The original house in the Berkeley Hills was built in 1953, and hardly anything had been upgraded, though it was pretty well maintained.  The client wished to add a Master Bedroom Suite on top, as the lot is quite small and could not accommodate a horizontal addition.  The original house had sunshades but they were made of heavy redwood pieces that had warped over time and were difficult to replace.  We removed them and replaced them with wood-supported aluminum shades that, along with the new cantilevered deck, enhanced the overall look immensely.  We also replaced the redwood deck railing with cable-rail so that the elevation feels unified and integrated.  Only one side of the deck needed privacy, so a solid wall with windows was installed there, over the side street.  The windowsills are right down on a hot-tub deck and have a piece of frameless obscure glass rolling optionally for more privacy when needed.

Blackbird Designs collaborated with Kessner Construction on this renovation, which included a completely renovated Kitchen and an excavation addition with bedroom and bath.

There are times when an architect starts a project and then doesn't seem to be able to get through the creative blocks that develop.  When this happened here the client waited a long time before contacting another architect.  Fortunately she was not attached to the designs from the first architect and we were able to get over the hump and into a whole new field of dreams.  The rear of the house literally opens onto endless fields of grass and scrub oak that are part of the Regional Park District.  We were able to open up the rear elevation to these views as well as make the Kitchen very accessible to an outdoor Deck big enough for entertainment.  Interior walls were also cut up to get access to these views, as the Living Room is on the other side.  The result is dramatic and was within budgetary limitations.