A Ranch home with space and light

Project scope: Kitchen remodel & family room addition

Construction completed: Spring 2006

General contractor: Gary Seitz

Location: Rocklin, California

The homeowners were in need of more space, and had had enough of their narrow galley kitchen in this 1960s ranch style home. To keep the project in line with their budget, we implemented a few cost-saving measures: first, we kept the area of the existing house affected by the remodel to a minimum: one exterior wall was removed, and the new roof line was tied in seamlessly with the existing; second, the kitchen was to remain where it was, so that the moving of plumbing and gas lines would be kept to a minimum.

The kitchen was remodeled, then, but not relocated, transformed from a claustrophobic galley to a welcoming and functional space, opened up to and oriented toward the new family room. A vaulted ceiling with built-in speakers and media cabinetry above the new gas fireplace results in a spacious-feeling, uncluttered entertainment room. Three walls of windows open to trees and a woodland creek, with an angled wall for a simple entry porch at the corner. The new room incorporates the beauty of the outdoor space in its design, and so further integrates the existing house with the surrounding landscape; the result is a home where the “living spaces” can be both indoors and out, with a more unhindered flow between.