This mid-century modern home in Woodland Hills underwent a full remodel of the interior and exterior. The project expanded the kitchen and replaced all of the landscaping. We appreciate the period and condition of this home and worked to preserve and extend upon the architectural language of this classic mid-century home.
This neighborhood in Woodland Hills is a distinctive Mid-Century Ranch Houses in a planned subdivision. Charles Du Bois designed close to 1,300 homes under a developer. Completed in 1964, after more than seven phases of construction, the homes in this area known as Woodland West, were completed. The homes are both one and two-story, single family homes built on wide lots to accommodate these horizontal, Ranch Houses punctuated with low-slung, gable roofs, dramatic doorways, deep eaves with exposed support beams. The exteriors were a combination of board and batten, stucco, bead board and natural stone.Charles Du Bois also created the designs for the Vista Las Palmas subdivision in Palm Springs with tall, dramatic entryways inspired by “Tiki” style structures. The Woodland West development contains homes with similar design concepts in mind.

The floorplan shows the expanded kitchen with wine refrigerators, espresso maker and a large center island. There is also a small work area in the main bedroom with a PELETON exercise bike.

The house sits on a large corner lot with a swimming pool and patio in back.

The kitchen was expanded at the front of the house. The materials on the exterior match the existing vertical wood and stucco. The original stonework was maintained and salvaged to be used at the new kitchen addition area, shown here next to the garage.

Our restoration shows a simple palette of mid century white with grey trim. The stone details have been preserved and replicated at the new kitchen area on the right side. Drought tolerant plant materials were used throughout the landscape.

At the entry we maintained the stonework and added a wood french door with privacy glass for better light inside and used a mid century styled globe pendant.

The original kitchen was small and dark, our solution was to expand the area of the kitchen into an unused patio at the front of the house and add a large center island.

The new kitchen also has a dramatic, vaulted ceiling with exposed beams which match the original language of the house.

The vaulted ceiling, sliding windows and angled glass are all new to bring light into the house as the front of house gets most light. This image shows the new large island with wine refrigerators below.

The new kitchen features a built in coffee maker, large gas range with exhaust hood, undermount sink and built-in refrigerator and freezers.

This image shows the expanded kitchen and full height pantry with built-in refrigerator and freezer with microwave oven under the new island.

The tall pantry, built-in refrigerator / freezer, the exposed beams at the tall ceiling and the angled glass complement the existing architectural language of this post and beam, mid century gem.

The quality of light changes through the day.

The kitchen island is used as an informal dining space, the pendant light is called “sputnik” and uses twenty-four globe lights with glass spheres.

New hardwood floors were used throughout the house. Light colors were used and the fireplace was maintained.

This cabinet was part of the original house. It was restored and upgraded with modern speakers and electronics.

The vaulted ceiling in the living and dining rooms were maintained, painted and lighting added. New sliding doors were added, and mid century globe lights were used at the dining area with track lighting at the ceiling.

The large sliders allow for a connection to the patio which was expanded with a new bbq area.

The dining room and living rooms are divided by a large, double fireplace with stone matching the exterior.

The double fireplace is used as sitting area and connects to backyard through the large sliding doors.

All bedrooms have hardwood flooring, new windows with window coverings and an adjoining bathroom.

A floating vanity over ceramic-wood flooring with white quartz and light grey tile to complement the exterior and interior color scheme.

The main bathroom features a floating tub and double vanity over the ceramic-wood flooring which complement the new hardwood flooring.

This room was meant to bring a sense of calm and relaxation. The private zen garden with the room are a unique feature which bring both light and calmness to the room.

The light grey tiles, ceramic-wood flooring and white details complement the simple color scheme of the house. This simple glass enclosure at the shower keeps the room feeling bright and open.

The backyard was fully restored with turf and drought tolerant plant materials.

The house has a good connection to a large backyard. Our goal was to maintain that connection and restore this spaces with new materials and construction.

The existing swimming pool was repaired and the patio area replaced with new concrete, pavers and turf. This fireplace area at the pool was part of the original construction and was maintained and repaired.

The exterior was largely preserved. The stonework was maintained and used at the kitchen addition. A new white and grey color scheme was used to brighten the exterior.

The addition to the front of the house is underway.

The new kitchen will have plenty of natural light with the new windows. These windows complement the architectural language of the mid century house nicely.

The vaulted ceiling has been completed and the cabinets are being installed.

The expanded kitchen is now flooded with natural daylight which will help to illuminate the main living and dining rooms.

The new ceiling has been installed over the existing roof and joists. We have added insulation, drywall and wired for the lighting. These are 3x8 beams with tongue and groove between which match, precisely, the dimensions in the existing house.

We have removed two of the existing columns at the back patio to allow for better movement and visual connection to the yard. The new structure will be with a steel beam and columns with new foundations. The posts shown here are for temporary support.

Here is the new steel beam with will support the roof. A new wooden deck will be installed after the roof work has been completed.

The dining room maintains the original hardwood cabinetry, which we will clean and repair.

We will also upgrade the sound system with wifi and bluetooth and place all of the new electronics inside the cabinetry which previously housed a hi-fi stereo system.

This is the area in the front of the house where the addition to the kitchen will be located. Currently an unused covered patio, we will maintain the existing roofline, move the exterior wall out and install large glass windows.

The stone on the exterior will be preserved.

Part of our work will be to remove a few columns from this patio roof cover, open up the roof to allow more light and install a new barbeque with outdoor seating and a wooden deck.

The kitchen is small and dark with a low ceiling. The small wall on the south side allows for very little light into the main dining and living room areas. Our design is to expand the kitchen with more counter space and a center island. The new windows will be tall sliding with triangular glass above. We will also raise the ceiling with exposed beams.

The pool needs some repair and we will also upgrade the landscaping in the front and back of the house.

This modest house on Hill Drive sits on a corner lot. We remodeled the interior and exterior of this 3 bedroom/2 bathroom house using mid-century modern colors and materials.

We used colors from the mid century pallet to select the exterior and interior colors. Our plant materials are native to California and drought tolerant-Agave Attenuata, Senecio Mandraliscae, Blue Fescue grasses and red flax. We used gravel and decomposed granite for the ground cover with drip irrigation throughout.

The plans shows the large main space at the top. We removed several walls at the top floor to create an open floor plan. When the project was spaced planned, we have five seating areas in the upper main space, each with its own connection to the spaces.

We used a dark walnut for the flooring and cabinetry and we contrasted it with bright white for walls, counters and wall cabinets.

The kitchen is a large open space with a generous center island with a 5-burner cooktop with a downdraft exhaust vent. The large center island offers adequate storage.

We vaulted the ceiling through the entire main space and restored the existing fireplace. The gable glass below the roof beam allows for the exterior garden and light to illuminate the interior of the house. The large sliding doors allow light and breezes to enter the space.

This image shows the two dining areas, the kitchen and the living room. This house on the hill is also on a corner, and has two entry doors. We made them both Eichler orange and used globe lighting to light the large space evenly.

This image shows the rear patio and the door to the laundry and powder rooms.

This image shows the open floor plan and the entry at the living room. The exposed, vaulted ceiling complements the flat walnut cabinets from SEMIHANDMADE and the walnut flooring.

We remodeled this existing bathroom with cool grey slate tile for the flooring and shower. We matched the finishes with a vertical subway tile and a clean, grey quartz counter with a butcher block vanity shelf at the mirror.

This shower was designed to be a large shower in a small room. We have designed the entire room to be a shower with a modest tempered glass return to prevent splashing. The space works very well and we have incorporated a vanity space too.

This room has a nice, long view to the setting sun to the west. We maintained the existing wood flooring on the residential side of the house and rebuilt al of the closets and cabinetry. We also installed new lighting, plumbing and electrical fixtures, dimmers and outlets throughout.

Our strategy for the bathrooms on this project was simple. Cool grey counters and flooring, white vertical subway tile, vanity mirror which extends to the backsplash. Chrome tipped light bulbs and recessed lighting finish the design of this marvelous bathroom.

This is the view from the front door before the project began. It is hardly recognizable. We removed the dividing walls between the living room, dining room and kitchen to open up the floor plan and we also vaulted the ceiling

on the house we used two shades of cool grey with white accents around the roof and windows. The new portion of the landscape uses drought tolerant, native California plant materials with drip irrigation.

Shows the 2 bedrooms with the 2 bathrooms between, a large family room with the kitchen and dining rooms facing the backyard.

At the entry we replaced the planters with low pedestals for large pots which complement the exterior colors. We used a hardwood door with reeded glass for privacy but which brings more light into the house.

This light filled room connects to the backyard and native garden. We installed a floating cabinet for storage, bookshelves and space for the television.

Throughout the house we used a light hardwood flooring and rebuilt the ceiling which had been covered in wood paneling and acoustic tiles when we started.

We removed the wall to the right between the kitchen and the living room and created an open bar area which helps to light the space more evenly with natural light.

We restored the existing fireplace.

By removing the wall to the right it brings better light and connection to the living areas in the house. The backyard landscaping serves as a nice backdrop to daily living and can be enjoyed from all of the areas in the main space.

This image shows the bar area where we removed the dividing wall between the kitchen and large living room. The 3x9 bar adds to the already ample, storage in the kitchen with lower hardwood cabinets by SEMIHANDMADE which are accessible from the kitchen and creates a great space during entertaining or a great workspace during the week.

We have a new a large panel window to bring in as much natural light as possible and natural hardwood cabinets by SEMIHANDMADE with white quartz counters. The new globe lighting was also used in the kitchen and controlled with dimmer switches.

By removing the wall between the kitchen and the living room, a larger, more unified space is created with abundant natural light and visual connections.

The new ceiling was extended throughout all of the  rooms in the house including the bedrooms. For lighting, we specified white surface mount fixtures with a chrome tipped bulb to reduce glare. In the center of the room, a large globe lamp.

In the bathrooms we used cement tile flooring with a stripe, paired with floating vanities with pure white quartz counters and backsplash. At the mirror are  surface mount vanity lights and a hardwood shelf.

In the shower we keep the striped flooring and use a clean line of tempered glass to enclose the space. A shampoo cubby is standard. Note the detail at the top of the shower glass aligns with to top of the door. Details are always very important in all of our projects.

Both of the bathrooms use the same finishes and are very bright.

This is the new wood flooring at the new sliding door with the new tile flooring at the deck. These soft materials work well together.

Simple enough, but a lot of work went into making this beautiful ceiling. Tongue and groove ceiling between post and beam rafters. Surface mount light fixtures with mirror tipped light incandescent light bulbs. Large modern light fixture.

White quartz counter and backsplash, hardwood vanity ledge, mirror and outlet.

White quartz counter and backsplash, undermount sink, chrome faucets, floating vanity, hardwood vanity shelf, outlet and vanity light switch.

This drawing shows the form of the house and the vaulted ceiling in the main space. The kitchen has three counter top areas, the third at the wall which was removed from the original house.

Shows the removal of the wall between the living room and the kitchen. The kitchen has been expanded and the line of the post and beam ceiling has been exposed.

Shows the vaulted post and beam ceiling above the bar at the kitchen. The light colored hardwood for the cabinets will match the flooring. We may use globe lighting too.

We solved a big problem with this ceiling material. Our method of installation allows for a simple installation of the overhead globe lights.

This image shows the new ceiling material and our opening to the kitchen. You can see the new structural beam in this image which we will integrate with the existing beam to show a larger and grander ceiling line.

After we removed the old flooring, we need to put a new subfloor.

The house reveals very little from the outside. Inside is abundant natural lighting, 4 bedrooms and bathrooms, 2 living rooms, kitchen and dining with a courtyard and swimming pool.

The design strategy for this gem, was a light touch-both inside and out.

The house makes a courtyard with a swimming pool in the center at the end. This plan shows the arrangement of the 4 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths. Our work on the layout was to subdivide a larger bedroom into two smaller rooms of reasonable scale and relocated the bathroom and laundry for convenience.

This room at the entry has a fireplace but was painted a dark color and being situated on the north side of the house, it gets no direct sunlight. We used white interior paint colors, light colored low pile carpet and recessed lighting to brighten up this room.

The fireplace was cleaned and refinished. We used a black color for the trim and left the stone in its original condition.

The family room has exposed beams and an second fireplace. The room was much darker when the clients purchased the house as it had a large patio cover over the courtyard area, drastically cutting down on the natural light into the space. To brighten this central space, we removed the imposing structure in the courtyard, used light colors on the floor, walls and ceiling and installed recessed lighting in the ceiling to ensure great lighting throughout the changing daylight conditions of the house.

With both a living room for reading, this family room is centrally located and the best space for activity. As in all of the bathrooms and kitchen, we custom built this entertainment center, lower cabinets with floating shelves and under shelf lighting.

This courtyard house had glass walls on the interior side. We opened the wall to the right by removing a small window and adding sliding doors to balance the lighting and allow for a better connection to the outside of the house.

The flow between the kitchen, dining and family room is much better now. So is the light. We removed large upper cabinets and dated linoleum tile to connect these important spaces. To improve the quality of light, we kept the white with black trim motif and used black quartz counters with white slab-front, frameless cabinets.

Has sliding glass doors leading into the courtyard and a private bathroom with walk-in closet.

Has double sinks and a floating vanity.

All bathrooms were built with white floating vanities, white subway tile, light colored porcelean tile, white paint, chrome fixtures and black trim.

We removed a large shade structure which had been placed over the pool area which drastically cut out the light into the house. It was replaced with a pair of light sailcloth panels instead. The lighter colors, improved landscaping and renovated hardscape make this central space, truly extraordinary. It was important to open up this space properly to allow for a better and even light flow into the house.

This single story house, built in 1935 had been untouched for 85 years. A full remodel was in order which would preserve the original architectural details and upgrade the finishes, fixtures and equipment. Our work began with demolition, the construction process would be four months to repaint, remove an interior wall, install new doors, windows and appliances.

The house was repainted with a soft green and white exterior accented with black windows and interior details.

Drought tolerant landscape and native grasses complement this california bungalow. A new patio and trellis are planned for the future of the project as well.

The front yard has native grasses, decomposed granite, boulders and concrete pavers.

The enlarged window at the front of the house now allows for more natural daylight.

The interior features refinished hardwood floors and bright finishes.

The dining room connects to the living room, work den and the kitchen area and is well lit with vintage green trim.

This is the dividing wall which was removed and detailed to match the arched openings in the original house. We added a counter with shelving and cabinetry to connect the kitchen and dining room.

The dining are connects to the attached office area with a vaulted ceiling.

This is now a better connection between the dining room and kitchen, with rounded details.

The newly remodeled kitchen features black finishes, a vintage mint green and white paint scheme and ample cabinetry.

The newly remodeled bathroom features green cement hexagon tiles, black plumbing finishes, and a hardwood vanity.

This single story house in Larchmont Villiage which needed a facelift. Our solution is to remove several imposing walls on the interior to allow for even natural light with better movement and storage. On the outside of the house, the older plant materials were removed and replaced with drought tolerant specimens. The outside of the house will be refinished with a combination of smooth stucco at the back portion of the house and horizontal, cement board siding at the front.

At the entry, the existing ironwork has been refinished along with the existing patio and brickwork which was treated with a whitewash coating. The new hardwood door are accented with the black trim and lighting fixtures.

This plan shows the layout of the house and the yards. The interior will maintain three bedrooms and two bathrooms but now with a improved space for each room and a much larger kitchen which was a priority for this client.

For landscaping, the project will use drought tolerant plant materials. The driveway concrete surface was minimized by using plant materials in the center strip.

The fireplace was refinished with black slate in contrast to the light colored, hardwood flooring.

Now has ample natural light, hardwood flooring and exterior doors.

All members of the family enjoy this new space.

Brighter now with a conection to the kitchen.

Shows the new cabinetry, flooring, doors and windows and appliances.

We used a brushed gold globe, lighting fixture for the primary lighting in the main areas of the living room, the table in the dining room and over the island in the kitchen.

The main bathroom features a floating hardwood double vanity, quatrz counters, brushed gold fixtures and herringbone white tile at the bath and shower.

Porcilean wood tile flooring, floating hardwood vanity, quartz-marble counters, white herringbone tiles and brushed gold and brass fixtures outfit the guest bathroom for a bright and well lit space.

The shower and tub enclosures use a white herringbone tile with brushed brass accessories.

The kitchen cabinets are custom made with hardwood birch and finished with light grey paint over the slab cabinet fronts and completed with brushed brass pull knobs.

This is the new kitchen with an exposed beam over the new opening. The interior paint swatches are on the wall.

This image shows the new kitchen space in the process of framing.

This single story home located in the South Larchmont area in Los Angeles. The project is for a full interior and exterior remodel. When completed, the exterior will be clad with both stucco and horizontal siding and new landscaping. The interior will feature hardwood floors, a master suite with an en suite bathroom and plenty of closet space.

Several interior walls will also be removed to open the floorplan creating more natural daylight and a much large kitchen and dining area.

The new house will also feature a den work area, laundry room and a detached artist studio.

This is the exterior of the house before construction.

On the exterior of our new addition to the house we used a bright, white, horizontal siding. The hardwood french doors use operable side light windows to the back of the house to open up to the yard. A new bathroom was also added to the back of the house to serve the future swimming pool.

The site plan shows the new lap pool and the additional space to the house. There is also a deck and concrete hardscape around the pool and a long planter along the length of the pool.

The floorplan shows a larger kitchen, a removed dividing wall between the existing kitchen and dining room, and a bedroom/work room for the photgrapher client who needs a dim space with long walls for working and displaying work.

There is also a laundry room with washer/dryer and a utility sink as well as pantry space to support the kitchen.

The relocated bathroom at the back of the house supports the pool area too.

The new doors open with side light windows. The bathroom access at the back of the house allows for movement between the yard and the house.

This area at the back of the house, behind the new kitchen, allows for a relaxing space in the brightest area of the house.

This area at the back of the kitchen allows for a nice transistion from the kitchen towards the back of the house, which gets the most daylight. The floors are oak hardwood to match the existing floors in the 1935 house.

The new dining area uses the existing windows and flooring but is connected in a better way to the new addition and kitchen at the back of the house after a dividing wall was removed.

We removed the wall between the kitchen and the dining room to allow more natural light to move through the lower floor of the house. We also added a pantry closet and refurbished a bedroom adding closets and a private entrance to the back of the house.

The bar area at the kitchen allows for another casual, informal space in the brightest area of the house. We used these simple styled, black pendant lights in addition to new recessed lighting thoughout the kitchen and dining room to light the room evenly and with style.

The project added space to the side and back of the existing kitchen space which made the space wider. Perfect for a center island with a stovetop and oven.

We specified large windows for the east side of the house to allow morning light to pour in and flood the space early in the day with black design details such as plumbing fixtures, pendant lights and cabinet hardware.

The kitchen now has a both new and modern kitchen appliances as well as a functioning, vintage stove from the original construction. The stovetop at the island uses a downdraft vent hood which rises at the touch of a button during cooking and vents under the floor to the outside.

The original kitchen utilized white and black stove/oven combo from when the house was built. Instead of replacing the vintage appliance, it was restored to its original condition and used as a functioning part of the kitchen and an important design feature.

The new bathroom at the back of the house uses marble tile, a flaoting hardwood vanity with a curbless shower and infinity drain. Black plumbing fixtures and accessories complement the styling.

 The project uses four large black, geometric pendant lights, combined with recessed ceiling lights to illuminate the space.

This is the working clock and timer on the restored, vintage stove.

Knobs at front of the vintage stove.

This image shows the new shower using black plumbing fixtures and marble tile.

This image shows the addition at the back during construction.

The demolition has started at the back of the house. Next is the foundation and the removal of the exterior walls.

This is the area where we will add space to the house. The lower floor will have an expanded kitchen, dining room and bedroom/work space which will access the wood deck and pool area.

The project arborist is consulted to determine how close we can build to the existing trees in the back of the house. Of course, we do not want to disturb these large these shade trees.

In our efforts to maintain the existing mature trees, we will assure that the construction does not interfere with the roots of the trees.

Portions of the interior walls will be removed to build the larger kitchen.

The interior wall between the kitchen and dining room is being removed.

The project is to expand the kitchen, bedroom and dining room on the first floor and add a lap pool for the avid swimmer at this two story, spanish - mediterranean styled, home in Venice.

The profile of the original house is long and low with the narrow windows tucked under the roofline eaves.

We have added a bedroom to the first floor and created more light in the kitchen by opening up the exterior wall and bringing in a twelve foot garden window. The second floor shows a vaulted ceiling in the master bedroom and the hallway area on the second floor with four separate areas for linen storage. The master bedroom is larger now with two his and hers walk-in closets and a double vanity.

At the entry of the house, the new tall windows bring natural light into the front sitting room during the daytime.

The brick hardscape reflects existing finishes in the house and in the backyard.

The first floor entry is a double height space with new hardwood flooring, hardwood stair with the original iron handrail, restored.

In the living room, the existing fireplace was refurbished and new cabinetry installed at this wall. For maximum storage, the upper shelves float over drawers and lower cabinets.

The dining room connects better now to the living room as the existing partition wall was reduced in size. The new hardwood flooring extends into the entry area.

Two banks of grey cabinets, with stone tops were designed for this room for keeping dishes and linens. The room has good natural daylight from the large sliding glass doors at the southern back of the house.

In this room and the house throughout, the hardwood finishes are similar and the dining room connects to a bonus room at the front of the house.

The vaulted ceiling and tall windows make this a very bright room.

The bank of grey cabinets are topped with white quartz and white upper cabinets to allow for the natural light to move through the space from the backyard to the front bonus room.

The kitchen is larger and brighter now. The exposed wood beams at the ceiling indicate where the previous walls were located before the extensive remodel of the house.

White upper cabinets are used again in the kitchen with a complimentary white microwave. The return at the counter is useful for more counter space and for staging at holiday gatherings.

The counter was extended into a custom-built garden window which provides a generous and stunning amount of bright counter space with a panoramic view of the backyard landscape. The pantry and laundry room can be in the next room.

This room has full height cabinets for storage with washer and dryer and a countertop with a utility sink.

The powder room was designed with a square, clay tile with a sylish pattern. A floating hardwood vanity is topped with white quartz, chrome faucets and a white undermount sink. A storage cabinet and shelf are shown over the toilet for storage and style.

The hallway at the top of the stairs uses a vaulted ceiling for natural light and tall windows. Warm carpet, natural wood and pinstripe wallpaper make this a cozy and bright space.

This is an exquisiste moment in the project where the collection of finishes and spaces all come together. The soft wood of the handrail and stair stringer extend from the hardwood flooring below up into the vaulted ceiling of the second floor passage. The vertical stripes of the pinstripe wallpaper extend the eye from the iron guardrail into the hallway loft.

At the hallway there are built in cabinets for linens and storage. This image shows a cubby into the guest bathroom.

The floating cabinet at the hallway linen cubby compliment the floating vanity inside the guest bathroom. The difference in finishes in consistent in the project with white shaker cabinetry shown at the common spaces in the house with the bathrooms built with hardwood over square, clay tiles. White subway tile is shown in the shower area and a cabinet shelf on the wall for storage and style.

The guest bathroom has our signature pinstripe clay tile and hardwood floating vanity with quartz countertop and undermount sink. The issue of storage is resolved with a combination cabinet and shelf over the toilet.

The strip windows at the shower bring natural light into the space.

The master bathroom features a floating double vanity with  lower and tall side cabinets. There is a center space for a sitting vanity.

The shower features a hand shower, a rain shower at the ceiling and a generous shower cubby on the wall.

The exterior color scheme is light tan with a dark brown trim just as it was in 1971.

Finishing the beams in the kitchen.

The beams in the kitchen are being prepared for finishing. The back window will also be installed soon, it is twelve feet long and very heavy.

The house has good natural light now and the vaulted ceiling over the entry is both dramatic and emblematic of mid-century architecture. The hallway, seen here, will have several spaces for linens and storage and will also select a wallpaper pattern for the second floor hallway area to accentuate this common space.

This image shows the new framing on the second floor. This is from the hallway. Some of the burned lumber can still be seen at the stair guardrail and stringer.

Many of the new windows have been framed. The house will get new insulation on the exterior walls and roof.

The interior of the house has been demolished down to the wood framing. This area with the vaulted ceiling is the master bedroom. The new plans show a restored master bedroom with more windows, more closet space and larger master bathroom with a walk-in shower.

This is an image of the house when it was new in 1971.

We have returned the exterior to its original color scheme of dual tone browns with rough lumber trim. On the inside, we have made some changes which have improved the lower floor layout, provided larger bedrooms with more closet space, and more natural daylighting.

Culverdale was completed in four phases built in a counter-clockwise order. This brochure shows the first two-fourths, or the first half of the planned development.

This is the vicinity map which shows the location of Culverdale, adjacent Culver Drive. The City of Irvine had not yet been incorporated as a city until 1971.

This map shows the location of the streets and plots for the first half of the development. The lower right area shows a pen sketch of where the next phase of construction was planned. The street indicated by ink is Cosley Street, where the project house is located.

This map was produced around 1970 and shows the third phase of development of Culverdale.

This map was produced around 1970 and shows the sales office with a Santa Ana address. The location of Culverdale would be in the city of Irvine, in 1971 after its incoporation.

This diagram shows the third phase of devlepment in the southeast portion of Culverdale. Our project is located on Cosley street which is highlighted to the south of the park. There is an arrow though the park and an X where the house is located. This was drawn on the brochure by the sales agent from clubouse/rec center as directions to the original plot of land for the owners to review. They walked through the fully built park and to a flat plot of land to consider the purchase of a home that was not yet built.

This is another full color layout from the original sales brochure showing the centrally located, Culverdale Park. Many of the streets had yet to be designed or illustrated in this rendering.

This is a spread from the original brochure in full color. It shows the amenities at the park in Culverdale.

This building still exists today with the swimming pool in it original state. The sales office was located next door.

This is the original floorplan diagram from the original sales brochure. The house that was built was slightly different than advertised and the builder ultimately saved costs on things like windows and plumbing. When we removed the drywall in the master bedroom we found it had been framed for new windows which were never installed-until now.

These are the original renderings for PLAN 44. They show a variations of a two-story house of about nineteen hundred square feet. Our house is the one at the top-The Cambridge. The builder added the six-foot stucco wall around a concrete patio at the front of the house and left large roof timbers of rough sawn lumber exposed. The house had squared openings with a strong horizontal presence at the street view.

The house, built in 1954, has a simple, post and beam roofline. Our work on this project is to complete a full interior and exterior remodel of this mid century gem.

What a nice roofline. We have honored this example of mid-century architecture by maintaining a complementing the vaulted ceiling in the main space.

The main space in the house has been transformed dramatically by the removal of the large fireplace which divided the space. New flooring, cabinets, counters and lighting complete the transformation.

We maintained the lower portion of the existing fireplace and used it to connect the kitchen to the living room as a large counter and bar. The new hardwood shelving was built in the kitchen and bathrooms.

We used white marble on the kitchen walls and paid attention to details.

The large bar in the center of the space is large, it's 5 feet by 10 feet. Seems large, but it is used during the week as a breakfast nook in the morning, a workspace in the day, a place to have dinner and watch movies at night, and a space for drinks during a party.

The kitchen uses white marble for the counters, backsplashes and walls. Globe lighting and track lighting were used to brighten this room in the house. The grey cabinets are a cool complement to the hardwood plank flooring.

Shelf and cabinet at kitchen backsplash

In the kitchen and the dining room we used the same hardwood plank flooring as the rest of the house. Natural hardwood shelving, with ample marble with brass details complete the design.

We used the same cool grey cabinets and white marble as in the kitchen complemented here with white hex tile and a hardwood shelf.

Bathroom vanity with white hexagon tile backsplash, grey marble counter, undermount sink, and hardwood vanity ledge.

In the bedrooms we used the same hardwood flooring, natural window coverings and soft lighting.

This lovely space has a floating vanity with a powder area,  black and white cement tiles, white hex tiles, crank-out casement window with reeded glass for privacy and hardwood shelving for linens.

The back of the house is also ideal for enjoying private views and for entertaining and now with removal of the fireplace on the interior, the open floor plan merges much better with the back of the house at the outside.

Big empty spot here, and our work continues. Next is the new flooring, ceiling finishing and cabinetry.

The new flooring has been installed. Here is a photo before it gets covered for the remainder of the construction. The rough spot in the brickwork will be covered with new cabinets.

This image shows the framing for the new hardwood pocket door and insulation before the new drywall.

There are a few decisions to be made as we proceed with the construction in the master bathroom.

No, a bomb did not go off in here. We removed the fireplace, demolition is going well and in a couple of days we will have this part of the process complete. 

After we removed the upper portion of the chimney, you can see that the space has opened up and the structure of the house is exposed. We will rebuild the corner of the wall at the kitchen and maintain the exposed beam.

This image shows the existing fireplace which will be removed.

Getting ready for demolition in the bathrooms, kitchen and the chimney and a portion of the fireplace.

We used several of these slabs of carerra marble. It was important to find a large lot with consistent color for the project as we used the same marble throughout the house and bathrooms.

This Spanish Mediterranean Styled home underwent a full, extensive remodel of the interior and exterior. Our efforts were  to maintain as much of the original house as possible while creating better spaces for modern living.

We also specified a period color scheme, pottery and plant materials for the project.

At the front entry, we restored the existing wood windows, and used a smooth terra cotta tile for the patio surface to match the tile roof. The original front door, wide and heavy, was restored, new glass and repaired the ironwork. Matte black hardware and hinges were specified for the project.

This image shows the large, main living space showing the living and dining rooms. With new lighting and windows, the natural light in the space is abundant.

The original hardwood floors were restored, the ten foot ceilings were scraped, and painted and recessed lights and a pendant light were installed to light the space evenly.

The large arched windows at the front of the house were replaced due to extensive damage. The fireplace mantle was restored and rebuilt as an media center for the television. 

The dining room connects to both the kitchen and living rooms. The opening to the dining room was widened and recessed lighting and pendant lights were installed.

To create a more open floor plan, a large dividing wall was removed between the kitchen and the dining room. The wood beam at the ceiling shows where the wall was located in the original construction.  The ceilings in both the kitchen and dining room were coved to match the living room detail. Recessed lighting, pendant lights and a surface mount light over the sink were installed to ensure even lighting.

The kitchen has stainless steel appliances, and shaker style cabinets with grey lowers and white uppers and the refrigerator panel to keep the space bright.

The flooring in the kitchen is a smooth terra cotta clay tile which extends into the mudroom. The plumbing and lighting fixtures are matte black as well as the cabinet handles.

The mud room offers more storage and is used as a secondary utility space with a small sink and tall cabinets.. The terra cotta tile extends into the mud room where the finishes match the kitchen.

The bathroom on the first floor is down the hallway from the living room. The floating vanity uses a light hardwood to complement the refurbished oak flooring.

Originally a powder room, this room was expanded and a shower was added. The tall, ten foot ceiling is accentuated with a black detail at the vanity wall.

The bedroom on the first floor has hardwood flooring and also a large sliding door for to the back patio.

The ironwork and hallway and stairs have been restored and the original stained glass windows preserved.

The project added a bathroom and bedroom to the second floor. This is the space at the end of the new hallway for linens and personal items.

The new hallway leads to the additional bathroom. The storage shelves and cabinets serve the second bedroom on the upper floor.

This bathroom on the second floor serves the nursery/bedroom. It features matte black fixtures, floating hardwood vanities, white quartz counters, undermount sinks and black and white hexagonal floor tile.

The original oak flooring and wood windows were restored in all of the bedrooms.

The master bathroom features matte black fixtures, floating hardwood vanities, white quartz counters, undermount sinks and black and white hexagonal floor tile.

Both showers in the house use frameless glass, a shower cubby, marbled quartz and matte black fixtures.

All plant materials are drought tolerant and the planters and steps are from recycled concrete slabs left over from the project demolition.

This image shows the new terra cotta tile with the existing hardwood floor and the kitchen cabinet bases.

This image shows the beginning of the tile and cabinetry installation.

This is the detail at the new entertainment center.

This is the fireplace detail which was salvaged and restored. When completed it will have a stone top and matching cabinet doors for the entertainment hardware for the television.

...are being sanded and restored to their original condition. We will use a clear sealer to maintain the original color of the light colored wood flooring.

We are removing layers from the past. Below the veneers of paneling, wallpaper and paint, we find the original plaster.

This is a sample of the wallpaper we found in the upstairs closet, likely over 80 years old. The original owners were inspired by the likeness of their own house to these images.

Windows will be preserved. There are two at the stair.

Well, the good news is that the foundation work is done and the floor level has been raised back to its original level. Unfortunately, the fireplace and chimney still need some attention.

When the house settled, so did the fireplace. The house could be raised up again. Not so with the fireplace. Time to rebuild or...

This fireplace detail will be preserved and designed to be used with a new entertainment center.

This wall between the dining room and the kitchen will be removed to open this portion of the first floor. Fortunately, this wall is non-structural.

The interior plaster has cracked after the foundation work. It looks much worse than it is. All of this settling will be taken care of during the remodel process.

Some of the original wood windows have been replaced decades ago with aluminum framed, glass louvered windows. On this project, we will be repairing some of the original windows to their original condition and rebuilding portions of other windows, to their original condition. There are 28 windows to consider and each one will be evaluated to determine the best course of action.

The existing windows which can be restored and repaired will be. This is the mud room, it has four casement windows which will be repaired to their original condition with new hardware.

Removing the old aluminum channel and louver glass which was not original to the house. The original window frames in the have been preserved and the glass and window frames rebuilt.

The original window weights will be reused with new cord and refurbished hardware.

All of the existing wood windows will be restored. This is one of the casement windows in the living room.

We added the entry portion to the house to the left.

Shows the addition of the master bathroom and expansive walk-in closet. Both rooms will have plenty of natural sunlight from the windows and skylight.

We chose an elegant privacy glass for the front entry and new wood windows to match the existing house.

His and Her separate vanities, each with drawers and a tall cabinet for linens. Note the clean lines around the glass, mirrors and cabinets. Detail is very important in all of our projects.

This is the bathroom which was added for the master bedroom. Styled with floating vanities with vertical lines to complement the tongue and groove wall finish. The flooring and wainscot is a porcelean wood tile which we used for shower and walk in closet. The shower has plenty of natural light from the skylight in the vaulted ceiling and the large panel of frosted glass over the sit bench.

This shower feels expansive with a tiled skylight, large soap cubby, a comfortable sit bench, convenient infinity drain, and frameless glass.

This is the remodeled master bedroom. We removed the existing tiny closet, opened up the wall and brought in new wooden French doors with operable side windows to create a connection to the backyard. It is now the favorite room for the cats. Note the connection to the master bath and huge walk in closet.

Master bedroom french doors and modest "connection-deck" to the backyard.

Drawing shows a snapshot of our light-filled master bath shower. Skylight, window, sitting bench and full height privacy glass will ensure this will be a bright space in the morning.

This image shows the exterior redwood siding for our master bath addition. The frosted glass will let filtered, natural light into the shower.

This house never had a cooling system so we installed a new HVAC system with a NEST thermostat. We finished just in time for the big heat wave in July 2014.

Wow, this house has been through a lot. It was moved to this location in 1947 from Echo Park. Many of the original doors and window openings had been covered and there was some minor foundation damage. We used the space to the right of the house shown in this image for master suite addidtion.

On the exterior, we restored the shingle siding which was original with this 1934 bungalow. We finished with new paint and drought tolerant native plant materials.

This is the covered entry. All of the door and window hardware was restored or replaced. Period lighting fixtures were also used. The handmade entry door hardware was restored.

The new addition is at the southwest. It also has an en suite bathroom with double vanities, a walk in closet and a laundry room.

This is from the original house.

The original  finishes and flooring were restored in this room and  new lighting was added.

The interior finishes were all restored. The columns which were present in the entry were replicated between the dining room and the new kitchen.

This is the new bar and kitchen, the columns were built to match the existing details in the house.

The new kitchen is spacious.

This is the new main bedroom addition. It opens to the patio.

This image shows the new columns, wainscoting and plate rails to match the existing house.

This is the area which had a large dividing wall. We removed it and rebuilt the kitchen with an open counter, globe lighting and a hardwood front door with a glass inlay to allow more natural light to enter the house.

This is an interior remodel of a single story home in Echo Park. We replaced the entry door with a hardwood door with a privacy glass inlay.

The entry to the house has a hardwood door with a glass inlay.

The floorplan shows the kitchen with a large portion of the entry wall removed. Also gone, is the wall and louvers which were seperating the dining and kitchen areas. The bathroom is much larger now too with a walk in shower with a sit bench and infinity drain, floating vanity and a large window for natural light.

This is the view form the new kitchen toward the living room after the wall has been removed.

The main space has been extensively remodeled. We refinished the existing hardwood floors and installed new lighting. The existing fireplace has been cleaned and refurbished. New paint and doors, brighten the main space considerably.

With the walls removed at the end of the room and around the kitchen allow for a more even lit space and better connection between spaces.

This image shows the entry and the opening to the bathroom and the bedrooms where we used a new pocket door.

This is another area where we removed an existing wall. We placed a large mirror at the end of the room.

The new kitchen is bigger and brighter now. The new oak flooring matches the existing floor. There is a sit bar at the long counter where the previous wall was located.

The long living room has new recessed lighting and a closet in the corner. The existing windows to the left offer generous views of the Hollywood hills.

The built in cabinets were removed from this space and replaced with furniture. The refurbished fireplace divides the main space.

We used black hexagon tile for the floor, floating hardwood vanities and brass plumbing and lighting fixtures.

In the shower, we used black and white hexagon tiles with brass plumbing fixtures. The space has a site bench with an infinity drain below.

The master bedroom has also been refurbished with hardwood flooring, new paint and window coverings.

This kitchen is dark and cramped. We have some solutions.

We love the fireplace, and will clean and restore the tile landing. It has been covered with tile by the previous owner. We found the original patio stones below but we could not save them. We will use a nice substitute, likely a twelve by twelve terra cotta tile or patio brick which will match the dimensions of the existing brickwork.

We will be removing all of the cabinetry, the false wall in front of the stair to below, and the popcorn ceiling. We will also restore the brick tile at the fireplace landing.

We will remove the partition on front of the staircase and install a simple iron guardrail. It will open up the space and create more area for the dining room table and pendant lighting. The hardwood floors will be sanded, and resealed with a lighter finish.

There is no connection between the kitchen and the dining room, the floors are too dark and the kitchen is lost back there somewhere.

The bedrooms are behind this wall and we will be remodeling the bathroom as well, right now its an odd layout and we will be working on that too. The room behind the fireplace will function as a secondary living room space and an informal work space. It too has good light and very nice views.

We have removed all of the materials in the kitchen and a portion of the wall at the entrance too. Our strategy is to open up this kitchen and create better light and a better connection to the main space.

The bathroom remodel is underway too.

We are putting in a new electrical panel, recessed lighting, vanity lighting, switches and outlets in all of the rooms.

We could not save the old bricks. But we will find suitable replacements to complement the fireplace brick.

The brass fireplace enclosure has been removed showing the original open fireplace, quite nice. We will clean up the bricks, replace the broken ones and repaint the interior and post a dark, flat black.

This is the fireplace after the preliminary demolition. We will remove the brass enclosure to inspect the fireplace.

We are removing all of the old material around the fireplace at the floor because it had been covered with tile over the original brick.

The back of the fireplace is constructed of standard red bricks to save costs during the original construction.

We have finished the installation of the new tile and the refinishing of the existing hardwood floor. We have removed the brass fireplace enclosure and will leave this open and paint the interior of the fireplace after we clean the bricks, next.