Second floor terrace with custom sidelight window fixtures provides backyard breeze and enjoyment from above

The owners of this Rockridge home, built on a steep downslope, wanted to bring more light, ventilation and views of outside scenery into their dining room.  Jarvis Architects worked with them to design a ‘terrace’, increasing continuity between interior and landscape and imparting access to the outdoors despite the steep incline of the terrain.

 
The original design called for a set of sliding French doors with flanking sidelights, stationary door-height windows that would extend the thrust of the doorway and allow for maximum scope of view.  However, the owners wanted a design that would provide ventilation even while the doors were closed. Working together with Greenfield Building and ASAP Window and Door, they came up with an ingenious awning/door combo, in which an awning window is set atop each sidelight, enabling fresh airflow in a child- and puppy-proofed environment.

Above: Sidelight, with awning window detail

This project epitomizes the collaborative nature of designing and building a home.  It is a process that begins with a wish list and does not end until the last truck drives away. The most successful projects are the ones where everyone plays an active, contributing role.

Through a string of continuous room additions, this 1910 Bungalow had become a hallway to nowhere with virtually no connection to the large backyard.  Whereas before the long angled hall had seemed a confused byproduct, with the help of Jarvis Architects it became a dynamic and multi-dimensional space, connecting the living spaces to each other and to the outdoors, and giving the home a big heart.

Originally designed by John Hudson Thomas in the 1920’s, this Berkeley house had been subsequently remodeled in a style unbefitting of the original structure’s robust quality.  Jarvis was enlisted to update its interior structure.

With the original blueprints as a reference, our architects re-articulated key borders and transitions between spaces, fostering open mobility throughout the house.  Mindful of the building’s heritage and with minimum changes to the exterior, they expanded the kitchen into an adjoining rear hall and room, opened up the dining room, turned a small bath into a pantry, and expanded the master bath to incorporate a former attic room. The kitchen renovation utilized details based on the original house design, while incorporating modern appliances, lighting and plumbing.  This remodel imagines what the original designer might have done were he alive today.

A new window over the tub in the master bath replicates the design of an adjacent original window, upholding seamless continuity between new and existing structures.

Every home needs a heart. This 1915 Berkeley Craftsman Bungalow needed simplification, a connection to the backyard and something fun to to pull it all together. The bedrooms were stacked behind the living spaces and did not leave enough room for a double loaded corridor through the house. In spite of the design trend for gratuitous angles, every now and then you really can use one. The tall angled hallway cuts through the home for the direct connection to the backyard and creates a light filled center to the home. The ceiling playfully rolls from one roof slope to the other and literally becomes the centerpiece of the home. Diana and Josh should see completion in the spring.