Laguna Modern Ranch
“Charming and well maintained original Tudor style home…” was in the original sales description for this 1400 sq ft ranch style home. With several layers of paint, overgrown ivy, exterior wood trim, the house was no longer charming but very much outdated.
The new homeowners wanted something fresh, modern, and bright. When they contacted me it all fell into place because style-wise they knew what they wanted and they also did not want to add on any more square footage. I immediately contacted my engineer to start making some interior structural changes and we decided on a white, open, and well-lit design.
The first thing to work out was lifting the interior ceiling with a center ridge beam to take advantage of the roof height. What a difference a few feet make when going upwards. It completely opened up the room and actually made everything feel bigger - no addition needed. We also took out the original fireplace that had divided the kitchen and living spaces. It was a heavy, layered brick block and not only was it too large for the space, it cut the room in half and shielded the light coming in from the front windows. Once we took it out suddenly we realized there’s a peek-a-boo view to the ocean from the kitchen. Those kinds of surprises are always nice to find.
Little tweaks made a huge impact on the entire house and how it flows. We moved a front entry closet to open up the front entry space. Having a wide open entry area sets the tone for the house and how people move around in it. The master bath was enlarged thanks to some rearranging of old closet space and a wing wall was removed in the kitchen to allow for a flush refrigerator in line with the range wall.
Of all the original design elements, we decided to keep an exterior rock faced wall as a tribute to the many ranch homes in the neighborhood with a similar facade. The remaining exterior was stripped of the weathered wood trim, heavy plants that blocked windows, and broken flagstone and we added new exterior stucco and wood siding garage door along with poured in place concrete steps and new concrete driveway. All making the outside look as good as the inside.
Lots of white, light wood floors, shadow base, and thick black framed windows take this home from outdated “charming” Tudor to beautifully updated modern ranch home - perfect for Laguna Beach.
J. Kramer Corp. has experience with every aspect of custom homes, remodels and multiple family buildings. Our comprehensive service takes projects from start to finish including city inspections, neighborhood meetings, city council meetings, historical reviews and more. Since 1995 J. Kramer Corp. has been building and remodeling modern, classic contemporary and traditional style homes in the South Orange County and Mammoth area.
