Houzz Tour: A Creekside Cabin Opens to the Views
Built in 1937 for a family’s summer getaways, this cabin originally had just one bedroom, one bathroom and 960 square feet to its name. The current homeowners loved the rustic ambience but wanted an open space that would take full advantage of the creek and forest views. The couple hired architect Amy Alper to construct a new, modern addition that would capture the existing home’s historic feel.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: This is a vacation home for a San Francisco couple.
Location: Calistoga, California
Size: 1,275 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: This is a vacation home for a San Francisco couple.
Location: Calistoga, California
Size: 1,275 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Regulations limited Alper to building only on land that had already been affected by the original structure. The new glass-enclosed living room now sits in the outline of a once-underused deck. Alper used steel to cantilever the addition, with steel posts set down exactly where the deck’s wooden legs had been.
Redwood decking and two period windows from the demolition were reused in the addition. |
When the owners first saw the house, recent renovations had made it less like the original cabin and more like a house. Alper carefully incorporated the best of both features into the remodel. All the new siding and trim on the exterior matches the existing colors.
Although the 4-acre property feels very isolated, the cabin is just 20 minutes from town. The homeowners planted a few Japanese maple trees, but the natural surroundings make additional landscaping unnecessary. |
A sleeping loft was closed in for one bedroom, and the previous courtyard-facing living room became a second bedroom. The kitchen, enclosed in the original exterior that once faced the deck, opens to the living room through sliding windows. “The design for the addition was about the marriage of old and new, context and contrast,” says Alper.
Couch: Milano |
| Expansive windows connect the indoors and out, and allow the creek to become the main focus. |
