Westwood Heights Basement Conversion: San Francisco California

Remodel basement, new master bedroom and bathroom, new family room, new laundry, new interior stair

SITUATION
The client wanted to remodel her existing basement/garage space into living space. The house is a single family traditional detached home in San Francisco with a two-bedroom one-bath living space on the second level and an unfinished garage/basement below. The client wanted to create an additional bedroom, family room, two bathrooms, and laundry at the lower garage level. She did not want to have the newly remodeled living space feel like you were living in a garage basement.

ACTION
One of the remodeling challenges was to determine the best placement of the new stair connecting the two levels.  We were able to use the space from an original non code-complying stair and pantry area.  Additional space was needed for the stair, which we were able to capture from an adjacent bedroom.  In the process we were able to create more closet space for the altered bedroom.  The stair was placed in the middle of the house which created an efficient circulation pattern and efficient use of the space.  A large amount of natural light was brought into the center of the house with an expansive new window placed in the new stair area.  The new window in the stair area also brought natural light into the new lower area that would otherwise be very dark.  

A rear retaining wall was created to hold back the earth from the back of the house so that more light could be brought into the added rear rooms.  Additionally, the new patio created a connection to the rear yard.

Much attention was placed on coordinating and integrating the structural elements with the architecture of the home to mitigate that ‘basement’ feeling in the new space.  By excavating the ground level slightly, the ceiling height was able to be increased to give a more open and spacious feeling.

RESULT
The remodeled layout of the new rooms below inspired the client to think of the new bedroom as her new master suite. Plenty of closet space was created with a new walk-in closet. The new master suite has a nice sunny view into the rear patio that was created by moving the earth away from the house with the new retaining wall. The newly converted space is quiet and restful. The connection between the the upper and lower levels is seamless and appears as if it was always part of the original traditional architectural design.

CREDITS

Structural Engineer:
Semco Engineering
San Francisco, CA

Landscape Architect:
Joan Dekelboum
Novato, CA

Interior Designer (colors and finishes):
Rhoda Shore
Walnut Creek, CA

Photography:
Mark Trousdale
San Francisco, CA