Projects like this one only come around once in a while. An unexpected blend of history, craftsmanship, thoughtful design, and forward-thinking vision came together to transform a quirky, aging Santa Cruz Harbor-area building into a one-of-a-kind home with legacy and soul.

Originally built in the early 1900s, the two-story structure began life as a symmetrical duplex, split cleanly down the middle with a mirrored floor plan. Over the decades, it morphed into a multi-tenant rental property, gaining a maze of ad-hoc walls, doorways, and modifications along the way. Until finally transforming into a single-family residence by its previous owners.

When the most recent homeowner purchased the building, they saw past the fractured layout and imagined a cohesive, comfortable forever home — a place to age in place, celebrate their community, and showcase a lifetime collection of art and artifacts from their travels around the globe. The space was totally re-imagined and reconfigured to accommodate more central gather spaces, better access to natural light in every room, and expertly engineered home systems lilke radiant-heat floors, two fireplaces, a magnificent central skylight, and a home elevator.