Blackbird Designs

Oct 2013

This year Diane decided to finally remodel her original kitchen (from 1952) with a door & window to the garden, blocking the door to the Living Room. We picked a brilliant red Caesarstone counter, bamboo cabinets and a dark brown cork floor. The custom stainless steel Potrack we designed is stunning. Kudos to Custom Spaces (finishes) and Lavezzo Designs (potrack) for their immeasurable help. Thanks to Diane for surviving the ordeal so well.

$80k

Berkeley, CA

Jan 2009

Alex and Ed's Victorian had an understory space and a large attic with stairs up to it, but they wanted to enlarge the kitchen and get a sitting area for meals. We added about 8' out in the back. In the design process we discovered we could re-do the Jack-and-Jill bathroom into one accessible to all. I love it when that happens!

$185k

Berkeley, CA

Jan 2008

Diane's new deck made the old one look so outdated she really felt she must upgrade it. The privacy screen at the Hot Tub was replaced, and included a rolling glass window. The old wood guardrail was replaced with cable-rail to match the guardrail at the new deck.

$45k

Berkeley, CA

Jan 2007

Olivia was doing more and more ceramics work and needed a dedicated space for this. The garage was underutilized and bigger than necessary for one car, but a beautifully crafted building, with roof pitches at 14:12. The interior of the roof was like a crystal after it was drywalled and painted!

$65k

Berkeley, CA

Jan 2007

Leigh and Galen's house was remodeled by an architect who lived there. Everything was very nicely done, but they knew they would re-do the kitchen, the only space they disliked. We were able to open it up immensely with a new window and new skylight in a new vaulted ceiling. Cherry cabinets and soapstone countertops - very nice!

$100k

Oakland, CA

Jan 2007

Carol's inherited a house in shambles - almost ready to be condemned, but she wanted to save it because she grew up there. Some of the shingles were sun-worn to paper thin, disappearing before our eyes, and the deck was caving in from all the dry-rot and termites. There was a short interior stair down to an enlarged crawlspace, and we decided to excavate half the understory to add about 680 square feet of habitable space.

$500k

Oakland, CA

Jan 2006

Diane was using the Guest Bedroom for her study, so she had to move a lot of things to accommodate her relatives. She decided to add a M. Bedroom Suite instead, with amazing views of both bridges and Mt. Tamalpais.

$200k

Berkeley, CA

Jan 2005

Rick and Cindy have a nice house on the edge of a regional park. However, they had no real views of that relative wilderness because the kitchen and dining room were in the way. We added a tiny bit at the kitchen and opened up the walls, so they now have an open plan with very private, undistrubed views. A very happy couple!

$150k

Castro Valley, CA

Jan 2004

Terry and MaryKay needed more room for their growing family, so the idea was to add up a story with a Master Suite. The problem, as usual, was money. We tried to design it as a phased project, first adding a large attic which would later become the Suite. Fortunately, they somehow found a larger stash and were able to do it all.

$150k

Oakland, CA