Before & After: Fresh Finishes Bring a Bay Area Eichler Into the Future

As soon as homeowner Firdaus Tan saw the view through the central atrium of an aging midcentury home for sale in San Mateo, California—a sweeping vista of the verdant highlands and reservoir beyond—he knew it was the house for him and his wife, Stella. "It was nostalgic for me, because my first time ever visiting California from Chicago, I drove down Highway 280 through those rolling hills," recalls Firdaus, who now works in tech in Silicon Valley. "That was the moment I truly understood what makes California special."