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Pro Spotlight: How to Elevate Your Design with a Sense of Wonder
An Oakland architect invites you to take the time and appreciate how the lines, textures, and light all come together
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Who: Stephen Shoup of building Lab
Where: Oakland, California
In his own words: “I love giving homes a second lease on life and reinvigorating them.”
A truly beautiful remodel goes beyond simply improving a home’s function and flow. “In every home, I want to create a moment of pause, when people will slow down and look at it more deeply,” says Stephen Shoup, owner and principal architect of Oakland-based building Lab. “There is nothing that will prepare you for the excitement of experiencing physical spaces when everything works together in perfect harmony.”
Where: Oakland, California
In his own words: “I love giving homes a second lease on life and reinvigorating them.”
A truly beautiful remodel goes beyond simply improving a home’s function and flow. “In every home, I want to create a moment of pause, when people will slow down and look at it more deeply,” says Stephen Shoup, owner and principal architect of Oakland-based building Lab. “There is nothing that will prepare you for the excitement of experiencing physical spaces when everything works together in perfect harmony.”
A holistic approach. Shoup’s journey to architecture began at age 13, when he began working for a construction company in Pittsburgh. He continued doing carpentry throughout his school years and beyond, but he found he wanted to do more sophisticated designs. “I felt I could do it better,” he says. That led to a master’s in architecture from UC Berkeley and further studies at the Architectural Association in London. Shoup opened building Lab in 2001, where he takes a holistic approach to the design and building processes.
Rewarding collaborations. Shoup’s emphasis on a custom design-build approach and his deliberately small firm means everyone in the company works directly with the clients to find solutions that fit their needs. “We can identify opportunities for improvement at every stage of the development,” he says. It’s a rewarding collaboration throughout, he says, and the best part comes in seeing each client’s delight in the process.
Interested in ways you can create special moments in your own remodel? Shoup offers some tips below.
Interested in ways you can create special moments in your own remodel? Shoup offers some tips below.
1. Draw Inspiration From Your Home’s Style and Surroundings
Play up features that emphasize your home’s style and architecture as well as the site. For example, when remodeling this Eichler home in Marinwood, Shoup and his team suggested adding a classic Eichler feature in the home’s front yard. “We added a fence to the front of this Eichler to give it the front courtyard it was missing,” he says.
Shoup and his team crafted the redwood fence to create a new entry atrium, which suits the style of the home and creates a subtle division between public and private spaces. The fence also softens the transition between the street and the house. “There’s no longer an abrupt change,” he says. The 5-foot-tall fence, which is 40% see-through, allows glimpses into the home from the outside so it doesn’t feel closed off, as well as views from the home of the ornamental grasses and olive trees planted in the front yard. “It balances privacy and engagement,” Shoup says.
See more of this project
Play up features that emphasize your home’s style and architecture as well as the site. For example, when remodeling this Eichler home in Marinwood, Shoup and his team suggested adding a classic Eichler feature in the home’s front yard. “We added a fence to the front of this Eichler to give it the front courtyard it was missing,” he says.
Shoup and his team crafted the redwood fence to create a new entry atrium, which suits the style of the home and creates a subtle division between public and private spaces. The fence also softens the transition between the street and the house. “There’s no longer an abrupt change,” he says. The 5-foot-tall fence, which is 40% see-through, allows glimpses into the home from the outside so it doesn’t feel closed off, as well as views from the home of the ornamental grasses and olive trees planted in the front yard. “It balances privacy and engagement,” Shoup says.
See more of this project
2. Blend the New With the Old
Incorporate elements that speak to your home’s origin. The owners of this Greenbrae midcentury home wanted to replace the closed-off ’50s-style kitchen and living space with a warm and open layout. Their wish list also included removing the faded mahogany panels, which made the entire home feel dark, and replacing them with painted white drywall.
Shoup removed the old partitions and paneling, added drywall and painted the ceilings and perimeter walls a brilliant white to play up the home’s space and volume. He referenced the home’s history by adding warm walnut panels in the entry hall and living and dining areas. “It defines the spaces and provides a dramatic focus,” he says. Built-in bookshelves on the walls in the open-plan living room break up the panels and a pull-down desk offers home office space when needed.
See more of this project
Incorporate elements that speak to your home’s origin. The owners of this Greenbrae midcentury home wanted to replace the closed-off ’50s-style kitchen and living space with a warm and open layout. Their wish list also included removing the faded mahogany panels, which made the entire home feel dark, and replacing them with painted white drywall.
Shoup removed the old partitions and paneling, added drywall and painted the ceilings and perimeter walls a brilliant white to play up the home’s space and volume. He referenced the home’s history by adding warm walnut panels in the entry hall and living and dining areas. “It defines the spaces and provides a dramatic focus,” he says. Built-in bookshelves on the walls in the open-plan living room break up the panels and a pull-down desk offers home office space when needed.
See more of this project
3. Elevate Your Experience with Innovative Approach and Fine Details
These San Francisco homeowners needed a second bath for their family of five, along with a remodel of the existing bath. “It was a pragmatic problem, but we tried not to have a pragmatic solution,” Shoup says.
An addition built over the existing roof gave them just the right amount of space for a new bath and dressing area off the primary bedroom. “We could have added more square footage, but they didn’t want that,” Shoup says. A combination of skylights and 10-foot-high ceilings provides plenty of light and offers the illusion of more space. Shoup finished the bathroom with an L-shaped mirror and a window that offers a sweeping city view.
See more of this project
More: For more information on Stephen Shoup and examples of his work, visit building Lab’s Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
These San Francisco homeowners needed a second bath for their family of five, along with a remodel of the existing bath. “It was a pragmatic problem, but we tried not to have a pragmatic solution,” Shoup says.
An addition built over the existing roof gave them just the right amount of space for a new bath and dressing area off the primary bedroom. “We could have added more square footage, but they didn’t want that,” Shoup says. A combination of skylights and 10-foot-high ceilings provides plenty of light and offers the illusion of more space. Shoup finished the bathroom with an L-shaped mirror and a window that offers a sweeping city view.
See more of this project
More: For more information on Stephen Shoup and examples of his work, visit building Lab’s Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
building Lab is an award-winning firm specializing in thoughtful and highly refined residential design and... Read More
Review by HU-804747775:
This is our second undertaking of a whole house remodel with building Lab. The first experience being so positive, we engaged Stephen before the closing papers were signed on our second “fixer upper” ...More