At Play in Modern Times
A husband-and-wife architectural team combines
natural materials and
a sleek design to create the perfect space for entertaining
When Emeryville architects Joy and Alan Ohashi first saw their
clients’ unassuming 1960s tract house with the swiss chalet
trim, they thought they’d have to tear it down and start
over. Their clients hoped to use their new east bay hills home
for entertaining, but the original design was not inspiring the
couple to open their doors to company. When emeryville architects
joy and alan ohashi first saw their clients’ unassuming
1960s tract house with the swiss chalet trim, they thought they’d
have to tear it down and start over. Their clients hoped to use
their new east bay hills home for entertaining, but the original
design was not inspiring the couple to open their doors to company.
“Our clients really wanted to upgrade everything yet still
remain budget conscious,” says
Alan Ohashi. “We tried to retain as much as we could while
transforming this nondescript
ranch-style home into a gracious modern home that lent itself
to entertaining.”
One of the primary design objectives was to open the back of
the house to the spectacular
bay view. A previous remodel had included a “barely tacked-on” sunroom
with sliding doors
that blocked the main house from the sweeping vista. The Ohashis
envisioned a new roofline
that would flare up from the original eight-foot ceiling at
the front of the house to a height
of 14 feet at the back. The back walls would be replaced with
glass doors and windows that
opened the entire living area to the view, and a generous new
terrace would extend the living
and viewing space to the outdoors. “The terrace required
a huge amount of engineering,” says
Alan, “but along with extending the living space, it was
designed to edit the view so that you
don’t see the industrial area below and instead focus on
the bay beyond.”
The clients were originally drawn to images of other Ohashi
projects that featured
beautiful materials used in their natural state to create a
contemporary Japanese aesthetic.
Accordingly, the Ohashis combined wood, stone, tile, and concrete
finishes to make a serene,
modern statement.
They began at the front entrance by pairing Canadian white cedar
siding with a simple
glass door and sidelights. The glass is sandblasted on the
upper portion for privacy but clear
at the bottom to show how the granite floor tiles continue
from the exterior entry into the
interior. Concrete flooring in the main rooms carries through
to the terrace, creating a sense
of flow from the exterior to the interior of the house.
In the living room, the Ohashis covered the existing brick masonry
of the fireplace with
elegant black metallic tile. A well-placed skylight illuminates
the tile and the expanded hearth
covered in honed black granite. The ebony accents are repeated
in a black river rock border
on the floor near the entertainment wall, where built-in red
walnut cabinets and bookshelves
house a flat-screen TV and stereo equipment.
Laminated glass doors embedded with rice paper lead to the dining
room. Between upper
and lower walnut cabinets, the wall is painted a rich persimmon
red, inspired by a lacquered
Japanese bowl found by the owners. “The whole unit is very
sculptural,” says Joy Ohashi.
The kitchen features more cabinetry. Here, it is topped with
honey-hued Zodiaq countertops.
Stainless steel appliances and fixtures as well as aluminum
tambour garage doors
complete the crisp, contemporary feeling. “One of the biggest
challenges with this project was
achieving a proper balance with all the natural materials,” says
Alan.
“We really see the entire space as a composition,” adds
Joy. “Making sure everything
comes together to create visual effect and interest is part of
the process.”
In the master bath, striated beige tiles surround a generous
tub, and coordinating iridescent
glass tiles sparkle in the backsplash behind the sink. The
combination of a sandblasted window
in an alcove and a Pilkington channel glass wall illuminates
the room with natural light.
The same striated tiles are used in the guest bath, but in black. “I
think of black as a neutral,
but using it here made the guest bath more elegant,” says
Joy.
The architects used green design products and principles wherever
possible: radiant heat
in the floors, thermostats in every room, on-demand water
heaters, and a sleek, nearly invisible
photovoltaic system added to the standing-seam metal roof to
capture solar energy.
“These were wonderful clients who really participated in
the design process, “ says Alan.
“It was definitely a team effort.”
Although some homeowners might think a contemporary design too
cool for an entertaining
environment, the Ohashis have created a home that is at once
modern and inviting. “Because of the use of natural materials and the inclusion
of the outdoor space, this home does
not come off as cold or austere,” says Alan. Adds Joy, “It
just feels really good to be here.”
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