Ranch House Gets a Bright Midcentury Modern Remodel

“After” photos by David Duncan Livingston

House at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four
Location: Fairfax, California
Size: 1,700 square feet (158 square meters); three bedrooms, three bathrooms
Architect: Craig O’Connell

Before: “The house is basically a ranch with a rumpus room over the garage,” O’Connell says. Though it was built in the 1950s, the home had a style that wasn’t exactly the midcentury modern the homeowners were looking for. And as parents of two toddlers, they also wanted it to better fit their lifestyle. The architect started his plans soon after they closed on the property, and the renovations took about a year.

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After: The biggest changes to the exterior were painting the existing siding, replacing the windows with fixed and casement windows that are mullion-free, and adding a modern garage door with translucent glass panes. The existing chimney and roof were in great shape. Grass Roots Landscaping designed and installed the new landscaping.

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After: O’Connell replaced the front door and sidelights with a slab door and one sidelight composed of beveled privacy glass. The front entrance sets the tone for the home. The cheerful turquoise door reveals the homeowners’ love of color, the new house numerals are in a midcentury font and the new sidelight adds style. The homeowners found the welcoming vintage peacock at the Alameda flea market.

After: O’Connell had the mantel removed and added matching brick tiles to extend the fireplace surround all the way to the ceiling. Then he had them painted white and added a simple modern wood mantel.

The remodel gave the homeowners a clean slate. They layered modern furnishings with pops of playful color. Midcentury and midcentury-inspired pieces include the amoeba-shaped coffee table, the turquoise armchair, the planter near the door and the colorful bottles. One of the homeowners’ parents is artist Ernesto Sanchez, and the mask on the wall is one of his pieces.

The remodeled front entry area can be seen on the right.

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Beyond the living room is the kitchen. “There were three different types of flooring in the house before. We thought about keeping one and trying to match it throughout, but the homeowners wanted to add radiant heat in the floors so we replaced them all,” O’Connell says. The new floors are an engineered white oak.

Before: The kitchen was partially open to the dining room.

After: O’Connell removed the rest of the wall between the kitchen and dining room to make a larger opening. He installed a 20-foot-long support beam over the island to make up for removing the load-bearing wall.

The style of the kitchen is clean-lined and minimalist. All of the cabinetry is custom and the wood is walnut. Note the meticulous bookmatching across the island (in which the grain of the wood continues from one cabinet to the next). The pros at Hopebuilt crafted all of the cabinetry in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Before: On the other side of the load-bearing wall that O’Connell removed was a past-its-prime wet bar.

After: With two little ones in the house, an island with seating for the whole family was a better fit than a wet bar. Now the view from the dining area to the kitchen is clear. Family members can pull up on this side of the island and keep the cook company.

The cooking area has a functional work triangle between the sink in the island, the fridge (hidden behind matching panels on the left) and the range. White Caesarstone countertops and small, rectangular white tiles laid in a grid pattern on the backsplash continue the modern, minimalist look.

The existing skylight was a great asset, as it’s the main source of natural light in the kitchen. It was in good shape and didn’t need to be replaced.

At the far end of the kitchen is command central. The pantry is on the left and the counter serves as a bar for coffee and other drinks. There’s a wine fridge, a charging drawer and another drawer designated for keeping the household organized.

The dining room has a wide view of the backyard.

Three sliding doors ease indoor-outdoor California living. When open, the doors are hidden from the dining room view behind the exterior wall.

Before: The existing doors had a more traditional look.

After: O’Connell replaced the existing concrete patio with square white tiles and added new outdoor lighting.

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There are three bedrooms on the main floor. In the master, O’Connell replaced wall-to-wall carpeting with the radiant-heat engineered hardwoods and replaced mullioned windows with clear ones. Wall-mounted reading sconces maintain the minimalist look.

Before: This shower stall in the master bathroom was a tight squeeze and the room felt cramped.

After: “By changing the layout we were able to make room for a nice, ample shower,” O’Connell says. He moved the shower to the end of the room to create a roomy stall complete with a rain shower head and replaced the window with a smaller, higher one for privacy. The shower floor is cedar and the surround is covered in an elongated white subway tile with matching grout.

The custom floating vanity opens up floor space, making the room feel larger. The beautiful wall-mounted faucet was on the homeowners’ must-have list, and it saves countertop space. A round mirror and globe sconces throw a few curves at all the straight lines in the room. O’Connell tucked a wall-hung toilet in the corner just out of view on the left.

Before: There’s a large rumpus room over the garage that has its own full bathroom.

After: The space has new flooring and new windows, and it’s one the whole family enjoys. O’Connell made it a multipurpose space by adding a Murphy bed, seen put away here on the left. “The homeowners’ in-laws use this as a guest suite when they stay,” he says.

Contractor: Spyder Petersen of Petersen & Son General Contractor

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