Quiet, friendly, safe—suburbia wouldn’t be such a bad place to live if it weren’t filled with lifeless suburban homes. Just south of San Rafael, California, in leafy Larkspur, John Lum Architecture and Mansfield + O’Neil Interior Design found a set of clients who had fallen head over heels for a wooded hillside plot, but loathed the cramped three-bedroom house that sat on it.

Together, they embarked on a complete remodel to make the space lighter and more fluid. Interior partitions were demolished to create an efficient floor plan. A linear skylight now follows the path of an original hallway, bisecting the home with a band of daylight. The sense of airiness is enhanced by crisp white paint, simple furniture, and earth-toned textiles, artworks, and objects.

The result is an unexpectedly modern gem that can embrace all the natural wonder suburbia has to offer through a wall of windows angled toward the street.