Orinda Mediterranean Restoration
This was a Spanish/Mediterranian Style home in Orinda that didn't live up to its location or potential. Guests drove right into the courtyard, and there was no lower floor access out to the back yard area. All the interiors were 8 foot high flat ceilings, and the kitchen was very small and dark with no family seating.
We were able to design a guest parking area near the street, gate the entry court for privacy, open a lower floor media room to the rear yard, and add drilled pier shoring to the foundation on the downhill side.
Inside we raised the living room and kitchen ceilings using steel ridge beams and deeper joists to accommodate new R-30 insulation. The small dark kitchen, dining and breakfast rooms were combined into one "great" room, and a new stairway was cut in down to the media room below. All the windows and doors are new.
Copyright © 2003 William Simpson, Architect A.I.A. All Rights Reserved.
