Megan Blaine is no stranger to Eichlers. The architect and cofounder of Blaine Architects has remodeled many Bay Area homes built by the midcentury developer—and she even lives in one herself. So when new clients reached out about this 1959 Eichler in Sunnyvale, she looked beyond its run-of-the-mill design, and started imagining something extraordinary.

The home is one of 275 homes built at the same time—mostly courtyard and atrium models with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and little variation between them. “There was nothing in particular that really stood out with this home,” says Blaine. “In Eichler neighborhoods, every third or fourth house is exactly the same, so this was just one of those.”

Before: Front Facade

The clients had moved to the Bay Area from Southern California, and they discovered Eichlers by chance via their first rental. They loved the natural light, the glass, and the simplicity—so they made the leap and purchased one in 2020. “It wasn’t too dramatic or fancy with its grid of beams and posts,” says the owner. “It was almost like a real-life Lego house.” They reached out to Blaine for a kitchen remodel, as they often cook and needed more prep space and storage. From there, the scope gradually grew.

“Over the next couple weeks, they thought, ‘let’s add a Zen pavilion to our front courtyard,’” says Blaine. “They wanted this meditation pavilion to feel like an Eichler and look like an Eichler, and be a place that's isolated from traffic and the urban environment.”

The plan further blossomed to include a 545-square-foot addition with an independent studio that fronts the street and connects to the original home via a wide corridor with a reading nook. With the new floor plan in place, Blaine explored different rooflines for the studio. “The client wanted something that was recognizable and distinct,” says Blaine. “The design challenge there is, how do you do that when every third or fourth house is exactly the same?”

After: Front Facade

They ultimately opted to cap the studio with a shed roof that slopes in the opposite direction of a typical Eichler roofline. “Then we contextualized that design and made it fit into the neighborhood by focusing on and maintaining the original Eichler detailing,” says Blaine, referencing the angle of the roof’s slope and the studio’s generous eaves, clerestory glass, and vertical siding.

The addition created a new open-air atrium at the center of the home—another nod to traditional Eichlers—enclosed by three original glass doors and two new ones.

Before: Courtyard

After: Courtyard

“Because Eichler homes are all built together at the same time, they have the exact same details repeated over and over again,” says Blaine. “We were really keen on keeping those details intact with the new part of the building.” This approach extends to the exterior siding, eaves and beams, and how the window glass is set into the structure to create a sense of depth.

After: Studio

After: Reading Nook

Inside, Blaine set a light and soothing tone with whitewashed cork floors, fluted tile, and custom white oak millwork. “The idea of the meditation pavilion also surfaced in the interior design,” says Blaine. “The client wanted a Zen space.”

It’s also light in terms of its environmental footprint. “This is my first all-electric Eichler,” says Blaine. Instead of a boiler, a heat pump warms the radiant heated concrete floors—and the home has plenty of solar panels and battery storage. In fact, when the power went out for three days due to a recent storm, it was the only house on the block that wasn’t affected. “Their lives were not interrupted by them getting cut off from the grid,” says Blaine.

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

According to architect August Strotz, who worked on Eichler homes in the 1950s, “the atrium had a tremendous influence on the family life”—and that’s proven to be true for Blaine’s clients. The kids can lounge in the reading nook while one parent cooks in the kitchen and the other works in the office—and they can still interact with a smile or wave. “Although we are in different spaces, we can all see each other through the glass,” says the owner. “We’re all connected.”

Before: Rear Facade

After: Rear Facade

After: Primary Bathroom

After: Office

More Before & After stories:

Fresh Finishes Bring a Bay Area Eichler Into the Future

New Homeowners Join the Eichler Fan Club With Their First Remodel

An Eichler Swaps a Chopped-Up Layout for Connected, Colorful Spaces

Project Credits:

Architect: Blaine Architects / @blainearchitects

Builder: KeyCon Inc

Structural Engineering: 4X Engineering

Landscape Design: Q-Gardens

Interior Design: Blaine Architects

Sound Engineer: Zettacomm

Cabinetry: IKD

Appears In

Before & After: With a Crisp Addition, a Cookie-Cutter Eichler Breaks Out of Its Shell