Neo Tudor

The charm is hard to miss. The Tudor cottage is an iconic architectural style. Originally constructed in 1929, this cottage had great bones and beautiful views of San Francisco and Mount Tamalpais. When purchased by the clients, they reveled in the charm and location but understood that the home felt dated and was organized for a bygone era. The challenge was to transform this Tudor house into one that corresponded with today's modern tastes while retaining the original charisma. Such an overhaul requires sure-handed design work.

Richardson Pribuss Architects set about modernization efforts with deliberate interventions. The most drastic of such changes came in the rescaling of the top floor. The ceiling height of the primary bedroom was raised 3 feet, creating a more open, airy room that exposed the underside of the existing roof rafters and reinforced the storybook interior. Additionally, two large dormers were added to the east and west sides of the bedroom, increasing light, airflow, and, most importantly, views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. The reworking of this main space intrinsically created more opportunities, such as converting an inefficient corridor to a useful primary closet space leading to the primary bath (a conversion of an existing bedroom).

An updated interior fit-out focused on simplicity with a controlled color palette. Contrasting materials from different eras were used in concert to honor the Tudor spirit while introducing a modern attitude. A deep green was applied in monochrome across the exterior to complete the renovation. This paint job modernized the outside of the building while still leaving the texture of original half-timbering and stucco as an homage to the cottage roots.