Historic Craftsman

This one-of-a-kind Rockridge property exemplifies the best of its era: a classic 1907 Craftsman home with lush outdoor space, a picturesque back Carriage house and an easy walk through the neighborhood’s tree-line streets to shops, restaurants and transit. Lovingly maintained over the years, it was fully renovated in 2005, including a top-notch foundation and seismic overhaul.

The distinctive clinker brick columns and facade on the main house complement the oversized diamond-paned windows and roof trim. The quality of the workmanship and unique materials earned this house the title of Heritage Property.

The quarter-sawn Oak front door opens into a coved-ceiling entry with dark wood wainscoting, beautiful multi-pane French doors to the dining room on one side and wooden columns to the living room on the other side. The original Oak floors have a detailed Mahogany inlaid stripe around the edges of each room while rosettes adorn the corners in the front rooms and the entry.

The living room features two large windows above a built-in seat, coved ceiling and handsome wood trim. Flowing from here is the cheerful window-lined sunroom with French doors leading to the rear deck and garden. The warm and inviting kitchen with “paper stone” counters, custom Oak cabinets and Douglas Fir floors looks out to the backyard, is open to the sunroom and connects to the gracious dining room through a doorway. The dining room has paneled wainscoting, box-beam ceiling, a built-in glass-fronted hutch, double window seats and an attractive brick fireplace.

The wainscoting continues to the upper level and into the hallway. A window at the top of the stairs offers a view of the rear yard’s multiple trees, carriage house and on a clear day, a peak of the Bay. Paneled doors in the hallway open to reveal a storage closet and new stacked washer-dryer unit. Just beyond is a large bathroom, with painted wainscoting, an extra-long original clawfoot tub and charming custom copper sink. The Oak flooring carries from the hallway through all three bedrooms, with their diamond-paned windows and crown molding trim. The primary bedroom has two additional casement windows facing the rear and two ample closets.

The rear yard is an urban sanctuary and gardener’s delight. Four fruit-bearing trees (fig, persimmon, lemon and pear) share the space with a majestic Magnolia, a live oak and other drought-tolerant trees that provide seasonal color and prime habitat. Raised gardening beds framed by original clinker brick, grow vegetables, herbs and ornamentals. A programmable drip irrigation system makes watering a snap.

The original 2-story carriage house has been fully restored and reimagined as an office, guest cottage or project space. Clad in Redwood, French doors open to the brick patio for easy indoor-outdoor living. The extra-high ceilings and open floor plan offer multiple possibilities. The upstairs space with skylights is light and lovely, with superb views of the garden.

In addition to the ample space of the main and Carriage house, there is a roomy basement workshop/media room.  The long driveway provides off-street parking spaces.

The sellers were passionate about reducing their carbon footprint and added as many Green building features as they were able, including solar panels, a 2-zone greywater system that recycles shower and laundry water to the trees and external water tanks that can store 650 gallons of rainwater.

The main house measuring 1904 sf has 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms and the 2 level carriage house measures 617 sf. The lot is 6,500 sf.