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Oakland, CA – Home Design for Local Home Owner | Residential Architectural News

BY: Andrea Sessa, studio M MERGE

Residential Remodel 

by studio M MERGE


Phase Two of this beautiful Piedmont home included the transformation of the former kitchen and a series of hallways, cut off from the Living Room, into an open, light filled space with access to the outdoors and living spaces.

The owners, an avid cook and wine enthusiast, needed a kitchen for cooking and entertaining. The space also needed to support the activity of three children, one of whom is quickly becoming an impressive baker. Seating at the island and a side kitchen nook table, with views to the garden, provide casual places to gather.

A large island and ample counter space provide sufficient prep space. Storage is almost exclusively handled within lower cabinet drawers (not cabinets) for ease of use and to keep the upper portion of the room open, simple and filled with light. A ‘pantry’ space is located in the far left corner, near a 2nd sink, see photos and further description below.

The back corner of the kitchen space was designed as the ‘pantry’. In design we considered creating a separate room, with doors to separate the food storage from the main kitchen. The owner preferred an open floor plan and easy access to food storage for the entire family. This is the only portion of the kitchen with upper cabinets, which houses food staples and snacks.  It also serves as the area for morning coffee.

A translucent window to the right provides privacy from the neighbor’s front door and allows diffuse bright light to warm this corner of the kitchen.

Framed artwork on the left hides the electrical sub panel.

The palette of materials for the kitchen spaces include soft white and gray tones, Italian marble, Heath Crease tiles and wood floors. The range hood is slim, emphasizing the horizontal direction of the tile. Floating shelves continue the theme. The tile has minimal cuts, utilizing almost entirely whole tiles, to keep the look clean. The height of the shelves and hood was determined and designed to work with full height tiles, as seen in the photo above.

Connection to Living Room

The former kitchen space was separated by 10 feet of circuitous halls and older built in cabinets and closets. There was no connection to the adjacent Living Room so the family had to walk back around the kitchen through the dining room and front hall to go to the living room. A lack of connection leaves the cook somewhat isolated and creates a situation in which it was hard to keep an eye on the kids. The old cabinetry built-ins and hall was removed and an opening was made in the wall to connect the spaces. Careful attention was paid to match the trim to the original detailing in the home. The opening was made as large as possible while still maintaining enough space to the left for a small desk.

studio M MERGE: Photography Jennifer Love

The former brick fireplace, hearth and mantel were clad in trim and stone. New accordion doors (3 panels) to the left of the table create a direct connection to the new garden, also designed by studio M MERGE.

Connection to Garden

studio M MERGE

The kitchen space now opens directly to the garden patio. A built in bench and fire pit are directly outside, with new stone garden stairs to the right, providing access to the rest of the terraced garden.

studio M MERGE: Photography Marion Brenner

“Best Residential Architect in Oakland, CA”

Top Rated Local Residential Architectural Firm / Home Designers

East Bay Area: Oakland, Berkeley, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Alameda, CA

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“Best Residential Architect in Oakland, CA”

Top Rated Local Residential Architectural Firm / Home Designers

East Bay Area: Oakland, Berkeley, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Alameda, CA

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Andrea Sessa

studio M MERGE

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Location

4134 Woodruff Avenue,
Oakland, CA 94602, USA

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4134 Woodruff Avenue,
Oakland, CA 94602, USA

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BIO: studio M MERGE is a small Residential Architecture and Landscape Architecture firm in the East Bay, providing full professional services from design through permit acquisition, and construction documents.

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Oakland, CA – Home Design for Local Home Owner | Residential Architectural News