A house for a garden designer, a museum administrator and their two teenage kids, the project seeks to extend the house into the garden and wider urban landscape.   An addition and renovation to a traditional Berkeley Craftsman, the design re-orients the house to engage with the garden adding a garden-level family room, a second level master bedroom and a roof-top deck.

Interior cellular divisions of the original Craftsman are erased on the formal side of the house creating a continuous living space from the front entry though the new kitchen to the family room and the garden beyond. The lower level family room opens up to a raised concrete plinth, which straddles between a minimal side entry garden and the lushly planted rear garden.   A place for exterior dining in the garden, the plinth also provides a connection to the new office / garage-band building.

The upper level master provides a visually expansive bedroom while still affording privacy for the bed.  The compact master bath in gray stucco and penny tiles has, as its anchor, a custom concrete trough sink.  The rooftop deck gives a panoramic view of the Berkeley flats, a private perch for contemplation and escape.

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