This remodel project started with a very modest interior remodel of the dining/living/entryway of this Oakland, California condominium. The family’s daughter was in my daughter’s kindergarten class and we met at a back to school night and discussed possibly doing some minor work on their residence. Five years of early childhood “kidd-om” had left a common mark on the residence and the clients were ready to reestablish their adult and professional lifestyles. We decided to remove the ill-conceived double pocket doors between the girls bedroom and the living room, consolidate the media-center into a custom built in cabinet system and provide new lighting and finally a new paint job.
Interior before:
After:
The second project was to address the outdoor space. The client has access to a large deck area, that due to the dense urban environment was left with intense western sun exposure and to the sights, sounds and smells of the back alley elevations of hair salons, a movie theater and Greek, Thai, Jewish and Japanese restaurants, you could throw in hot dog stand as well. These complex conditions had created a remarkably undesirable space that was eventually relegated to serve as the cemetery to a discarded pile of forgotten items and various failing furniture fixtures.
We chose a system of screens that reflected the rhythm of the new deck finish material. The cedar allowed us to economically cover larger swaths of area, affording us the privacy so desperately needed and reflect the focus of the back of the property towards the interior.Travelling throughout Japan, Mexico and Europe I took great interest in the balance of the architectural and environmental. This dialogue between interior and exterior spaces highlights our work and has always been a major focus of my continuing design education.
Deck before:
