Atrium - AFTER
Example of a mid-sized 1960s courtyard deck design in San Francisco with decking and no cover

Living Room and Family Room are one large room with a vaulted ceiling separated by a brick fireplace pillar. New skylights are double insulated with safety glass. The challenge was the technical work required to install a vaulted skylight. All new trims, baseboards and doors in the redone living room. All new, modern lighting was installed. Heated du chateau flooring was added. Bruce Damonte Photography

Bathroom - 1950s bathroom idea in San Francisco

How do you expand an L shaped Eichler with the challenge of extending a long dark entry? Klopf Architecture's solution, to design a light filled atrium in the hallway to open up the bedroom expansion with green plants, sky lights and a glass wall. Not to mention the thoughtfulness of a blind door with wood siding similar to the rest of the home. Klopf Architecture Project Team: John Klopf, AIA, Geoff Campen, Jeffrey Prose, and Angela Todorova Contractor: William Lowe Construction Photography ©2013 Mariko Reed Location: Palo Alto, CA Year completed: 2013

Photo © Bruce Damonte
Front door - 1950s front door idea in San Francisco with a yellow front door

©Assassi Productions 2013
Mid-century modern exterior home idea in San Francisco

Eichler in Marinwood - The primary organizational element of the interior is the kitchen. Embedded within the simple post and beam structure, the kitchen was conceived as a programmatic block from which we would carve in order to contribute to both sense of function and organization. photo: scott hargis

Inspiration for a small 1950s single-wall black floor dedicated laundry room remodel in San Francisco with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, white walls, a side-by-side washer/dryer and gray countertops

View of the family room from the backyard. Floor to ceiling windows allow maximum light and a feeling of openness that brings the outside in. All new trims, baseboards and doors in the redone family room. All new, modern lighting was installed. Heated du chateau flooring was added. The fireplace was reconfigured to allow for a wide-screen TV on the family room side of this vaulted, open space. Bruce Damonte Photography

Inspiration for a mid-century modern galley vinyl floor eat-in kitchen remodel in San Francisco with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, concrete countertops, blue backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Mariko Reed Architectural Photography
Open concept kitchen - 1950s galley open concept kitchen idea in San Francisco with white cabinets, yellow backsplash and an island

1950s bathroom photo in San Francisco

The owners dreamed of an Eichler remodel they would live in forever. Their vision was contemporary and open. Klopf Architecture would design, and reconfigure bathrooms/laundry areas and upgrade systems to be more efficient. This talented executive mother of five decorated and furnished the home herself. Architecture: Klopf Architecture Contractor: Flegel Construction Photography © 2014 Mariko Reed Location: Burlingame, CA Year completed: 2014

Klopf Architecture, Arterra Landscape Architects and Henry Calvert of Calvert Ventures Designed and built a new warm, modern, Eichler-inspired, open, indoor-outdoor home on a deeper-than-usual San Mateo Highlands property where an original Eichler house had burned to the ground. The owners wanted multi-generational living and larger spaces than the original home offered, but all parties agreed that the house should respect the neighborhood and blend in stylistically with the other Eichlers. At first the Klopf team considered re-using what little was left of the original home and expanding on it. But after discussions with the owner and builder, all parties agreed that the last few remaining elements of the house were not practical to re-use, so Klopf Architecture designed a new home that pushes the Eichler approach in new directions. One disadvantage of Eichler production homes is that the house designs were not optimized for each specific lot. A new custom home offered the team a chance to start over. In this case, a longer house that opens up sideways to the south fit the lot better than the original square-ish house that used to open to the rear (west). Accordingly, the Klopf team designed an L-shaped “bar” house with a large glass wall with large sliding glass doors that faces sideways instead of to the rear like a typical Eichler. This glass wall opens to a pool and landscaped yard designed by Arterra Landscape Architects. Driving by the house, one might assume at first glance it is an Eichler because of the horizontality, the overhanging flat roof eaves, the dark gray vertical siding, and orange solid panel front door, but the house is designed for the 21st Century and is not meant to be a “Likeler.” You won't see any posts and beams in this home. Instead, the ceiling decking is a western red cedar that covers over all the beams. Like Eichlers, this cedar runs continuously from inside to out, enhancing the indoor / outdoor feeling of the house, but unlike Eichlers it conceals a cavity for lighting, wiring, and insulation. Ceilings are higher, rooms are larger and more open, the master bathroom is light-filled and more generous, with a separate tub and shower and a separate toilet compartment, and there is plenty of storage. The garage even easily fits two of today's vehicles with room to spare. A massive 49-foot by 12-foot wall of glass and the continuity of materials from inside to outside enhance the inside-outside living concept, so the owners and their guests can flow freely from house to pool deck to BBQ to pool and back. During construction in the rough framing stage, Klopf thought the front of the house appeared too tall even though the house had looked right in the design renderings (probably because the house is uphill from the street). So Klopf Architecture paid the framer to change the roofline from how we had designed it to be lower along the front, allowing the home to blend in better with the neighborhood. One project goal was for people driving up the street to pass the home without immediately noticing there is an "imposter" on this lot, and making that change was essential to achieve that goal. This 2,606 square foot, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom Eichler-inspired new house is located in San Mateo in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Klopf Architecture Project Team: John Klopf, AIA, Klara Kevane Landscape Architect: Arterra Landscape Architects Contractor: Henry Calvert of Calvert Ventures Photography ©2016 Mariko Reed Location: San Mateo, CA Year completed: 2016

The original kitchen was reconfigured allowing for a large dining area, suitable for children's projects as well. Custom cabinets were installed. Features include a breakfast counter, sprayed conversion lacquer coating and Caesar Stone counter tops with a waterfall edge. All new trims, baseboards, doors, modern lighting and heated, du chateau floors were installed. Bruce Damonte Photography

This large dining area in the eat-in kitchen area allows for flexible entertaining. Custom cabinets were installed in the kitchen. Features include a breakfast counter, sprayed conversion lacquer coating and Caesar Stone counter tops with a waterfall edge. All new trims, baseboards, doors, modern lighting and heated, du chateau floors were installed. Bruce Damonte Photography

Chalkboard paint on the hall closet doors gives kids the freedom to create. All new doors, trims and baseboards. New du chateau, heated flooring. Bruce Damonte Photography

Eichler in Marinwood - At the larger scale of the property existed a desire to soften and deepen the engagement between the house and the street frontage. As such, the landscaping palette consists of textures chosen for subtlety and granularity. Spaces are layered by way of planting, diaphanous fencing and lighting. The interior engages the front of the house by the insertion of a floor to ceiling glazing at the dining room. Jog-in path from street to house maintains a sense of privacy and sequential unveiling of interior/private spaces. This non-atrium model is invested with the best aspects of the iconic eichler configuration without compromise to the sense of order and orientation. photo: scott hargis

Frontyard - AFTER
Inspiration for a 1950s gray one-story flat roof remodel in San Francisco