Eureka Valley
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This Eureka Valley architecture consisted of a knot to untangle. The whole-house renovation project began as a building that had been illegally subdivided into two units. We returned it to use as single-family residence. Transforming the building included substantial reconfiguration of all the interior spaces. For instance, we had no need for a second entry or second kitchen. In addition to these redundancies, previous tenants and poor maintenance had damaged the interiors and exteriors badly. Sadly, we needed to remove everything “down to the studs.”
The most important design decision we made was to remove the existing upper floor unit staircase, and create a new grand staircase in the middle of the building. We did this for two reasons. The first was that it allowed us room to create a formal foyer at the entrance to the home. The second advantage was the new stair location and design allowed us to bring light from a new third floor roof skylight down to a new basement level family room.
Using natural light is a fundamental part of our work. In addition to the skylight, we added new windows and doors facing the rear yard. We also added new property line windows through a special application allowed under the San Francisco Building Code.
The basement level addition required significant excavation and a completely new foundation. The new space includes a family room designed for home entertainment, and a new guest suite.
The main entry floor includes living, dining, and new gourmet kitchen with attached eat-in breakfast area. In the living room, we removed the existing fireplace to make useable room for furniture. Additionally, we added a new corner fireplace as a focal point to the room.
Because the existing kitchen was below grade at the rear yard, access to the rear yard was via an interior stair. We choose to excavate a portion of the rear yard and create a lower terrace so that the there was a nice indoor outdoor connection form the breakfast area. The terrace now leads up to a newly landscaped rear yard.
The upper floor contains a master bedroom suite, two additional bedrooms, and a refurbished waterproof deck overlooking the garden.
Eureka Valley Architecture – Before and After
Check out some of the striking before and after pictures here.
Eureka Valley Architecture – Project Partners: