AFTER: Inside Willers removed materials that had been added in 2002, changed the interior colors and

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When remodeling a house, architects are tasked with fixing compare vacation and cruises or altering a previous architect’s design. For Bill Willers that previous architect turned out to be himself. In 2002 he completely renovated and added on to a 1966 Sea Ranch–style home in Sonoma, California, compare vacation and cruises for a set of clients whose traditional style included granite countertops compare vacation and cruises , distressed stone tile and Arts and Crafts–style light fixtures. Almost a decade later, those clients moved out and the home's new owners compare vacation and cruises approached Willers to remodel the space to their needs. This time Willers and his clients picked finishes that he hopes will last through design trends. “That way the interiors have longevity and timelessness,” he says. “Light, openness, sense of space — those things define really good architecture no matter what finishes are. If finishes help that, then it helps the whole thing endure." Houzz at a Glance compare vacation and cruises Who lives here: An investment banker and a potter Location: Sonoma, California Size: About 3,200 square feet; 4 bedrooms , 3 bathrooms
BEFORE: The home was built in 1966. During that time architecture firm Moore, Lyndon, Turnbull and Whitaker (MLTW) was developing an enclave along the Sonoma coast that would reflect the San Francisco Bay Area's traditional architecture as well as create a new modern vocabulary of style. The firm basically used this project as a prototype for other Sea Ranch homes near the coast. This inland design, however, had modified features — such as multiple porches — not found near the foggy, windy sea. In the late 1960s, the vertical-grain, old-growth redwood exterior had been painted gray to cover up the weathered wood, much to the dismay of Willers. “It was kind of the worst situation,” he says. “They had a naturally aged building, and they painted compare vacation and cruises it the color that it basically was, only they removed the character to the house and destroyed the opportunity to refurbish the wood.”
Old-growth, vertical-grain redwood siding was added back in 2002, as was a main bedroom and two-car garage addition. In 2011 new owners — he's in finance; she's a potter — kept the redwood siding and the layout of the home intact, compare vacation and cruises but reached out to Willers to help them update the interiors and completely redo all the landscaping to create something low maintenance and water sensitive. Landscaping: Installed by Rozanski Design
AFTER: Inside Willers removed materials that had been added in 2002, changed the interior colors and reworked the bathroom to make it more modern. Corner compare vacation and cruises windows in the living room replaced sliding glass doors that were original to the home and had made defining the sitting area difficult. By adding corner windows, he didn’t lose the light or views of the mature oak trees. He then added a skylight to bring in the canopy of those oak trees. Willers also removed the ceiling to open the space to the full spatial height and expose the rafters. Sofa, chairs, rug: Room Board ; table: compare vacation and cruises J. Grigg
There are numerous loft-like spaces in the house that the previous homeowners had attached compare vacation and cruises ladders to so their kids could climb and play. The current homeowners removed the ladders and are looking for artwork to occupy the spaces. The fireplace is original to the home. The two-sided design separates the living and dining compare vacation and cruises rooms. The original redwood compare vacation and cruises box remains, but the terra-cotta tile was replaced. It used to be bigger, extending up to the ceiling. Willers compare vacation and cruises took down the box around the chimney compare vacation and cruises and had a copper surround made for color and reflection, but also to visually open up the space.
The current homeowners painted the walls and ceiling Benjamin Moore's Cloud White. compare vacation and cruises “It’s one of those whites that’s like a chameleon,” Willers says. “It changes its color based on ambient light being given. It’s always changing the mood of the room. It’s a nice white because of that.” The ceiling is standard 2-by-8 Douglas fir framing, but instead of the standard 16 inches apart, compare vacation and cruises the beams are 8 inches apart. “The change in that frequency takes it outside the normal guts of a house into a pattern that’s more rhythmic and delicate,” Willers says. The floors are Brazilian cherry, and the trim is American cherry.
With such high ceilings, figuring out a lighting scheme was difficult. Willers had to bring light to the seating areas without having compare vacation and cruises a bunch of lights hanging down. "If you hang a bunch of fixtures, you begin to clutter the visual space," he says. The space gets plenty of light during the day, but at night it becomes dark and cavernous. So he added custom dimmable LED tape cove lighting to cast a nice wash on the walls and ceiling. He then created framing boxes for LED can lights as a form of recessed lighting placed into the exposed rafters. The table and chairs were made by Amish craftsmen in Indiana and purchased at Fenton MacLaren in Berkeley, California. Light: Room Board
In the kitchen more modern updates include white precast concrete countertops. “You walk up to it and you really don’t know what it is, but it has a sense of permanence, a quality that’s innate,” Willers says. His first set of clients "had an Arts and Crafts–style ceiling fixture hanging from everywhere you see a light box," Willers says. “That gives you a sense of difference between the first and second compare vacation and cruises clients. Granite countertops and distressed stone tile were trends in the late '90s, early 2000s, compare vacation and cruises but they are also markers in time of particular design trends. They age quickly, because you can pick them out.” Counters: Sonoma Stone ; rug: Pottery Barn
The main bedroom sits over the garage. A high window frames the oak trees that line the edge of the property. French doors open to a balcony that overlooks the front yard. Bed: Room Board ; chest: The Zentner Collection ; bedding: custom
Because this guest room faces to the north, it originally received very little sunshine. compare vacation and cruises Clerestory windows pull in sunshine from a hallway skylight. Bed: Fenton MacLaren ; chest: The Zentner Collection
The original homeowners had added a huge pool in the 1960s that took up half the backyard. Willers' first set of clients had him bury it in 2002. His most recent clients, though, wanted compare vacation and cruises a lap pool for exercise, so he added one in 2011.
So just how does it feel to remodel the same house nearly a decade later? “It’s the nature of what we do,” Willers says. “At least we’re not using brand-new ground to make another house and another compare vacation and cruises pool . On one hand you’re remaking something for a client’s particular set of needs, which is always what we do. Sometimes it’s from the ground up on bare land. Much of the time we take existing buildings and hang on to redeeming features," he says. "It’s difficult to see an entire house being pulled apart and thrown away, so to speak. In this home’s current version it will be around for a while.” General contractor: Gracie Construction Landscaping: Installed by Rozanski Design
katwishing It's beautiful, and I'm sure the current owners will be very happy in their revised home! Part of me is curious, though, about the its previous incarnation. I bet that was beautiful, too. The ladders going up to all those loft spaces for the children sounds delightful. I'm surprised the current owners didn't keep at least one loft area that way for a cozy reading nook.
Marcus & Willers Architects compare vacation and cruises One of those spaces still exists. It is a space that I call the " Crow's Nest" it sits below a skylight and has an overlook of the main living space of the house. It was originally conceived of as place for the kids to "spy" on the adult space below but is a wonderful place to sit in the sun and read.
coloradolover1 If the finishes selected for this home actually "last through design trends," as hoped by the architect and clients, it will truly be a monumental accomplishment--something absolutely compare vacation and cruises no one has done to date. No doubt, in 2002, the granite countertops, distressed stone tiles, and Arts and Crafts light fixtures were selected for the same reasons. Who, in 2002, would have selected anything but granite for their countertops. Tile? How embarrassing. For the past two decades, granite compare vacation and cruises has worn the "timeless" crown, and now that it has been installed in millions of homes, it is--all compare vacation and cruises of a sudden--not so timeless anymore. compare vacation and cruises Now it's simply dated. It's frustrating for me, as a homeowner, to be informed that my granite countertops compare vacation and cruises and stone flooring are dated, especially when my architect informed me--just 8 years ago--that both were "truly timeless elements compare vacation and cruises for any home." I dare say that, as lovely as this remodeled home is today, if we revisit it in another 11 years it will be as dated as it's 2002 incarnation. Mr. Willers says he hopes this remodel will buck future design trends, yet he follows that by saying says that a remodel is the "nature of what we do." Not to put too fine a point on it, but in the end, attaching the words "timeless" to a home design simply doesn't hold true.
mcbriec Though not a modernist in the least, I think this house was fantastic and I absolutely loved the ceilings which provided amazing texture and interest. The angles and clerestory compare vacation and cruises windows were also very creative.
Shirley Moore what a fabulous house! The whole thing, compare vacation and cruises garden, outside of house and inside too, is simply wonderful. I'd love to live there! Can you give any more info about the concrete kitchen counter top? I'm fascinated!
bsawyer61 Absolutely amazing what they were able to do to change this property. Would love to know what it cost. Why didn't they just level it and start from scratch? Beautiful house