Half-New in Half Moon Bay

A Prematurely Dated Looking Pacific Coast House Updated

Our empty nester clients bought this 1989 house on the Pacific Coast with the goal of remodeling it once they found the right architect. The shed roof house was built with plain finishes, basic front steps, and a raised panel front door with leaded glass sidelights and an arched window over it, but the location was to die for. Our goal was to make the house more consistently modern, more open, and take greater advantage of the views. At the exterior, we replaced the basic wood siding and clunky trim with a palette of more refined siding, sleek minimalist trim, stucco, and stacked stone. We replaced the old windows with better-proportioned black aluminum windows. We replaced the basic front door with a cool contemporary flush door, replaced the garage door with a compatible new one, replaced the dated exterior lighting, and added new downlights in the eaves. We redesigned the exterior wood stairs with an expansive, flowing design made of concrete and stone. We replaced the solid rails at the exterior with glass rails and completely redesigned the entry with sleek tile, new contemporary wood stairs, and frameless glass rails. We designed a new open kitchen and bathrooms using transitional-style cabinets, cutting-edge appliances, and modern fixtures. The most complicated part of the project was replacing a dated curved glass solarium. We replaced it with a better-insulated sunroom with an actual roof and skylights instead of the original kit solarium. It not only better suits the architecture but it is now one of the owners’ favorite rooms.