a repeat engagement

Our client (a family of three), who worked with us in their whole-house interior remodel a decade ago, had always disliked the approach to the house and the awkward relationship of the front entry (being unceremoniously tucked under the deck) with the driveway. Last year, they decided to engage building Lab again in their exterior renovation.

Before: view of driveway and facade

Before: front entry hidden under the deck

After: transformed front elevation showing new deck, porch, and steps. Off-the-shelf garage door is custom painted to match the new Hardie® fibre cement sidings and soffit.
Presentation Photos by Adam Rouse

a modern front porch

Though it does not have an urban context (being 1/2 mile from downtown San Anselmo), this house is located near the trailhead entrance to Mt. Tam Open Space and its many miles of hiking/biking trails. Being sociable and friendly, our homeowners envisioned a warm and welcoming front porch where they could relax on comfortable chairs and wave at the occasional hikers. This couple also contributed with their unique interests: the love of rational planning and simplicity on one hand, and poetic expression through the softscape on the other.

Sunny deck above and shady porch below

Before: old wood deck with a jumble of posts and braces

In-progress: terrace with compacted drainage aggregates ready to receive the pavers on top

Metal and wood railing on new deck

Custom fabricated metal railing and faccia details

a total re-imagination

The old wood deck was completely demolished and the ground was excavated and regraded. On the same footprint, a new deck is designed to create a seamless extension of the interior. The homeowners can enjoy their breakfast and newspaper in this outdoor living room with views of mature trees. At the same time, the deck itself is also the roof of another outdoor room, sheltered from rain but open to engage the community.

Shaded outdoor room: wood pavers add textural interest; furniture pieces by Orca Living.

Two swing chairs for lounging and waving at the neighbors.

a cool respite from the summer heat

Instead of a dark underbelly of exposed wood beams plus multiple posts and braces, the area in front of the entry door is now a covered terrace with two swing chairs, intriguing sculpture/furniture pieces, and an innovative floor of Black Locust pavers set in gravel. Having a south orientation, this area can get very hot. This shaded outdoor room offers a cool respite from the high summer sun. The clean space has only two slender steel posts and no exposed beams. The existing mundane plantings are replaced with artful clusters and a cascading series of concrete steps punctuated by thin lighting strips.

An inviting modern front porch

continuity of the design language

After ten years, the bL designers aim to pick up where we left off: that the exterior reflects the continuity of the language of the interior (see Laurel Avenue Residence). Our enduring interest in the interplay of light and solid, tactility and ductility is seen at the top of the concrete steps where they meet the terrace. The top riser serves to retain the gravel and wood pavers; the concrete retaining wall which forms the border of the terrace embraces everything and welcomes a visitor to the home.