The brief
Every Blue Sky Studio project begins with listening.
“My living room feels so dark and cramped. We love this house — but we don’t love walking into its living room.”
About the project
A dark, cramped period living room on Arroyo Terrace re-lit from within — its hipped ceiling exposed, a new bay opened to the garden.
Arroyo Terrace is one of the most celebrated streets in American residential architecture, and the owners knew precisely what their home deserved. The living room, however — low-ceilinged and tight against the garden — worked against everything else the house offered.
Careful structural study revealed a generous hipped ceiling hidden behind the flat gypsum plane. The redesign uncovered it. A new bay window was drawn at the rear, matched to the original detailing, bringing direct light deep into the room and opening the wall to the landscape.
A new fireplace surround and period-scaled cabinetry around the bay completed the room. The living room now reads as though it had always been this generous — because, under the skin, it always was.
Project features
- Opened hipped ceiling with exposed structure
- New period-scaled garden bay window
- Built-in cabinetry flanking the bay
- Rebuilt fireplace with period surround
Gallery
Inside the Arroyo Terrace residence.
