Refined Berkeley Hills Haven

Celebrated architect William Wurster designed this garden-centric home to blend with the tree-canopied landscape. Savoring nature, it connects visually with the leafy surroundings from widespread vantage points and opens to flourishing brick and flagstone living spaces that form organic extensions of the interior. Intermixing rustic and refined character, the architecture unites Art Deco allure and natural materials throughout a three-bedroom, two-bathroom layout featuring gracefully open kitchen, dining, and family rooms.

Elevated in the tranquil Berkeley Hills, the home enjoys a tucked-away retreat sensibility yet sits near scenic recreation and cosmopolitan conveniences. With parks in every direction, the property lies just below the Tilden Park Golf Course and above the Berkeley Rose Garden plus the gourmet hubs of Shattuck and Solano Avenues.

Wurster, ultimately the Dean of U.C. Berkeley School of Architecture, was a pioneer of modern architecture, and this late 1930’s home feels modern today. It spotlights innovations for which he was credited: houses smaller in size but equal in livability to large ones, harmonious integration of architecture with site, floor plans with flexibility, and outdoor spaces as blooming rooms. Known for using unadorned, indigenous materials, he endowed this haven’s living and dining areas with tawny wood-paneled walls that meet white paneled ceilings.

Understated elegance and natural radiance prevail. Hardwood flooring is complemented by stone compositions in the updated kitchen and bathrooms. Within the living room, glass-block windows flank the glossy fireplace, while French doors overlook a long stretch of garden-outlined brick patio. The kitchen opens to it as well, encouraging dining in the sheltered botanical enclave. High ceilings and over-scaled windows amplify living space, and the kitchen’s elevated, skylighted ceiling correlates to the room’s angled orientation. Within the airy space, high-caliber stainless appliances integrate amid sleek cabinetry including a large pantry, and polished stone counters form peninsulas, ideal as serving areas to the dining room.

An open flow promotes easy interaction between public spaces, and a main-floor bedroom adjacent to a full bathroom offers options. With an exterior connection, the bedroom serves well as guest accommodation or home office. Within the spacious bathroom, glass-block windows welcome sunlight and preserve privacy, and double doors conceal full-sized laundry facilities.

Second-floor bedrooms comprise broad spaces visually expanded by outstretched picture windows with treed vistas. Each contains two closets and is embellished with clean-lined built-in display shelves. Set apart as a sanctuary, the master opens via French doors to a private flagstone terrace, and its bathroom, with contemporary cachet, combines a matte and glossy combination of stone and lacquered cabinetry encasing a double-sink vanity.