The Owners approached me to redesign their existing home and transform it from what they considered a “4” to an “8 or 9” on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of the quality of design. This transformation included the spatial volumes, the natural light, the views, the details, the finishes & materials, the fixtures & equipment and the basic layout. The entrance to the home has a new covered porch with articulated steel columns and a wood beamed ceiling and a new oak and bronze front door. An interior entry hall links the Family Room, Kitchen and a new glass enclosed Dining Room on one end and the Master Bedroom suite at the other end. Behind the wall of the Entry Hallis a Living Room and a glass walled Wine Room that has a common wall with Entry Hall. A new dormer window over the Entry Hall providesa tall ceiling and natural light to this entry. The existing stair that extended down into an awkward central living room was reoriented to serve the house better. The new stair is a switch back stair that does not impact the area of the living room. This stair has a new dormer window above the landing to bring natural light into the stair hall. The kitchen, pantry and Family Room were completely redesignedwith new cabinets, appliances, and finishes. A new steel moment frame was installed in the end wall of the Family Room allowing this wall to open up to a new glass enclosed Dining Room. This room has large four panel bi-parting sliding glass doors that open up to an existing pool and views the vineyards beyond Part of this redesign included moving the master bedroom from the second floor down to the ground floor. The master bedroom was relocated at the end of the house along with a new master bathroom and master closet. A new outdoor spa with a shaded trellis above is accessed from the bathroom. Sliding panels can provide privacy for this spa when desired. A covered outdoor shower is accessed from the indoor shower. The outdoor shower also connects to the spa area. A new stone walled sitting area links directly to the Master Bedroom and is covered with a new trellis with woven willow panels. The second floor consists of two bedrooms each with their own bathroom. One bedroom has a small kitchenette and an exterior entry stair that can serve as a separate unit for a housekeeper or visitor. A large terrace that serves both bedrooms has a trellis with woven willow above. This terrace is located above the Dining Room. The existing stone veneer had its mortar set way back that emphasized each individual stone and not the whole stone wall as one entity. To make it more wall like the mortar was pulled out to be face flush with the stone. This change transformed the overall look of the house. The existing house had been renovated house in several stages over the years. First a one story with flat roofs, later new sloped roofs built directly on top of the flat roof without removing the old roof. A second story addition was later added with sloping roofs. During the renovation, all of the roofs over the one story portion were removed to create all new volumes within the major rooms. Skylights were added over the Living Room, the laundry Room and the Master Bathroom. A new dormer was added over the entry hall to bring in natural light and create more dramatic Entry Hall. All interior walls removed, exterior doors and windows were removed leaving only openings. Precast door and window surrounds and quoins at the corners were removed and replaced with stone corners and precast concrete lintels. A new rectilinear opening into the second floor bathroom was added in place of a round window. All plumbing, fixtures, lighting fixtures, HVAC units were replaced. A new audio/visual system and a new central vacuum system were installed throughout the house. Schmitt + Company, General Contractors Eric Martinez, Photographer