Lakeside | San Francisco
80 Woodacre Drive
Tahoe-Inspired Custom Home Beauty lies in the details. That sums up the character of 80 Woodacre Drive. This lovely single-family home is full of subtle, original architectural touches, all tucked in a hidden oasis on a quiet block amid the bustling city.
OFFERED AT $3,795,000
Gael Bruno
gael.bruno@sothebyshomes.com 415.901.1747 | gaelbruno.com
Step through the front door and immediately apparent is an inviting, accessible floor plan with all the needs of modern living taken into consideration. Exceptional craftsmanship and attention to detail is visible throughout, from the handsome pine floors to the doors, fixtures and wall treatments. Skylights are artfully placed to provide natural illumination everywhere. All the refinements are here, waiting for the homeowner who appreciates an updated classic. It’s a rare blend of elegance and comfort.
The current layout and luxury finishes were completed in 1995 by award-winning architect Bob Arrigoni, founding partner of BAR Architects in San Francisco. Arrigoni conceived the new interior and design details based on a Lake Tahoe family residence he had completed five years earlier. His objective was to strike a balance between comfort and elegance, and evidence of his success is apparent throughout the home. In the family room, he added a striking fireplace comprised of six blocks of 120-million-year-old Texas limestone, a comfort on foggy San Francisco nights. Throughout the living space he fitted fine wood craftsmanship and stylish textures, all bathed in natural light. Hundred-yearold clear-heart pine floors (salvaged from the Sears Tower in Chicago) and coffered ceilings provide a relaxing atmosphere of elegance and simplicity.
No expense was spared in the home’s fittings. Handsome Douglas fir doors with full mortise locks adorn the entries and the stairways are accented with custom-designed wood handrails. The spacious, hand-hewn kitchen cabinets and bedroom closets have classic touches that complement the Venetian plaster walls and ceilings.heart pine floors (salvaged from the Sears Tower in Chicago) and coffered ceilings provide a relaxing atmosphere of elegance and simplicity.
At the center of the home is an elegant and expansive kitchen with all the room required for culinary creations large and small. There are professional appliances and a restaurant-grade stainless hood for the serious cook, which matches the durable, low-maintenance stainless countertop, sink and flashing. The Calacatta Michelangelo marble island top brings a solid addition of classic design and provides a natural gathering spot in the kitchen.relaxing atmosphere of elegance and simplicity.
The lush back garden and brick patio is a congenial space for barbecues and get-togethers of all sorts, as well as a relaxing place to unwind after the day. Beauma-niere classico beauvillon limestone lends personality to the outdoor kitchen and the patio countertops.
But high-tech resides here as well. The downstairs cinema room boasts a Kaleidescape 4K movie player, ultraHD video display and integrated sound system to deliver an immersive theater experience. For chilly evenings, there are radiant heated floors. This is a home adorned with luxury appointments found in houses several times its size.
Natural materials, colors and textures are known to sooth and restore, and they do so throughout the home. On the lower level, the windows look out to the garden. On the main floor, the windows and skylights provide natural light and balance in all the rooms and hallways. Frank Gehry once said, “Architecture should speak of its time and place but yearn for timelessness.� 80 Woodacre Drive does just that.
The New Design The remodel was done by the talented and award-winning architect Bob Arrigoni, FAIA, founding partner and principal emeritus of BAR Architects. He removed all the existing finishes, down to the structural frame, then rearranged the walls to create more spacious, open interiors, interconnected and visually exciting. The design was inspired by a family Tahoe home, which was also designed by Arrigoni in 1990. Interior design details were created by award-winning designer Orlando Diaz-Azcuy, known for his spare yet elegant interiors that balance ornate and minimal furnishings to create an aesthetic of less is more. The approach is predicated on a sense of unity, rather than house as backdrop for a large group of disparate elements. The remodel included new kitchen and family living areas, and improved ingress and circulation. The kitchen was moved to the northeast corner of the site, at grade, to the area that had been occupied by the spare bedroom and bathroom. A new dining and living space was located in the area of the former multipurpose room at the southeast corner, also at grade. In this way, the rear of the house was transformed into a single kitchen/dining/family room with direct access to the rear garden. The front door and entry hall were maintained, along with the living room. The original dining room was converted to a study. A more open stairway configuration was developed to connect the midlevel with the new bedrooms and bathrooms above, and with the lower great room, garage and basement game and cinema room, which was excavated to achieve a 9-foot ceiling height and allow the addition of windows. This extensive rearrangement of space, along with new finishes, details and equipment, brought to life a modern and very livable dwelling. There is the potential to create a larger compound by merging the two properties of 80 Woodacre and 86 Woodacre. There are existing drawings that show how the backyards can be merged with a single deck, landscaping and fire pit.
Lakeside: A Brief History Lakeside is a small district of immaculate homes built between 1936 and 1950 by brothers Ellis and Henry Stoneson. Influential locally and nationally, they pioneered the concept of the “city within a city.” To complete their Lakeside neighborhood, they created the small commercial district of Lakeside Village. The brothers conceived Lakeside as “a garden community of small homes” and built personal mansions for themselves within the district. Overall, their architectural vision was of a charming, minimalist aesthetic that survives to this day amid the tree-lined streets of well-maintained homes. There are beautiful gardens, white picket fences and period streetlights. Lakeside houses are defined by their approachable proportions. Window sizing and door placement accord to the layout of rooms and ensure good ventilation and convenient entry and egress. The post caps and bases, crown moldings, and door and window trim all display classical detailing in a simple manner. Unlike houses in modern real estate developments, homes in Lakeside are varied in their architecture. They include interesting range in their rooflines, walkways and windows. Yet the homes don’t clash because the Stoneson brothers worked to provide a holistic sense of place and scale. Lakeside is a neighborhood of distinctive individual homes that come together to comprise an elegant whole. Even the street grid is varied, with soft, rounded curves, which lends a quiet atmosphere to the walkable streets and provides a soothing oasis amid the area’s busy thoroughfares.
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