Craftsman Rebuild
Alameda, California
This project is the rebuild of a classic Craftsman bungalow that had been destroyed in a fire. Throughout the design process we balanced the creation of a house that would feel like a true home, to replace the one that had been lost, while managing a budget with challenges from the insurance company, and navigating through a complex approval process.
The new design takes the opportunity to add a partial second floor to the house, enveloped within a steeper roof than the original, which is characteristic of historic two-story Craftsman homes. We re-worked the first floor plan to create a great room as well as a comfortable master suite. An oversized stair landing serves as a cozy media room.
Key details of the original house that held emotional value for the owners were reproduced—recreating art deco inspired stucco forms on the exterior, and unusual canted window and door trim throughout the interior.
Photography: Phil Bond
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“Alexandra was an awesome gift after we had been challenged with many other architects and contracts in our path to rebuild our home after a fire. She guided us through the many challenges with our historical home, city guidelines, and limited budget. Our rebuilt home is a gem and to this day everybody stares as they drive by. It was a challenge in so many ways, but Alexandra was our trusted navigator and visionary. Her valuable experience and relationships went far past redesigning our new home from the ground up. She helped us anticipate challenges, receive multiple difficult review approvals, and deal effectively with cost estimation. She foresaw risks other professionals that participated did not, and helped us complete and return to our home within budget. Alexandra’s team were all extremely competent and patient, guiding us as we needed help in understanding the process, and adjusting the design to meet our family’s needs financially and in many other ways. Saikley Architects is awesome.” – Client
“Alexandra is highly experienced and has been an extremely knowledgeable resource for our project. Her understanding of the process, relationships with inspectors and professionals, as well as advocacy on our behalf has been invaluable. She has been a steady resource through a challenging process of rebuilding our home. Everybody loves our beautiful home and we would certainly go to Alexandra first for any projects in the future.” – Client