EMPTY NESTERS TURN THEIR TIRED SPACE INTO A MODERN MINIMALIST HAVEN OVERLOOKING THE BAY.

I started working with clients Raquel and Michael in Spring 2023. Newly empty nesters, they were hoping to start a fresh chapter of their lives in a space that truly matched their aesthetic and way of living. Like so many families, home renovations feel so out of reach when you’re raising a family. For Raquel and Michael, the time had finally come.

At our initial consultation, we spoke a lot about how they wanted the house to flow. There was a pokey entryway with a dividing wall that couldn’t be moved. The main living space was also divided into two rooms, with a sunroom looking over the Bay and a separate living room which just made the entertaining spaces feel closed off and crowded. The biggest issue was the galley kitchen, which was also sectioned off between a cooking space and laundry space – just so many rooms with the potential to be freed from confinement.

Luckily, their brother in law is Albert Costa of Costa Brown Architecture in San Francisco, so we immediately had a partner in crime to bring our vision of an open modern home to life. Over the next six months, we worked together on fine tuning the drawings and coming up with smart solutions to a lot of flow issues: creating one large living room with sliding doors out to a Juliet balcony, turning the entryway wall into lit display shelves, refinishing the brick fireplace in Venetian Plaster for a softer look, adding tons of new floor-to-ceiling windows, and merging the two kitchen spaces to create one large space with awning windows opening up to an outdoor eating area. We moved the laundry room into the hallway and added a guest bathroom refresh to the plans.

Construction kicked off in September 2024 with the amazing team at Oliver Builders. The eight month renovation period was one of the most memorable and rewarding of my career, as the architects, contractors, and design team built such a tight bond over our shared goal of making Raquel and Michael’s dreams come true. Sourcing materials was one of the most exciting, with Raquel’s goal to bring in materials that fit the style of the home and woodsy surroundings, like wood cabinetry, natural stone countertops, and hints of green in the paint and tile.

By the time we got around to sourcing new furniture, Raquel and Michael needed a break from all the spending, so we decided to take a break before adding new pieces to the space. Nevertheless, it felt important to me to continue with the photo shoot to show how different existing furniture can look when you change the architecture around it. There’s no shame in taking home renovations bit by bit, focusing on the structural needs and then nesting in the space before deciding what comes next. iSPY believes that the decorating process is a journey that deserves patience. At least now, Raquel and Michael are working with the most beautiful foundation.