Houzz Tour: A Little Cottage Grows Up
Warm San Francisco Remodel Celebrates Past and Present
Sheila Schmitz
March 5, 2011
Houzz founding editor (2010-2018), now using Houzz to remodel my kitchen.
This elegant modern home started as a 2-bedroom cottage built on this same footprint sometime around 1900. Outside, it is the picture of beautifully balanced modern forms. Inside, the soul of the original home lives on in a warm mix of old and new.
San Francisco architect Cary Bernstein met the house in 2003 when the owner hired her to do an interior renovation to clean up some structural issues and “funkiness” that had accumulated over the decades (scroll to the end for a "before" shot). A few years later the client had married, started a family and needed more house. They built up instead of out to preserve the wooded garden and feeling of a private oasis. The result, finished in 2010, celebrates modern design while keeping some of the ad-hoc character they liked about the old place.
San Francisco architect Cary Bernstein met the house in 2003 when the owner hired her to do an interior renovation to clean up some structural issues and “funkiness” that had accumulated over the decades (scroll to the end for a "before" shot). A few years later the client had married, started a family and needed more house. They built up instead of out to preserve the wooded garden and feeling of a private oasis. The result, finished in 2010, celebrates modern design while keeping some of the ad-hoc character they liked about the old place.
The entry level and a basement floor below are original to the house. The top floor is the addition.
Bernstein replaced the original cottage’s dark shingles with cedar in a light stain. Tall windows with skinny aluminum frames bring modern into the design — not to mention maximum light from this west-facing wall. The wide window on the upper right gives the master bathroom both light and privacy. The overall play of horizontals and verticals have a graphic dimension, right down to the zigzag of the stairs framed by the entry window.
Bernstein replaced the original cottage’s dark shingles with cedar in a light stain. Tall windows with skinny aluminum frames bring modern into the design — not to mention maximum light from this west-facing wall. The wide window on the upper right gives the master bathroom both light and privacy. The overall play of horizontals and verticals have a graphic dimension, right down to the zigzag of the stairs framed by the entry window.
A plum tree shades the front gravel courtyard, featuring a swoopy ipé bench a landscape designer built as part of an earlier renovation.
Bernstein removed some walls to open up the interior but didn't try to make it fit expected floorplans. These are the original wall and ceiling panels, brightened up with a coat of Benjamin Moore "White Dove."
Note the spare use of ceiling lights. "The more projects I do over time, the fewer lights I put in the ceiling," Bernstein says. "We use lights to light something — a piece of art, a table." The stairs leading up have no risers, to let in more natural light.
The floor is reclaimed oak siding from an 1870s Michigan barn.
Note the spare use of ceiling lights. "The more projects I do over time, the fewer lights I put in the ceiling," Bernstein says. "We use lights to light something — a piece of art, a table." The stairs leading up have no risers, to let in more natural light.
The floor is reclaimed oak siding from an 1870s Michigan barn.
Stairs lead down to family room, bedrooms and laundry closet. The upper level contains the master bedroom and bath, dressing area and study.
The bannister rails borrow a traditional look with their spindle shapes, but the way the thin metal lines stick straight into the floor is all modern.
The bannister rails borrow a traditional look with their spindle shapes, but the way the thin metal lines stick straight into the floor is all modern.
The home's calm colors and much of the furniture goes back to Bernstein's earlier 2003 renovation. She gave the owner's mid-century sofas a new look with new upholstery and pillows and resized the wool sisal rug to pull the room together.
This mahogany table came from the owner's family. California artist Wayne Thiebaud is a favorite.
You can really see the effect of Bernstein's wall-opening campaign here. Where once a wall separated the dining room and kitchen, Bernstein added a bar counter; its raised Virginia granite backsplash serves as ample room divider. A narrow walnut butcher-block island adds work and storage space.
Bernstein used soffits and storage to build balance and scale into the room. The tall cabinets to the right of the bar create the effect of a column.
Bernstein used soffits and storage to build balance and scale into the room. The tall cabinets to the right of the bar create the effect of a column.
Here's a view out toward the front, through those tall skinny windows. Kids can enter the house through the left, hang coats on hooks, and toss their shoes into cubbies under the window seat.
Cork wallpaper in the kitchen holds family notes, and the green jar on the upper shelf hides a charging station.
Cork wallpaper in the kitchen holds family notes, and the green jar on the upper shelf hides a charging station.
Eames fabric on the seat cushions picks up the color of the plum tree outside. The detached garage outside may be renovated one day, too.
Bernstein kept many of the original openings on the east side of the house. The deck off the master bedroom offers a view over the Bay Bridge. An off-black painted steel trellis adds a bit of shade and design interest.
Bluestone pavers meet pea gravel as home meets garden.
A deck wraps around the east and south sides of the home. The fireplace in the living room is behind this galvanized standing-seam siding.
Remember that original white wood paneling inside? Its wabi-sabi beauty inspired Bernstein to combine three board sizes to create this pattern on the exterior walls.
Frosted glass panels in the trellis over the door let in light and keep out the San Francisco drizzle.
Frosted glass panels in the trellis over the door let in light and keep out the San Francisco drizzle.
Another trellis connects the home to a garden shed and strengthens the structures against any seismic shifting that might happen underground.
The house and garden before the remodel.
See more of Cary Bernstein's work.
More remodeling projects:
A Design in Harmony with the Land
A Modern Renovation in Seattle
See More Homes
See more of Cary Bernstein's work.
More remodeling projects:
A Design in Harmony with the Land
A Modern Renovation in Seattle
See More Homes
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