LOCATION
Orinda

CREDITS
Interior Design: Mansfield + O’Neil
Photography: Eric Rorer

Kravis Residence
Updated rancher.


This very dated rancher meets 80’s new-wave Japanese interior, was completely remodeled into a coherent design, elevating the Japanese aesthetic into a more sophisticated and tasteful design. The entry, a very odd exterior room/atrium filled with dying plants, led to a series of disconnected rooms. The adjacent media room was a former converted garage, the master suite was entered through a convoluted hallway that ended in a study, and the basement had been built without permits, including a trip-hazard of a staircase, with two bedrooms, a bath, and an in-law apartment.

We completely reconfigured the house, creating a proper reception hall that now allows direct access to a new media room with wine cellar, a formal living room, expanded dining room, and family room with open kitchen. Accordion doors from the new entry and family room invite guests to enjoy the previous closed-off pool courtyard, while a new outdoor kitchen allows for year-round entertaining. A new gallery space gives direct access to a reorganized master bedroom suite with dual closets, and a luxurious Japanese-style bathroom with expansive views over Happy Valley. To further increase sunlight into the former dark interiors, roof eves were reduced and cut open, while much of the interior wood was retained but lightened to provide the perfect balance between dark and light.