Project posted by Agnieszka Jakubowicz
Custom railing at the front balcony with special hardware added the necessary street-side “shield”, privacy effect while mimicking ancient crafts.
The exterior cedar siding was stained solid at the front of the house and semitransparent at the rear, where a more natural landscape called for a more organic feel.
An entry screen wall with concealed lighting resembles the Shoji art of paneling.
The Italian wood curved fascia railing for the new stair proves that modern doesn't need be stark or predictable.
Double-sided fireplace serves as a divider between the spaces.
Elongated skylight slits matching the bi-folding doors' length gave a tree-dimensional touch to the light entering the main space.
A custom panelized and uniform ensemble of cabinets, appliances container and hidden push-release door, hides the powder room in the center of the public space.
Different materials on the floor meet each other where they better felt, not at room delineations.
Joyful color accents brighten the space.
Owners' daughter claimed this hidden under-stair storage for her toys.
Exterior before picture
Credits
From Agnieszka Jakubowicz
The overall shape of this colonial house in Palo Alto was barely modified, yet, in the words of Acadia Architecture principal, Davide Gianella, there's always the opportunity for originality in any adobe.
After all its original creation had probably good intentions.
The tension toward something better and more expressive is always already there, just dormant.
It is designers work to pull it out and make it spouse the spirit of the people who will enliven that
intensified space.
In this case, a stylized yet playful, joyful atmosphere is what the architect felt would better drape the cheerful family who would move in it.