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Thse clients came to me for a kitchen refresh. Keeping the existing floor plan but updating as much as possible. After explaining my thoughts, they chose to go with a much larger project. The wall to the garage wash pushed bach 12" to allow for the island to happen. This almost couldn't happen as there is a support post in the garage we had to keep. I designed the last pantry area as on 10" deep, allowing us to conceal that behind the cabinets. Then, we opend up the wall to the dining room to make the rooms one large space. The wall to the family room was also openend up, leaving the half wall to allow for the kitchen eating area. They wanted to incorporate a bar area, without it feeling like a "bar" The fabulous tall custom unit houses their wine collection and then half of the dining room buffet area holds glassware and other bar items. I helped the clients with all of the design choices.We all wanted to keep the space classic, war, functional and with mixed materials. I chose to use the same countertop material for the backsplash, to keep the space feeling as large as possible.

Over the years, we have created hundreds of dream homes for our clients. We make it our job to get inside the hearts and minds of our clients so we can fully understand their aesthetic preferences, project constraints, and – most importantly – lifestyles. Our portfolio includes a wide range of architectural styles including Neo-Colonial, Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, and the ever-popular New England Cape (just to name a few). Our creativity and breadth of experience open up a world of design and layout possibilities to our clientele. From single-story living to grand scale homes, historical preservation to modern interpretations, the big design concepts to the smallest details, everything we do is driven by one desire: to create a home that is even more perfect that you thought possible. Photo Credit: Cynthia August

Recycling and reusing as many materials as possible was a way to bring the past and present harmoniously together. Recycled windows and doors were used, and even a section of the original beaded tongue and groove wall in the laundry. Everything needed to be authentic to the original design, and existing materials were used whereever possible.

Built for the Bluff, A Sea Ranch Home is Remade from the Inside Out The house had always been grounded, on an ocean bluff at The Sea Ranch. It sits unencumbered, adjacent to one of the most dramatic stretches of the Sonoma coast with protected commons meadow to the east, uninterrupted Pacific views to the west, and a bluff trail running alongside. What it lacked was the feeling of home, one that could hold up its own against the natural landscape. The owners are entrepreneurs with deep involvement across tech, real estate, and development and they know how things are built. The Sea Ranch house had been in their lives for years, a second residence and a place for family to gather. Built for a different time, it felt more compromising than comfortable. Sitting in a closed off nook, the kitchen fit one cook at a time and turned its back on the rest of the house. The entry was dim and compressed, divided by a structural column that presented itself at exactly the wrong moment. The primary suite was small relative to the view outside it. A large rear bedroom sat behind a lowered ceiling with a bathroom that had never been added. The house was certainly worth the trouble of doing it right. What followed was not one project but four, each with its own design challenge, each addressed over a period of time. Where the House Meets the Ocean The most complex piece of the project, in both structural and spatial terms, was the kitchen expansion. The existing room was a single-person galley squeezed in as an afterthought with no meaningful connection to the dining room, the living space, or the deck outside. To make it useful for a family that cooks and gathers, it needed to grow outward into an existing patio and flow into the rooms around it. A big challenge was the roofline. Several planes at different pitches and angles converged directly where additional volume was needed. A new form had to join that geometry without reading as a correction. The solution found the simplest possible connection between the existing angles, a roofline that from outside the structure, appears entirely original. From the bluff trail where the addition is visible, there is no discernible seam. Inside, the kitchen is now open to the living and dining rooms without interruption. A large sliding glass door connects the space onto the rear deck. The deck itself was expanded and oriented so that the body of the house shields it from the coastal wind which is a common consideration that determines whether outdoor space at The Sea Ranch actually gets used. The result is a room that works for large family gatherings where no one feels cutoff, and one that makes the boundary between being inside and outside easy to ignore. Welcoming Light A structural column stood at the convergence of eight distinct roof planes in the entry. It was load-bearing, but it was also the reason the entry had always felt like a hallway rather than a welcoming arrival. With the structural engineer, a custom steel connector was designed to receive beams from six separate directions, redistributing the load through a single new continuous beam. The column was surgically removed. Three triangular skylights were then cut into the roof above, their shapes drawn from the existing geometry of the planes around them. The entry is now bright and open. The skylights feel native to the structure because they follow the logic already present in the roof. Two Suites, Two Views At opposite ends of the house, the two bedroom suites were each reconfigured, and each found a different way to introduce more of the landscape into the room. An addition to the primary suite extended the structure outward to create a wraparound plan with a loop from the bedroom through bath and closet that had not been possible before. The expansion opened a slot view from the tub and shower toward the ocean. The view is precise and private. The ocean view is present and deliberate. The rear bedroom absorbed an adjacent storage room to transform it into a full second suite with a vaulted ceiling, a large bathroom with a tub, a shower, and a sauna. A private fenced garden courtyard sits just beyond the glass bringing the outdoors inside. The tub was placed so that, looking past the courtyard and through the bedroom beyond, the ocean is visible at the far end. It is a long view and it makes the room feel larger and more settled than its footprint would suggest. Glass on Four Sides, Fire at the Center The main living and gathering room had always been caught between two competing facts: glass on four sides meant exceptional views but at The Sea Ranch, it also meant a cold room. A 360-degree cylindrical fireplace was added at the center on a raised stone base, providing radiant heat in every direction and giving the room a focal point around which a group naturally orients itself, whether that means two people at the end of the day or the whole family after dinner. Owners Who Picked Up the Tools The owner was not a passive client. they came with construction knowledge, specific ideas, and the desire to be an active part of the process, a dynamic that other architects may had found difficult, which Klopf Architecture accepted as an asset. They took it upon themselves to complete some of the work during construction, including the installation of a new radiant heating system beneath the floors. The radiant system added to the older and less-desirable forced-air setup. At The Sea Ranch, that change matters as the house sits close enough to the ocean and moving air competes with the sound of it, where radiant heat does not. Solar panels were added to the roof as part of the new system. Insulation was upgraded throughout the walls, roof, and crawl space. The house that had always had the right setting now holds warmth the way a house on the bluff should. They were also deeply involved in the design and selections throughout, and the finished house reflects both of them in ways that are specific rather than generic. The process took longer and moved through more iterations than a more arms-length relationship might have allowed. The result is more defined and personal because of it. The Landscape Holds Priority Every exterior decision was shaped by The Sea Ranch Design Standards, which require that buildings defer to the landscape around them rather than compete with it. Because this house sits on the bluff and is visible from the public trail, the additions faced a close review. Existing materials were matched. Geometries were resolved. The additions had to become indistinguishable from the original building. From the trail, the house reads exactly as it always has — low, cedar-clad, secondary to the meadow and the water. The setting holds priority. Inside, the house has been remade. Klopf Architecture Project Team: Geoff Campen and Trenton Jewett
Contractor: Shawn Bettega Construction
Photography: ©2025 Mariko Reed
Year Completed: 2023
Location: The Sea Ranch, CA

We honored the building’s history where possible, keeping original bones and character wherever possible, then layered in the clients’ distinct creative identity. On the main floor, we designed spaces that shift seamlessly from workday to reception-ready. Lighting was planned with intention, to preserve the original plaster ceilings and spotlight rotating installations without sacrificing ambient warmth. Custom built-ins maximize functionality while maintaining a distinctly un-officey feel. Upstairs, the artist apartment is a thoughtful retreat: adaptable, light-filled, and comfortable, with just enough quirk to spark inspiration. Even the basement—home to a full photography studio and workroom—balances technical needs with aesthetic ease. Throughout, we used color, texture, and collected pieces to ensure each room feels curated, not staged. Personal, not polished.

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We honored the building’s history where possible, keeping original bones and character wherever possible, then layered in the clients’ distinct creative identity. On the main floor, we designed spaces that shift seamlessly from workday to reception-ready. Lighting was planned with intention, to preserve the original plaster ceilings and spotlight rotating installations without sacrificing ambient warmth. Custom built-ins maximize functionality while maintaining a distinctly un-officey feel. Upstairs, the artist apartment is a thoughtful retreat: adaptable, light-filled, and comfortable, with just enough quirk to spark inspiration. Even the basement—home to a full photography studio and workroom—balances technical needs with aesthetic ease. Throughout, we used color, texture, and collected pieces to ensure each room feels curated, not staged. Personal, not polished.

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We honored the building’s history where possible, keeping original bones and character wherever possible, then layered in the clients’ distinct creative identity. On the main floor, we designed spaces that shift seamlessly from workday to reception-ready. Lighting was planned with intention, to preserve the original plaster ceilings and spotlight rotating installations without sacrificing ambient warmth. Custom built-ins maximize functionality while maintaining a distinctly un-officey feel. Upstairs, the artist apartment is a thoughtful retreat: adaptable, light-filled, and comfortable, with just enough quirk to spark inspiration. Even the basement—home to a full photography studio and workroom—balances technical needs with aesthetic ease. Throughout, we used color, texture, and collected pieces to ensure each room feels curated, not staged. Personal, not polished.

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We honored the building’s history where possible, keeping original bones and character wherever possible, then layered in the clients’ distinct creative identity. On the main floor, we designed spaces that shift seamlessly from workday to reception-ready. Lighting was planned with intention, to preserve the original plaster ceilings and spotlight rotating installations without sacrificing ambient warmth. Custom built-ins maximize functionality while maintaining a distinctly un-officey feel. Upstairs, the artist apartment is a thoughtful retreat: adaptable, light-filled, and comfortable, with just enough quirk to spark inspiration. Even the basement—home to a full photography studio and workroom—balances technical needs with aesthetic ease. Throughout, we used color, texture, and collected pieces to ensure each room feels curated, not staged. Personal, not polished.

High vaulted ceilings with exposed beams bring a warm, open feel to the room. Planked wood ceiling softens the space, while the stacked stone fireplace draws your eye all the way up, visually connecting the entire room. The seating layout is generous and inviting—coordinated but never too matchy—layered with a mix of textures and materials in the tables and accents.

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This beautiful home addition is a natural extension of the original home -- with a master bedroom, large walk-in closet, master bathroom with separate shower, tub, and water closet, and a large home office, it has all the comforts of a suite perfect for aging in place or multi-generational living.