an Eichler in Upper Lucas Valley

With a setting among rolling green hills and lush vegetations of Marin County, the Upper Lucas Valley neighborhood has long be considered the crème de la crème among the highly sought after Eichler tracts (of which there are 28 in the Bay Area.) Our client has lived in this neighborhood for 47 years, first renting, then purchasing this current home in 1986. And what's more: she also grew up in an earlier Eichler model in the exclusive Lindenwood neighborhood of Atherton, right across from Joe Eichler's own home.

Before: kitchen with small island and dated cabinets and finishes.

Before: lack of natural light and connection to the outdoors.

After: new kitchen is made for entertaining. Hidden pantry is located on the right of the ovens.

an architectural and a family legacy

For this newsletter, our client recalls fondly on growing up in a house in Lindenwood with an open plan, plenty of glass to let in the natural light, and the ease of going from indoors to outdoors. She lived there from age three until she left for college. By the time she was raising her own family, she chose Upper Lucas Valley for the similar quiet suburban idyll. Like Lindenwood, the specialness of the Eichler designs here perhaps has a hand in fostering a strong sense of community where young and old all enjoy a feeling of freedom and connection. One of her daughters has recently moved in a few doors down.

Before: view from breakfast nook towards kitchen and hallway.

Before: kitchen and a glimpse of the breakfast nook and dining room. Connection to the backyard beyond was blocked by cabinets.

After: expansive and open space with custom clad floating range hood, and clear views to the backyard. Large pantry across from the island is accessed via a pocket door.

are there pain points in the existing house?

Despite the iconic Double A-frame, the existing home was not a typical Eichler. A good portion of the dining room, breakfast nook, and kitchen were part of an addition done by Joe's son Ned in the 80's. The open plan was also obscured by partition walls which resulted in a darker and compartmentalized interior.

Our client's main goal for this project is to bring back the original Eichler aesthetic. Being an accomplished cook who enjoys hosting, the kitchen and dining are her top priority. The old kitchen had a small island, a single oven, little storage, not to mention dated cabinets and finishes. The breakfast nook was not comfortable and the built-in bookcases made the space dark and underused.

Easy flow from kitchen to dining. New picture windows allow unobstructed views to the backyard.

make (this) Eichler great again!

According to bL principal Stephen Shoup, this project is a total makeover of kitchen and dining: remove partition walls and breakfast nook to create an expansive kitchen with better access to the backyard and improved connection to the dining and living rooms. The kitchen also boasts a large island, streamlined cabinets and fixtures, double oven, and two hidden pantries. Two large skylights bring in plenty of natural light. More storage is created by capturing unused space in the hallway and the powder room is also updated.

Marco explains how the dropped ceiling (from the 80's) allows space for new recessed lighting, the new ceiling panels are a close match to the typical Eichler tongue & groove, and electric cables are installed in the cavity behind top of drywall to allow for future installation of motorized shades under the skylights.

An educational and fun tour for the students: they have learned a lot about achieving design objectives while working with a budget. On the exterior facing the backyard, new off-the-shelve sidings will be installed to closely resemble the official Eichler sidings.

Eichler for the next generation

During a recent tour, project architect Marco Hyman-Romero explains the history to his students from the College of Marin. He talks about how the original Eichlers were meant to be affordable and easy to construct, influenced by Japanese aesthetic based on simplicity and functionality. In this project, Marco and the design team are focused on bringing back the original feel while using updated materials and finishes for contemporary living and energy efficiency. The interior wood wall panels were replaced with drywall in the 80's. They are not being brought back due to fire concern. The old parquet flooring is replaced with new tiles which will work better over the still functioning radiant heating.