Open for Ideas

Science meets creativity in an Eichler home makeover

Eichler House Addition and Remodel San Mateo, CA Completed March, 2003 Klopf Architecture and others

Investing Themselves in Design: The owners of this Eighler house, both doctors, were living with their parents with their two young children when they approached Klopf Architecture about adding to and remodeling their Eichler house in San Mateo. Although understandably eager to move into their own home, They were not interested in rushing the project. Instead, they wanted to develop a design that would fit their lifestyle and complement the original Eichler they were adapting. During our meetings it became clear that they were not your ordinary scientists, but also artists. They would pick their own colors, design custom tile patterns, and create original artworks to decorate their new walls. Klopf Architecture would work with them to provide a canvas for their creativity. One year later, they are still working on the finishing touches...

Cover: Enlarged master bedroom with new corner window preserves the feel of overhangs even while filling in under them. Opposite: Additional sliding glass door completely opens the house. There is transparency from the atrium all the way to the back yard.

Open for Ideas: One of the reasons the owner bought this particular Eichler is that the ceiling boards are not painted. They wanted to use natural wood colors as a backdrop for accent colors on the walls and ceiling beams. We installed a naturalwood color bamboo floor to set off the vivid furniture pieces that the owners add from time to time. On top of that, One of the owners is a painter and has created original works for the walls. We preserved the openness of the original throughout, allowing light to enter and wash the vivid interior colors. The kitchen was designed by others.

Space to Breathe: The original Eichler, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house in less than 1800 sf, was cramped. Adding 300 sf of bedroom and bathroom space brought the classic up to todays comfort standards without sacrificing the original design. The childrens bedrooms (previous pages) achieve a balance of light/openness and privacy/security that fits the needs of a boy and girl as they grow up. The corner windows added to maintain the look and feel of the Eichler overhang never face other windows in the house, and the sliding glass doors face a retaining wall and fence at the neighbors property line. Turning the Corner: Th owners wanted more space and more feeling of openness in their master bedroom. The enlarged bedroom has wall-to-ceiling glass on two walls instead of the original one, and allows views into the backyard from multiple angles while lying in bed. Tile Patterns and Light: On the following pages, the scientist/artists laid out tile patterns and picked the colors for the bathrooms. Klopf Architecture provided light for their creations with appropriately-placed skylights and windows that wash walls with light. Skylights brought ethereal light into the childrens bathroom when a shearwall was required where there used to be a door outside.

Remodeled childs bathroom with owner-designed tiles

Detail of owner-designed tiles in master shower

garage

open kitchen/living/ dining space

slate pavers throughout for continuity

study

open courtyard

sky-lit hallway enlarged master bedroom with more light & corner windows enlarged, sky-lit bathrooms seismic upgrade

enlarged kids bedrooms with more light & corner windows

Addition/Remodel Plan