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California Living

A Prairie Home Gets a 21st-Century Update

    Longtime Oakland residents Kate Hartley and Mike Kass loved everything about their Crocker Highlands neighborhood—the neighbors, the location, the views, the lifestyle. But as much as they loved their home, it became cramped with the arrival of their second child.
    They hoped that adding to the house was the answer, but Berkeley-based architect Charles Kahn helped them realize the impracticalities of trying to modify their three-bedroom, one-bath house, given the restrictions of their corner lot.
    By chance, one of their beloved neighbors, an elderly woman who had lived on the block since the 1960s, passed away, leaving behind her 1920s prairie-style home. The woman’s sister lived in Tennessee and had no interest in the home other than a quick, as-is sale. The executor of the estate was a neighbor who, because of the street’s tight-knit relations, knew Hartley and Kass wanted to stay in the neighborhood but in a bigger house. Working with the Tennessee heirs, Hartley and Kass were able to purchase the house off-market at a price allowing them to bring the property into the 21st century.
    While not small in its overall floor plan, the prairie-style house’s layout was boxy, had only two bedrooms and offered no modern amenities (and a mere 15 amps of electrical service). In essence, buying the house represented a step backward in the couple’s quest for a bigger home, but Hartley and Kass felt the house had potential and asked Kahn whether it was suitable for expansion.
    Kahn knew right away that indeed it was the right house for the couple—not for what it was (which he describes as “an antiquated East Coast–style made for a single-income family with Mom cooking in the kitchen and without a connection to the backyard”), but for its vast possibilities. Hartley and Kass bought the home and, following Kahn’s advice, lived there for 1½ years to get a feel for the 80-year-old home before undertaking a massive remodel.
    Hartley and Kass knew that the home needed a third bedroom, since their son and daughter would eventually need their own space. Kahn suggested adding a second-floor master bedroom suite atop a new ground-floor dining room, kitchen and family room. The result is an open floor plan, an abundance of natural light in every room, beautiful views and a seamless integration of the old and new. This integration was a key point for Kahn from the design’s conception. “There are only two correct paths to doing an addition on a house—either make the addition look exactly like the existing architecture or make it look completely different,” Kahn says.
    Knowing his clients’ tastes, Kahn and his team harmonized the Hartley-Kass addition with the existing exterior architecture. In contrast, the interior finishes and furnishings are decidedly contemporary. The kitchen, a combination of modern and retro styles, was designed to be the fulcrum of the house, with the sink counter as command central. “By having rooms radiate from the kitchen, whoever is standing here has a clear view of what’s going on in the family rooms and the backyard,” Kahn says.
    It is this connection to the backyard that was particularly important to the family, which loves to entertain all ages. While the house was originally cut off from its quarter-acre plot and charming Trestle Glen views, the couple and Kahn devised a floor plan that would embrace and engage the yard. “California living is almost by definition the integration of interior and exterior life,” says Kahn. “That’s what this family is all about.”
    Now with three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms, an office and a media room, this house fits the family’s lifestyle. “I think what this house reflects is working within a budget to get the most you can for the most available dollars. I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished,” says Kahn.
    And what do the homeowners think? “We love our home,” says Hartley. “We couldn’t be happier with the results, because we got to stay in the neighborhood we love, in a house that is everything we wanted and more.”