Honoring the past, preparing for the future.

I feel so honored to have represented this incredibly unique home in North Berkeley, near the Gourmet Area.

Jean Pierre and Elsbeth bought this house and the adjacent vacant lot back in the 70s, when he had just arrived from Switzerland to become a professor of architecture at UC Berkeley.

I can imagine the beautiful designs drawn on the drafting tables in the sunroom, the intellectual conversations conducted in different languages, the many visitors who came through the house. And the kids who grew up in this house, walking around the neighborhood to the Cheese Board, to teenage-hangout Codornices Park or to Berkeley High.

During our open houses, so many people commented on the eclectic character of the house. You can really tell someone with a great sense of design and aesthetics lived here. You can also tell where they came from — so many little details remind me of my native Europe: the flowers on the window sill, the kitchen tiles and more.

To create a modern feel while staying true to the idiosyncrasies of the house, we chose a neutral color palette (Simply White by Benjamin Moore and School House by Farrow & Ball). We designed the staging with a California Modern style and used some architectural books as a nod to the seller! We also used Caldwell Green from Benjamin Moore on the upstairs bookcases, just to give it a pop.

When listing properties, I like to make sure I am honoring those who lived there before while preparing the house as a blank canvas for its next steward.

Below are some before and after photos of the property.