Ranch reborn
Award-winning Atherton remodel gives new life to older home

by Susan Golovin

The couple had lived in their 1958 ranch-style home for 15 years. When the kids left home, the gold shag carpeting, long, dark hallway, outmoded kitchen and bathrooms, and warren of doors and walls that ate up their family space became grist for the remodeling mill.

The owners wanted more open space and use of natural materials. The solution incorporated a molded glass sink and counter, China Lotus slate in 12-inch squares on the floor and a Japanese summer screen for privacy.

The dark, cramped family room was completely transformed. In order to remove the walls and raise the ceiling to the roof line, the foundation needed to be completely reinforced. The addition of skylights ensures natural light.
"We also simplified the fireplace by removing all the brick and replacing it with stucco," says the wife.

Sliding shoji screens frame glass doors in the family room. Designed by Japan Woodworking and Design in South San Francisco, they carry out the Japanese theme that is echoed throughout the home. Traditional rice paper was not allowed, because it does not meet California fire codes.

Black granite on the floor in front of the fireplace is echoed on the counter top in the niche next to it. "It used to be a wet bar," says the wife. "We thought that was unnecessary since the kitchen is so close." The niche is enhanced by maple cabinets with etched glass doors.

The shag carpeting was replaced with oak floors, which match the original oak floor in the hallway. The problematic hallway was opened up by enlarging the entrance to the family room and by adding three "sun tunnels." Shoji screens mirror the ones in the family room and are used to front a storage closet.
The guest bathroom is only 90 square feet. "Everything is in exactly the same place as before," says the wife, "but everything has been replaced."

The glass sink and surround give the illusion that water is going to go right onto the slate floor. It is all of a piece with the wavy-shaped medicine cabinet above and curved wooden towel holder below.

"The unit was made in Spain and purchased at Plumbing and Things," she says.
"We bought this Japanese summer door at Kimura Gallery in Palo Alto," she says, adding "I knew that I had to have it, and would find a use for it." Now it acts as the perfect screen creating privacy for the toilet.

"Red is considered an auspicious color in many Asian countries," says her husband on how they chose the paint for the bathroom.

Since the kitchen, likewise, had a sensible floor plan, it too was preserved. However, the maple cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite counters bear no resemblance to the original.

"We love materials," says the wife. The couple participated in the selection of the pieces of wood and granite as well as their placement. The result is that they were able to position a piece of granite right above the cook top with a black grain that calls to mind Japanese calligraphy. "It looks like a picture," she says.
"The walls are empty for a purpose," she says, adding that they replaced all the hardware -- right down to the door hinges -- in order to create a simple, contemporary and consistent look.

The couple really appreciate craftsmanship. The etched-glass front door was created by Vince Taylor, an artist they discovered at the Menlo Park Connoisseurs' Marketplace. The leaf-patterned glass in the original cabinetry was duplicated by John Goldschmidt at Wood and Windows in Mountain View.
The guest bath and family room designs took first place in the 2003 META awards from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).

Resources:
Contractor: Harrell Remodeling, (Genie Nowicki, designer), 1954 Old Middlefield Road, Mountain View; (650) 230-2900; info@Harrell-Remodeling.com; www.Harrell-Remodeling.com