Gathering Light in the Woods
Marshall Residence - Berkeley, CA

SUMMARY: An extraordinary wooded setting high in the Berkeley Hills inspired spaces that reach up to gather sunlight through clerestory windows, bringing life and color into this home.

The lowslung 1940’s Eichler-style house was nearly doubled with a new entry hall, home office, master suite, and larger kitchen.

The addition respects the horizontal gesture of the existing beam and wood plank roof. The ceiling height was raised in several places to create light monitors – tall spaces that bring in the morning sun rising over Tilden Park and the waning evening light of a sun that sets here hours before dark at this site just on the east side of the crest of the Berkeley Hills.

The new entry is small, but its height and openness make it gracious and grand. A clear awning above a composite wood stoop shields the eight-foot-high entry door from rain without blocking the sun.

The exterior’s rich golds and greens harmonize with the surrounding woods and glow in the dappled light.

The master bedroom reading bay provides an inviting reading area with a dramatic view of Tilden Park and the rising sun. Clerestory windows on the west side catch the evening sun and bounce it back into the room.

The bench and the right-hand side of the bay have built-in book shelves for convenient storage, and the higher ceiling in the alcove differentiates the space from the bedroom.

Parchment light shades lend a Japanese flavor to the home, which the existing house hinted at with its materials and post-and-beam modularity.

Then...

After construction had already begun on the addition project, the clients decided to expand and remodel their kitchen. The schematic design work was done at the beginning of the project and was planned to be built in a year or two as phase two.

The design had to be quickly finalized, construction documents drawn, and permits secured so that the work could be incorporated into the larger project.

The existing kitchen was small, closed-off, and cramped. It was enlarged by four feet and opened to the living and dining areas. Light-colored cabinets, cork flooring, and walls brighten the space and balance the dark stained wood ceilings and walls elsewhere in the house.

The previous kitchen had a dropped ceiling. When this was torn out the structural beams that run through the entire house were exposed. They were in very bad shape so were painted white rather than stained.

The tall master bathroom space is illuminated during the day by clerestory windows and at night by indirect uplighting against the stained douglas fir ceiling.

Glistening and expensive colored glass tiles are used sparingly in the tub surround, interspersed with equally inexpensive white tiles to create a splash of color. Cork sheet flooring creates a warm and supple surface underfoot.

Project Data
Building: Five room addition (900 s.f.)
 

Finishes: Stained plywood walls, exposed roof rafters and douglas fir roof decking, glass tile, ceramic tile, cork kitchen floor, natural linoleum bathroom floor, maple cabinets, Shaper light fixtures

Features: Community room, courtyard, full-story ramp, generous front porch

Project Team
Client:Kim and Sarah Marshall
Contractor:Winfield Construction - Emeryville, CA
Principal Designer: Erick Mikiten, AIA
Project Manager: Radziah M. Loh, AIA

New entry

Entry before the addition

Entry awning

Master bedroom reading alcove overlooking Tilden Regional Park

Reflected light makes the rading alcove glow in the afternoon

Tile detail - ceramic and glass mix

New master bedroom illuminated from above

Expanded and remodeled kitchen

Design sketches showing light monitors and clerestory windows