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A Ravenhill Studio sconce hangs on the exterior siding.

"A steep or unstable site can make it difficult and costly to seismically retrofit a structure, or stabilize the site,” says Thomas Schaer at SHED Architecture and Design, a Seattle-based firm with extensive experience in adaptive reuse, as well as midcentury remodel. “There also may be land-use code provisions that limit or prevent development on the lot."

The Stahl House has been featured in numerous movies and photoshoots and was immortalized by photographer Julius Shulman.

The design team painted the exterior a dark, charcoal gray and sliced a two-story volume through the facade, removing part of the second floor to create the double-height space.

Before Remodel and After Remodel

Maple plywood casework, white walls, subway tiles - a simple color and material palette was selected by the owners throughout the home.

Original single pane metal windows were replaced throughout the home with more efficient fiberglass windows. Window locations were kept original with the addition of several new openings to bring in more daylighting. A leaking old brick fireplace was framed in and drywalled to improve the air barrier. A new gas insert fireplace was added to the living room.

The remodeled kitchen retained plumbing locations and general layout, but functionality and circulation was improved.

The opening from the kitchen/dining area to the outside was expanded with a bifold door.

Located in Sierra Madre, California, an existing ranch home with clean architectural geometry, was transformed into a contemporary home with an expanded open floor plan, improved circulation and access, and carefully placed clerestory windows. On the exterior, revised garage orientation eliminates excessive driveway paving and reestablishes the front yard as usable space.

The beautifully landscaped backyard of this updated and expanded classic ranch home.

This modern renovation of a traditional ranch-style home maintained the midcentury spirit of the home—and turned it into a showcase for the homeowner's collection of iconic furnishings.

Located in Portola Valley, California, this renovation of a William Wurster Ranch house began with a study of the home’s history. Inspired by original photos of the 1950s home, the renovation refreshed its significant architectural past without detracting from its Wurster essence.

"The most challenging part of the design was fusing the old part of the house with the new addition," says principal architect Alex Terry. The character and architectural integrity of the single-level 1950s ranch house was thoughtfully reconsidered during the addition and remodel. The home’s front porch, typical of the period, was refreshed with Ipe decking and railing.

Renovated from a 1940s ranch-style home, with many of the original materials used in the reconstruction, the homeowners love the self-reliance afforded by generating thermal energy and their rooftop garden. Photo: John Clark

Architect Brian White clad the new second story of his formerly dark and cramped ranch-style home with a black-stained cedar rain screen. The large opaque window lights up the stairwell and the second floor.

The pergola was removed, the exterior wall opened up, and a new dining room added. The 12-foot-long sliding pocket doors manufactured by Western Window Systems recede all the way into the wall for total indoor/outdoor flow. The new patio received cement tile—the Arc pattern from Clé Tile—its black and white palette coordinating with the new white paint and black window frames of the exterior.