Reclaiming a greedy garage - home renovation

Sunset, Jan, 1993 by Daniel P. Gregory

The owners carved out a master suite and a more efficient garage

GARAGES CAN BE greedy. Sometimes they eat up too much space. That was the case in this two-bedroom house on a steep street, where the garage and a small storage room occupied the lowest floor. Going up a level to build a new master bedroom would have been quite costly, so the owners decided to reclaim part of the basement garage.

San Francisco architects Toby Levy and Jim Fagler of Levy Design Partners created a new master suite--including a comfortable study--to occupy the basement's rear half. They reconfigured the front part of the basement to serve as a more compact garage; it still holds two cars, parked one behind the other.

The new master suite is down a half-flight of stairs from the entry hall. Straight ahead is the bedroom. Behind the wall angling into this room are the study and a bath. High transom windows over the tub let the bath borrow light from the study, which opens to a small deck.

High ceilings, white walls, large bedroom windows (flanking the TV), and built-in cabinets keep the rooms bright and uncluttered.