The original residence was a 2480 SF Ranch Style house built in 1977 with small subdivided rooms and a dark 3 foot wide central hallway. At the northwest end a spacious living room with high ceilings was cut into two dysfunctional halves by an oversized cultured stone fireplace, with 8 foot ceilings beneath standard prefabricated trusses elsewhere. On the exterior the broadside approach to the house presented an eclectic mix of window shapes, T-111 siding, cultured stone, and imitation terracotta roofing tile.

The remodeling objective was to first, better define the entry and integrate the building with its surroundings and second, liberate the interior spaces held hostage by the central hallway and behemoth fireplace.

A free-standing screen wall with openings strategically located to provide privacy, views and well-defined entry becomes the new facade. The existing gables are extended as trellises to create shaded outdoor patios off the living room and home office.

Inside the fireplace and logjam of walls near the entry were removed to accommodate a freestanding 14 foot square skylit kitchen element that extends thorough the roof, is rotated 45  to the plan, and is open on three sides to the surrounding spaces. Light from a 7 foot pyramidial skylight is intercepted by truncated, perforated metal screens which both diffuse the light coming down into the kitchen and deflect it into the adjoining spaces. There is no air-conditioning so summer heat is bled off via four ventilation chimneys that extract hot air from the kitchen, now the highest volume in the house. At the opposite end of the house the home office is similarly rotated 45  creating corners for entry, library, sewing, computer station and view/patio access.