2067 New Brunswick

Tom and Christine approached me at a very opportune time. We had recently wrapped up a couple of projects and, although we had several in the Permit process, we did not at that time have anything which was ready to start. When they contacted me and told me that they already had the plans drawn, by Klopf Architects, and that the permit was in process it was exactly what we needed. I very rarely build anyone else’s designs any more. We are a Design/Build firm and that is how I like it.

However, there are occasions such as this where we are caught by the need to build getting in the way of the process of chasing the permit. Given that the design on this project was by John Klopf, an architect who’s work I know and with whom I am friendly, as well as the willingness of Tom and Christine to consider some of the additions/alterations to the design which I suggested made it a very easy choice to go with this. Klopf’s concept opened up the kitchen space very nicely. It had been a trap. A kitchen which once you enter you have to turn around to exit. Not a good design. John had removed completely the wall along the entry corridor which gave space to extend the counter further towards that side of the room. Along with removing the connection of the other end of that counter to the exterior wall it created a long island. This made access and ergonomics much better.

Plus it opens the space visually so that rather than a long, enclosed, dark corridor on the way in, you are immediately into a very open area with the view of the room and the endless vista beyond it all presented. My additions to the design were to add a beam and remove the posts in the middle of dining/living area which gives more freedom to the location of the furniture and creates a much more open feel. I also suggested that since they never use the fireplace, which occupied a big chunk of prime view of the entire Bay Area and Mt. Diablo, that we demo it out and install another piece of glass. Lastly, I created what Tom calls, “the Magic Corridor” in order to give easy access to the “yoga studio” for Christine. That space had been there but necessitated going through the garage to access it. Very inconvenient and un-aesthetic. By filling in a piece of the existing roof overhang and then filling in with a few posts and a lot of glass we were able to give them a space which feels like part of the main living area. It was a nice bonus to the overall project.

We replaced all of the floors with new tile, changed some of the wall colors, and did the entire kitchen. As usual, we had our in-house cabinetmaker, Ken Knutsen, make all of the cabinets for us. With all of our usual special details. Drawer for Oils, Composting station, odds and ends of custom drawer layouts to suit the cooking style of the clients. It is a very nice piece of work. One of those which though it doesn’t have any dramatic “architectural effect” bits is just overall attractive. We then designed and built them a walnut media cabinet with a floating live edge countertop and walnut paneling behind it for the only wall in that room. It ties into the kitchen walnut and has a very nice, warm, rich look against the carpet and furniture in that living area.

A good project for some very nice and appreciative clients.

2067 New Brunswick

Nicholas Severais

about DRACO