HAYES VALLEY HOUSE

This 3 story home, built in the early ‘90’s, was badly in need of an update. Its dark, heavy looking finishes and a boring slog of a stair, topped by an undersized, half-hearted skylight, made this unique, shallow-plan home with good access to light and air feel nonetheless gloomy and uninviting. Lincoln Lighthill Architect gutted the house and rebuilt the main stair, with a custom steel guardrail and large, rolling, retractable skylight at its summit. An additional 4th stair flight leads up and through the full-width opening to a new roof deck with cantilevered glass guardrails and panoramic downtown views. Back inside, a light, minimalist palette and some key plan changes transform the home into an open, light-filled space.