It Takes Two

AN EICHLER REMODEL WAS SPLIT INTO TWO CONSTRUCTION PHASES, BEAUTIFULLY COMBINED TWO ERAS— AND TURNED OUT SEAMLESSLY.

“Two engineers walk into a midcentury home…”

And so, the transformation began. For Sophie Zhu and Brendan Higgins, their Palo Alto, California, home represents their first foray into owning a midcentury property. “We love the minimalist style, and as engineers, we appreciate both the design philosophy and being able to see the structural elements as a feature,” says Sophie. While they adored the beam-filled home, they desired to brighten the dark spaces and make it feel as open as possible. “But we absolutely wanted to retain the Eichler characteristics we loved when we started our search initially,” she says.

The couple found an ally in Klopf Architecture, which has prepared designs for more than 150 Eichler and midcentury homes. Respectful of the Eichler aesthetic, founding principal architect John Klopf is nonetheless confident when making changes. “Part of the reason to renovate these homes is to bring up the quality of the homes overall,” he says. Eichlers were built quickly, as production homes. They have a lot of style, but insulation—not so much. There are few electrical outlets and dangerous plate glass. “Fifty years later, you can certainly do better,” says John. Upgrades like tempered glass and spray-foam roofing helped make this home “more appropriate with the expectations we have for comfort in the 21st century.”

Replacing the original plate glass with thermally broken windows added to energy efficiency.

“We absolutely wanted to retain the Eichler characteristics we loved.”

—Sophie Zhu, homeowner

TWO PHASES

Due to strict Palo Alto requirements for homes built on flood plains, only 50 percent of the renovation could be done at a time. The project was split into two construction phases. On the plus side, the homeowners could spread out the cost of the work. On the downside, the home was a construction zone for 7 to 8 months, twice, over a span of about 20 months.

“What made sense was to do the whole roof in the first phase,” says project architect Klara Kevane. That meant planning ahead where all the light fixtures, range hood and skylights would go. “We didn’t want to have to cut a bunch of holes later,” she explains.

MAKING CHANGES

The design team seized on some big opportunities. The first was to create an airy and inviting great room where three smaller rooms had been: an outdated galley kitchen that intersected a dining space and a living room space. These days, John notes, “there’s less desire to have the formal presentation—the idea of slaving away in the kitchen and then doing a reveal. Entertaining is more of a sense of having people hang out together or prep meals together.”

“We love the minimalist style, and as two engineers we appreciate both the design philosophy and being able to see the structural elements as a feature.” —Sophie Zhu, homeowner

The floorplan of the home was tweaked, adding to the front of the home so that a bedroom could be bigger, and two tiny bathrooms united into a large master bath. A hall bathroom was moved closer to the entrance of the home.

BRIGHT UPDATES

“It’s funny because even though it had so much glass, it felt dark,” says John. Bigger sliding glass doors, skylights and a floor-to-ceiling window in the master bath literally opened the home up, making it feel connected to the sky. Splashes of color, such as a yellow front door and red tiles in the hall bath, now go a long way toward keeping the original 1950s vibe.

“The whole shell of the house is very Midcentury Modern,” says John. While the interior now has the creature comforts of 2019, the home still feels like an Eichler. “We kept the appropriate clean style,” he says. And so, within the new design, two eras can happily coexist.

Critical elements, like the original post-and-beam roof, exterior siding, radiant in-floor heating and walls of glass, were all preserved and maintained.

AN ADDITION TO THE FRONT OF THE HOME ALLOWED THE FRONT BEDROOM TO MOVE FORWARD, CREATING ENOUGH SPACE TO FIT A HALLWAY BATHROOM WHERE THE BEDROOM WAS ONCE LOCATED. THIS ALSO AFFECTED THE FRONT ENTRANCE, WHICH WAS EXPANDED.

IN THE LIVING ROOM, AN UNUSED FIREPLACE—PREVIOUSLY HIDDEN BEHIND A TV—WAS REMOVED. LARGER SLIDING GLASS DOORS AND MULTIPLE SKYLIGHTS NOW FLOOD THE HOME WITH NATURAL LIGHT.

THE OLD KITCHEN (LOCATED WHERE THE REMAINING POSTS ARE) CUT THE LIVING AREA IN HALF, CREATING A COMPARTMENTALIZED SET OF SMALLER SPACES. THE RECONFIGURED GREAT ROOM BOASTS NEW, FULL-HEIGHT WINDOWS AND SLIDING GLASS DOORS, BLENDING THE INDOORS WITH THE NEWLY LANDSCAPED PATIO AND SEATING AREAS OUTSIDE.

(TOP, SPACE RIGHT) PHYSICALLY, THE GREAT WHILE ROOM REMOVING OPENED MAHOGANY UP THE PANELING BRIGHTENED IT UP VISUALLY. THE WOOD PANELS ARE TYPICAL OF AN EICHLER HOUSE, BUT THE HOMEOWNERS FELT IT WAS A BIT TOO DARK.

(TOP) SKYLIGHTS IN THE KITCHEN GIVE NATURAL SPOTLIGHTS TO AREAS SUCH AS COUNTERTOPS. DURING THE REDUX, MORE IN-CEILING LIGHTING WAS ALSO INSTALLED.

(ABOVE) THE KITCHEN REMODEL INCLUDED INSTALLING NEW CUSTOM CABINETS AND A LARGE ISLAND. PART OF THE ISLAND IS TOPPED WITH A BEAUTIFUL WALNUT BAR COUNTERTOP SECTION, WHERE GUESTS CAN PULL UP A SEAT TO CHAT AND RELAX.

AN ORIGINAL GALLEY KITCHEN FELT CLOSED OFF. “TODAY’S FAMILIES TEND TO WORK TOGETHER MORE IN THE KITCHEN AND ENTERTAIN GUESTS IN THE KITCHEN MORE THAN IN THE 1950s,” NOTES ARCHITECT JOHN KLOPF. A PREVIOUS OWNER HAD PUT DOWN ITALIANSTYLE CERAMIC FLOOR, WHICH WAS REPLACED BY PORCELAIN TILE.

(LEFT) FLOOR DURABLE TILES UNIFY GRAY THE PORCELAIN ENTIRE HOME, CREATING A CONTINUOUS FLOW. THE MINIMALIST TILE LOOK IS AN HOMAGE TO THE ORIGINAL CONCRETE SLABS TYPICAL IN THE DESIGNS OF EICHLER HOMES.

(TOP) SOME EICHLER HOMES HAVE BOUNTIFUL SIDE YARDS, SUCH AS THIS ONE. “HAVING THE KITCHEN AREA OPEN UP TO THIS LARGE SIDE YARD CREATES THAT INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING SPACE,” NOTES JOHN KLOPF.

THE BACK END OF THE HOME SHOWS WHERE THE ONCE-PAINTED CEILING WAS RETURNED TO NATURAL WOOD, KEEPING THE WARMTH OF THE MATERIALS INHERENT IN ORIGINAL EICHLER HOMES.