Project Profile – First Bay Architecture

First Bay Architecture has had the good fortune to have a very busy few years building/rebuilding new homes throughout the greater Bay Area with terrific, appreciative and thoughtful clientele.

The St. Helena remodel, privately located on a flag lot surrounded by vineyards and gardens, was completed in October 2019. The house was originally built in the 1980s as a unintentionally chaotic version of a farmhouse. The new owner loved the front porch and the views. The owner had previously remodeled other homes she owned but was perplexed about how to solve the awkward elevations and the interior mess. The original house had tall ceilings and low windows and doors and a large porch roof that surrounded the house, all creating an interior which felt isolated from the landscape and sunlight.

The new house maintains all the positive intent of the original house and solves the mishmash of the original. Stripped to the studs, all the rooms were reconfigured and rationalized and finished with stunning interior details. New windows and doors were in better scale to the interior and the porch, allowing in light and views. The original dormers were enlarged to allow sight to the magnificent views of the surrounding rolling hills and vineyards. Skylights were discretely inserted to bring light into dim corners. The front porch lost its unnecessary railings and was refinished with a new ceiling to focus the sight spaces and allow for lighting and sound and to make the volume to more closely connect to the landscape.

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