Diary of a remodel - part one: We take you behind the scenes in the first of a three-part series - Sunset Special Section - home remodeling project

Sunset, April, 2002 by Ann Bertelsen

Because more of our readers will remodel their houses than build new ones, we decided to embark on our own remodeling project this year. Our Sunset Idea House Team partnered with a local builder, architect, designers, and sponsors to tackle a typical challenge: Take a three-bedroom, one-bath starter from the 1940s and turn it into a house that fits the way our readers live today. We'll be revealing our own challenges and successes through this year and sharing strategies we hope you can use for your own remodel. The adventure begins with developing a design we can all agree on...

Our design diary

WEEK ONE

INITIAL WALK-THROUGH: We tour the 54-year-old, 1,150-square-foot bungalow purchased by builder Mark De Mattei in an eclectic San Jose neighborhood. It sits on a 50- by 150-foot lot.

We meet with architects, interior designers, and landscapers to consider their portfolios and personalities. We finally select a group of team players who seem to be a good fit: professionals who could meet the challenges with a sense of humor. (The complete team is listed on page 127.)

WEEK TWO

TEAM TOUR OF PROJECT: Armed with cameras and notebooks, the design team walks the site to get a feeling for the house, assess the neighborhood, and identify the challenges we face. The three-bedroom, one-bath tract house has a detached garage with a tall redwood tree behind it.

Because we want to preserve the tree, we can t push the garage back for more space. Our design must work with this obstacle. We note other tough problems: The kitchen overlooks the garage and a barren concrete driveway With the front door opening abruptly into the living room, there is no graceful entrance. The rooms are small, and the long, narrow lot offers no pleasing views from the dining room.

WEEKS THREE, FOUR

IDENTIFYING THE SCOPE OF THE REMODEL: Since this is a speculative house that De Mattei will eventually sell, the team develops a fictitious client family, based on the demographics of the area, to help us focus the design. We envisage a professional couple with two young children. The husband and wife often work at home, like to cook and entertain, and enjoy the outdoors. The existing living quarters, single bathroom, and small galley kitchen won't work for their casual, busy lifestyle. We also want an open plan that offers indoor-outdoor living.

The goal is to more than double the size of the house while meeting San Jose's 45 percent building-to-lot ratio. To do that we have to stay pretty much within the existing footprint and add a floor.

WEEK FIVE

DEVELOPING A DESIGN STRATEGY: We spend many hours analyzing the house and its surroundings. We all want the remodel to fit its neighborhood and the broader context of the central California coast. We're inspired by the house's simple front porch, which suggests early-l9th-century Monterey architecture.

The challenge is to combine design with a sense of history and Western character. We opt for a stucco exterior but decide to wrap part of the new addition in environmentally friendly horizontal siding. We select terra-cotta tiles for the roof to echo those found on many of the Spanish-inspired homes in the area.

WEEK SIX

DESIGNING A FLOOR PLAN: Architect Terry Martin gives us two floor plan options; both open up the house along a central axis from front to back. The team ultimately agrees on a 3,364-square-foot plan (see page 124) that includes a dramatic stairwell. The ground floor features the main living areas; the second floor contains bedrooms, laundry room, and a study alcove; the basement has a wine cellar.

Movement throughout the house is choreographed along the main axis--from the parlor, past the kitchen and dining room, and to a large family room opening onto a rear patio and garden. The entry parlor, a cozy place to sit and chat by the fire, occupies what was the old living room at the front of the house.

The dining room, which is opposite the soaring stairwell, opens to a small side patio that will have a wall fountain. We change the location of the front door, moving it from the side of the house to the front to make it visible from the street.

Meanwhile, landscape designer Irving Tamura creates a preliminary garden plan that includes outdoor rooms, plantings, and play areas in the 2,800-square-foot back garden.

WEEKS SEVEN, EIGHT

GETTING THE BUILDING PERMIT: Martin makes his final revisions, working closely with Tamura to ensure that we have the best possible solution for the site.

The plans are submitted to the city, and within about eight weeks we get the permit. A few weeks after demolition, framing is completed, and we are able to walk the site to get a sense of the emerging structure.

RELATED ARTICLE: original floor plan

Typical of many cookie-cutter subdivision houses across the West, the original plan offered little in the way of amenities or gracious indoor-outdoor living.

Off the old long hall, the master bedroom was a little larger than the other bedrooms but had no adjoining bath. A new second floor provides the opportunity to create a true master suite.