a weekend house for three generations

Our client (a professional family with two school age daughters and a grandparent) purchased this property in Sonoma County a few years ago knowing that they would want to remodel. They chose to live in it for a year and experienced it through the seasons before starting serious planning. The idea was to turn this into a multi-generational retreat that would have more space (an additional master suite to offer some quiet/privacy to the grandparent), more light, and better layout and flow of the common areas. Creating distinct spaces that foster togetherness would be the guiding principle throughout the development of this project.

Before: Rear side of building looking West towards the family bedroom wing.

After: Faux Spanish elements removed, part of roof flipped up to allow more light and height for the central core, new living room is pushed out to occupy part of the covered patio.

sense of modesty, ease, and fun

Very fortunate for building Lab, we truly share our client's preference for "a comfortable, easygoing home that is in keeping with Northern California residential architecture and that lets the outdoors take a prominent role." The outdoors here means a rich landscape with mature trees and plantings and beautiful views towards the vineyards. The extended family enjoyed swimming, playing ball games, exploring, as well as gardening, reading, and painting during the year they lived in this house. Before the pandemic, they also frequently had other families staying over. The kids were basically camping out in sleeping bags everywhere including the garage.

Rendering of front (north) view with driveway. ADU is tucked behind the garage.

Clockwise from upper left: 1. View of entry 2. Kitchen 3. Living room with fireplace 4. Living and dining

happy spaces for active plays and quiet relaxation

Our designers (principal Stephen Shoup and project architect Jackie Detamore) prioritize the client's wishes which result in several important decisions:
1. Convert the existing guest room and part of the garage into a second master suite for the grandparent. This being located on the opposite (east) side from the group of family bedrooms (west), will offer the desired separation and easy access at the same time.
2. Reorient the living room to the rear (south) side to take advantage of the views by pushing out and co-opt part of the covered patio. This captured space, anchored by a new fireplace, offers a welcoming spot for conversations. The expanded dining area will be the most active family gathering place. Expansive sliding glass doors enable indoor outdoor living.
3. Move the front entry to one side (west) to allow for a much enlarged kitchen. Contrary to prevailing trend, our client prefers a kitchen that is easily accessible and visually connected to other shared spaces, but not entirely open. This kitchen is designed to accommodate multiple family members comfortably.
4. Build a new independent structure housing a garage and an ADU. The ADU, with a great room, 1 1/2 baths, 1 bedroom and a bonus room, is designed to be a sanctuary both for visiting family and guests, and for work and arts activities.

Newly constructed garage with ADU tucked behind

Great room of ADU opens out to its own patio

South North

Typical existing section of main house showing ceiling height of 7'-10". Note the prefabricated roof truss.

North . South

Proposed section through the central core of main house showing partial roof popup resulting in new ceiling height of 9' - 6".

a bold stroke to pull everything together

One drawback of the original structure was the uniformly low ceilings (7'-10".) In order to create a more spacious feeling for the interior, and particularly for the central core, project architect Jackie Detamore explained, "We employ braces to temporarily lift the prefabricated roof trusses while new taller perimeter walls are being framed. I like this approach because we're able to reuse the existing roof framing to the greatest extent possible." Now the living and dining areas have 9'-6" ceilings, whereas the second (new) master suite gets a respectable 8'-4". Paired with floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors, the common areas are transformed into expansive spaces suffused with natural light.

Looking west towards family bedroom wing. Note existing low ceilings and roof trusses.

Roof trusses are lifted by braces temporarily while new taller perimeter walls are being framed.

the last word

From our client: "We were specifically looking to work with a design/build firm, as we felt the approach and business model best matched our goals. We've been really happy with our partnership with buildingLab. When we called references, pretty much everyone spoke about a sense of "trust," and that's what we've experienced. There's so much that's possible out of a great working relationship on a project like this, and also so much asymmetry of information. We really wanted to find a team we could trust and would enjoy working with."