The Murrietas lived in a small 1920s Spanish-style home in Larchmont, a quiet neighborhood of Los Angeles. Although they needed more room (they were due to have a second child as we started the design process), they didn't want to leave their family-oriented neighborhood, with its sidewalks crowded with strollers and kids skateboarding down the center of the streets.

We first supervised a renovation of the two spaces at the front of the structure, which were the best examples of 1920s spaces in the house: a vaulted living room space and a dining room with a paneled wood ceiling.

Then we designed a second floor which contained a similar vaulted space for the master bedroom and a flat-ceiling section for a master bathroom, office and den. The arrangement of the spaces was a duplicate of the vaulted and flat-ceilinged spaces below, just flipped in plan.

The stair tower which connected the new second floor to the old is a more modern element, reflecting the sensibilities of the clients, who were not interested only in the traditional aspects of their home but also the possibilities of juxtaposing something more contemporary.

It was a welcome opportunity to work at a smaller scale, where we were able to design the pattern in the linoleum in the kitchen and the precise method of attachment for the trellis members over the new terrace.

It started construction in October 2003 and was completed in July 2004. Behr Construction was the contractor.

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