under a skylight with a canted shaft (which helps to soften the light as it passes through the roof depth).

The partition at the dining room helps define the space, but allows it to directly relate to other spaces within the house, compared to a solid wall which would completely shut it off. Within some of the shelves are acrylic panels with a subtle linen-like pattern, which repeats itself in the upper kitchen cabinets and pantry doors.

The original house was designed by John S. Bolles (best known for this design of Candlestick Park) and had a great mid-century vibe to it, but the front was rather lifeless. It was also a bid odd, in that the three windows above the garage relate to different spaces – the two on the right illuminate the primary bedroom and the one to the left is to the walk-in closet. We decided to make form follow function and create an extension to the bedroom, emphasizing the main function of this wing of the house.

The kitchen is designed around an amoeba-shaped island, which is itself anchored by a large circular skylight above. The poured-in-place concrete counter and custom veneer plastered island wall will patina over time and lend themselves to a more lived-in look which the clients requested. They wanted a touch of wabi-sabi – a more natural, not-too-precious design to the whole house.

The bones of the home were solid, with exposed beams and decking which were sanded down and refinished. The brick fireplace surround, a major feature of the original home, was retained but altered – adding a steel front and randomly placed shelves above (along with the fireplace vent at the top) – making the wall a bit more playful, less serious. The view wall to the left of the photo is now comprised of three giant sliding doors leading directly to a new deck (previously 3 feet down and accessed only via the kitchen).

The oculus in the middle of the kitchen ceiling lends a bit of whimsy, but it also helps to organize the kitchen as a whole, as well as the ceiling lights (which would have been impossible to rationally place around a rectangular skylight).

The kitchen is now completely open to the dining room, where previously it was accessed through a small door. With an open plan, it is imperative to delineate spaces from one another, so they don’t bleed into one another too much. To this end, a partition was designed to anchor the dining room within the tall, sloped ceilinged space it shares with the living room. The kitchen has a lower ceiling, creating a bit of compression and intimacy.