Centerpiece of Design

SEE HOW THIS CALIFORNIA HOME WAS TRANSFORMED ONCE ITS COURTYARD GOT THE FACELIFT IT DESERVED.

Can transforming a forgotten courtyard dramatically affect the rest of a mid century home? Architect David Yama’s restoration and renovation of this 1962 Berkeley Hills, California, home set out to answer that question. The result? The vibrant indoor- outdoor space stayed true to its mid mod roots while becoming everything its new owners needed.

RENOVATIONS AND RESTORATIONS

When David first stumbled upon this 1962 Berkeley Hills home, it was in need of some careful restoration and modern updates. It had had few updates since it was first built decades before and would need some TLC before the home’s owner and his family could move in.

“The owner contacted me to try to do a strategic renovation on it,” David says. “We very much restored aspects of it, but we also transformed it, which I think was important. The home was very dark inside, a lot of redwood, and not a lot of indoor- outdoor flow.”

Renovations to the interior included structural improvements, the restoration of the original staircase and concrete- block fireplace, opening up the floor plan and adding an en- suite master bathroom.

The updates outside were just as important. The home’s courtyard was reworked, tearing out the old pool and replacing it with extra space for gathering and a garden. The cantilevered deck was also restored, as the beams were outfitted to comply with fire restrictions, and a custom aluminum railing was added.

But all the updates David made were done with both the home and the client’s needs in mind: “In my practice, we like to think that we can improve on [ the home] rather than just restore or just move into a stylistic update. We think, ‘ How can we make the space more modern; how can we make it more livable for today and still respect the old structure?’”

ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR PART- TIME LIVING

Another set of important updates were energy- effi cient ones. The home had to be retrofi tted to fi t 21st- century energy standards, so a new roof, insulation and hot water heater were all added.

To cut energy costs from electricity, David focused on letting as much natural daylight into the home’s interior as possible. He also used natural ventilation to trim down heating and cooling bills.

These updates also made sure the home was able to sit dormant for long periods of time. The owner and his family don’t live in the house yearround, and it was important to him that the home didn’t “require too much maintenance. [ The owner wanted] something that he could come back to and [ easily] open up,” says David.

CREATING A COURTYARD

David’s favorite space in the Berkeley Hills home is the courtyard. However, he had his work cut for him when he began updating the sunken outdoor space. The owner wanted to replace the pool with a place for a vegetable garden, a fire pit, a space to entertain and a landscaped garden. But with the help of landscape architect Christine Reed, the team transformed the unused pool space into a vibrant and tucked- away green space.

“Anytime we can design around a courtyard, it is a bonus,” says David. “And if we did not have that here, it would be a very different house, I think.”

The courtyard gets much of its lush, inviting feeling from the native, drought- resistant flora that surrounds it. Plants like pittosporum, sticky monkey flower and California fuchsia provide pops of warmth and contrasting colors against the eye- catching redwood siding and aggregate roof.

The aggregate roof is covered in a tumbled stone, creating a more landscaped feeling rather than a purely utilitarian one. The same roof stone is found in the courtyard pavers, giving the entire courtyard and roof a cohesive look of organic warmth. “The courtyard feels like it’s not a big space, but it has a really nice, intimate scale to it. It is a transitional space, but it also functions really as an outdoor space for the house,” says David.

INDOOR- OUTDOOR LIVING

Echoes of the lush courtyard and surrounding landscape are seen inside the home too. The floor plan was opened up so that from the entryway one can see all the way through the home to the distant skyline, setting the stage for the indoor- outdoor feeling in the rest of the house.

Another important update came to the home’s windows: Previously, the windows had started 30 inches off the floor, precluding any kind of walls- ofglass feeling. But David changed that, extending the windows all the way to the floor in order to “just let the outside in.”

The restoration of the home’s original concrete- block fireplace, which can be seen on the interior and exterior, provided an additional element of indoor- outdoor living. Altogether, the inviting native landscaping, ample outdoor space and the carefully considered restorations and updates have created a house that feels right at home in its Berkeley Hills landscape.

THE NATURAL TEXTURES OF THE AGGREGATE ROOF, ALONG WITH THE CEDAR SIDING, MAKE THE HOME SEEM COMPLETELY AT ONE WITH ITS SURROUNDINGS.

( OPPOSITE) THE WHITEWASHED REDWOOD IS ON FULL DISPLAY IN THE LIVING ROOM, WHICH ALSO FEATURES THE HOME’S ORIGINAL CONCRETE- BLOCK FIREPLACE AND A CUSTOM- MADE FLOATING HEARTH. “WE SLIPPED IT IN SO THAT IT LOOKED ORIGINAL,” SAYS DAVID. ( TOP, RIGHT) THE HOME’S CANTILEVERED DECK AND CUSTOM- MADE RAILING CREATE EXTENDED LIVABLE SPACE THAT’S

THE IDEAL SPOT FOR LATE- NIGHT GET- TOGETHERS AND EARLY- MORNING REFLECTION. ( ABOVE) THE LUSCIOUS COURTYARD FEATURES A RAISED BED FOR A VEGETABLE GARDEN, A FIRE PIT AND A DROUGHT- RESISTANT GARDEN. THE CENTERPIECE OF THE GARDEN IS A JAPANESE MAPLE TREE, AND NATIVE PLANTS LIKE DOUGLAS IRIS AND BLUE- EYED GRASS SURROUND IT.

( ABOVE) DINING ROOM CHAIRS FROM AROUND THE MINIMALIST AND UNDERSTATED TABLE LET GUESTS TAKE IN THE REAL VIEW THAT LIES BEYOND THE DINING ROOM. ( BELOW) THE DINING ROOM COMBINES THE WHITEWASHED TONES OF THE PANELING WITH THE RICH HUES OF THE CEDAR AND ELEGANT COLOR OF THE FLOOR FOR A LOOK THAT DEMONSTRATES A SPACE CAN SHINE WITH MORE THAN ONE WOOD FINISH.

CLERESTORY WINDOWS SURROUNDING THE STAIRCASE, DINING ROOM AND KITCHEN ALLOW “DAYLIGHT TO FLOOD THE HOUSE AT DIFFERENT TIMES.” GLASS STAIR RAILINGS CREATE AN UNOBSTRUCTED FIELD- OF- VIEW THROUGHOUT THE HOME.

THE TUCKED- AWAY ENTRANCE TO THE BERKELEY HILLS HOME IS ON THE STREET, LEADING DOWN TO A STAIRCASE OPENING UP TO THE COURTYARD AND TO THE REST OF THE HOME.

( ABOVE, LEFT) PENDANT LIGHTS IN THE ENTRYWAY FROM FOSCARINI LIGHTING LEAD THE EYE ACROSS THE HOME TO THE STUNNING VISTA OUTSIDE. ( ABOVE, RIGHT) THE STAIRCASE LEADING DOWNSTAIRS IS SET AGAINST RICH REDWOOD PANELING CONTRASTED WITH THE

DARK BLACK AND VIBRANT WHITE IN THE STAIRWAY. ( BELOW) THE EXTERIOR OF THE CONCRETE- BLOCK FIREPLACE ANCHORS THE COURTYARD, AS ITS NEUTRAL TONES ARE REFLECTED IN THE PAVERS AND AGED WOOD.

THE EVENING BRINGS A SENSE OF WARMTH AND INVITATION TO THE BERKELEY HILLS HOME. THIS FEELING IS AMPLIFIED BY THE ORGANIC MATERIALS THROUGHOUT THE SPACE, LIKE THE STUNNING REDWOOD, CONCRETE- BLOCK FIREPLACE AND WOODEN FLOORS.

AT NIGHT, THE HOME’S SEE- THROUGH VISTA BECOMES ITS CENTERPIECE. “THE MOMENT YOU COME TO THE FRONT DOOR, YOU CAN LOOK THROUGH THE HOME ALL THE WAY TO THE SKYLINE,” SAYS DAVID.