Tranquil Hillside Marvel

From its tranquil hillside setting, this totally transformed five-plus bedroom, four-bathroom home marvels at the Bay, Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco skyline. A thorough renovation carved out three levels of contemporary living space; it embraces an open layout featuring view-exalted window expanses, an extravagantly appointed kitchen, angular wood-beamed ceilings and wide-plank wood floors. The interior extends to a view-gazing deck connected to the nearly a half-acre property.

Perched in an aerial pocket of El Cerrito, the home nestles near scenic recreation and natural wonders. Within about a half mile, Huber Park is primed for play, and Blake Garden, a UC Berkeley satellite, gives guided tours and bird walks and welcomes visitors to stroll its botanical gardens. Also nearby, Tilden Regional Park’s 2,000 acres of abundant attractions include hiking, biking, picnicking, golf, Little Farm and Steam Train.

The home’s angled roof lines and the outcurved midpoint of its façade express modern sensibilities; they strike a balance with shingle and wood surfaces, giving this updated framework a fitting sense of place and timelessness. Enter to a vibrant skylighted interior, airy in its open-concept kitchen, living, dining areas and long-range sightlines to the Bay and beyond. Radiant, robust surfaces and components grace the L-shaped island-equipped kitchen. Its Electrolux appliance suite includes a six-burner range, professional-magnitude refrigerator, and pair of dishwashers. Equally emphasizing form and function, it unites natural-stone counters, marble mosaic backsplashes, and clean-lined cabinetry that intermixes throughout and forms a pantry wall. Just beyond the island, the kitchen flows broadly to the dining-living expanse, presenting the panorama, sunlit by day, aglow at night via light points for miles, including the those illuminating the Golden Gate Bridge.

Bedrooms occupy every level, affording them privacy from one another. On the upper floor, the primary suite enjoys the view, as does its skylighted natural-stone-clad bathroom. Windowed and extra-spacious, its walk-in closet integrates a corner desk. On the main floor, flanking a ceramic-tiled bathroom, one bedroom features the view, another grants a leafy outlook; an en-suite bedroom sits half way between main and upper floor. On the lower-level, a bedroom and ceramic-tiled bathroom join a bounty of additional living space.

The downstairs family room unfurls to a wet-bar lounge. Orbiting this open area, view-embellished rooms include the fifth bedroom, an office that may double as a sixth bedroom, and a den with picture-window wall that opens to the deck stretching across the back of the home. An additional glass door also connects to the deck, a broad lounging space showcasing wide-ranging views, overlooking and connecting to the large-scale back grounds.