Event announcement! On Saturday, October 12 in San Francisco, Levy Art + Architecture is being featured in a new series of home tours showcasing the talents of exceptional interior designers throughout North America, as part of the GRAY x MA+DS Interior Design Tour.
Come and see our Miter House on Kansas Street up close and personal, ask us questions or just enjoy the full-height frameless views of San Francisco, cozy fireplaces and unique central stairwell that mimics a sundial throughout the day.
Levy Art + Architecture’s latest luxury residential project has earned a coveted spot in Architectural Digest (AD).
The collaboration between Ross Levy, client Yishai Lerner, and AD100 designer Charles de Lisle resulted in the transformation of a quaint two-story fixer-upper into a stunning contemporary residence perched atop a hill in central San Francisco, boasting breathtaking 270-degree views of the bay.
From the seamless integration of architectural details to the infusion of vibrant, Northern California-inspired elements, this project exemplifies the seamless fusion of modern aesthetics and functional elegance. Levy Art + Architecture added extra square footage, and also engineered the home’s smallest details—for instance, installing invisible air conditioning vents in the seam of the living room’s gabled ceiling, and custom-designing the winding iron staircase so it appears to be floating independently of the walls. “I’ve built software my whole life,” Yishai explains. “So I’m always thinking about the user experience.”
Notable luxury features include tall ceilings, uninterrupted planes of glass, a home office, home gym, an Alaskan cedar–lined sauna, and a Redwood hot tub, custom console in the entranceway, creamy Nordic-inspired Douglas Fir wall paneling in the TV room, Ceppo de Gre Stone in the guest suite (the very same that clads the gray facades of Milanese apartment buildings), a dark purple Blue Star kitchen range with brass details, and a custom kitchen island by furniture designer Martino Gamper.
Learn more about the architectural features and design journey of this remarkable home in the latest feature on Architectural Digest.
At Levy Art + Architecture, we have recently had the privilege of working closely with some clients who went in search of the perfect place to call home in Los Altos Hills. Now, we embark on the exciting journey of creating a modern luxury residence. We wanted to take this opportunity to reflect and share our philosophy on what distinguishes a typical residential design from a truly luxurious one. Here are some of the elements which we consider essential in planning modern luxury architecture.
Los Altos home features 30 feet of NanaWall stacking glass doors. Photo by Marcell Puzsar. Kansas Street residence features Skyframe picture windows with views of Sutro Tower, San Francisco. Photo by Joe Fletcher.
1. Large Panes of Glass
Picture this – a home where the boundary between the indoor and outdoor is beautifully blurred. We believe that luxury living involves generously-sized glass panels that seamlessly merge your living spaces with the natural world outside. Imagine waking up to panoramic views of rolling hills or city skylines, and enjoying golden sunsets from the comfort of your living room. We work directly with manufacturers of frameless windows, and create site-specific designs in order to ensure the best views possible.
It’s about crafting areas where your imagination knows no bounds, and where every corner offers breathtaking vistas – like a 360 degree view of the Ventana Mountains, Healdsburg Vineyards, the Pacific Ocean, or the Golden Gate Bridge.
An open floor plan where kitchen, dining and living spaces flow together seamlessly. Photo by Cesar Rubio.
2. Expansive, Open Floor Plans
In luxury residences, space is an art form. We’re talking about floor plans that evoke a sense of expansiveness. Whether it’s a sprawling vineyard estate in Healdsburg, or a chic penthouse atop Russian Hill, luxury is synonymous with open, spacious layouts.
The key in creating spaces that are open, yet defined. A common example is linking entertainment areas to enjoyment areas — what we call the “great room” — where kitchen, dining and living areas flow together. Rooms flow seamlessly into one another, but are clearly defined as unique areas within a larger space for functional as well as aesthetic purpose, creating points of interest for a truly luxury feel. We employ modulations in the ceiling and in finishes to create distinct areas within an open floor plan — specificity without walls.
In contrast to fully open floor plan, many clients are asking for secondary kitchens / preparation spaces that are hidden from view for parties and special events. In that case, we can also use separation intentionally to create “back of house” space for outside caterers and other staff, while maintaining openness in other parts of the layout.
Expansiveness with specificity by material and volume. Photo by Joe Fletcher.Top floor is a singular space that flows through the length of floor to join dining, living, and balconies on both sides, and connect to the backyard with its tall, mature yucca trees. Photo by Mikiko Kikuyama.
3. Exquisite Materials
Luxury is in the details, and when it comes to materials, we spare no expense in curating the finest. Our work has been featured in renowned publications including Modern Luxury Magazine, SPACES, and Architectural Digest. We believe that luxury is expressed through the materials that adorn your living spaces. Whether it’s the rich, inviting Hakwood floors at Kansas Street or the opulent, light-drenched bathrooms at Winfield Street, every surface tells a story of elegance and refinement.
For example, on our Winfield project, we used large-scale slab material on floors and walls to convey a “total environment” — a design where walls, floors, and ceiling are seamlessly connected. By virtue of the continuity, it makes the space feel boundless.
We used large-scale slab material for a seamless finish that feels luxurious and boundless. Photo by Levy Art + Architecture.
4. Indoor / Outdoor Connections
Imagine a home where you can enjoy your morning shower while gazing at the iconic Sutro Tower, or a residence with a bridge that connects your pool to a tranquil outdoor tea house, overlooking a lush garden below. Luxury living means fostering a harmonious relationship between your interior and the world beyond. It’s about creating spaces where you can step from your indoor haven directly into an outdoor sanctuary, maintaining a connection with the environment as you go about your daily life.
Connection to the environment goes beyond physical and visual connection. It’s also about responsible, sustainable design. This takes the form of: material selection i.e. locally-sourced, reclaimed and nontoxic materials, as well as building envelope design, and efficient / renewable energy-powered mechanical systems. Net zero homes are not only environmental, but they are quiet, healthy, easy to operate, and easy to maintain — the epitome of luxury!
Connection to the outdoors — bands of salvaged cedar at the base of this Healdsburg, California residence support climbing wisteria and bind the house to the vineyard landscape as it rises from the rows of vines. Photo by Ken Gutmaker.All three living levels are conceived as a series of interlocking forms, stepping up the hill and out of the earth, with the serenity of a Japanese-inspired garden and tea house to the rear at this Laidley residence. Photo by Ken Gutmaker.
At Levy Art + Architecture, we’re passionate about bringing these luxury elements into your residential design. Our commitment to crafting modern elegance is unwavering, and we look forward to sharing more insights and inspirations on how to transform your vision of luxury living into a breathtaking reality. Subscribe below to stay up-to-date with our innovations and our focus on creating meaningful, modern architecture.
Welcome to Part 2 of our comprehensive guide to architecture terms, where we delve into the essential elements that shape the design and construction of your dream home or commercial structure. Let’s explore the exciting world of architecture together and empower you with knowledge to make informed decisions throughout your project.
In our previous post, we provided a quick primer on common architectural terms. Now, we’re expanding the list to guide you through the decision-making process during the design, planning, and building stages of your new architecture project.
Site work
Prepare the canvas for your architectural masterpiece with careful site work considerations. This step ensures that your land is ready to be built upon, and all necessary utilities are installed, before construction begins. It includes tasks such as clearing and leveling the site, and installing utilities like water, gas, and electricity, as well as consideration of how you’ll access your site i.e. what the approach is like. If merited, the architect will additionally coordinate with a landscape architect. Every aspect of your property will be strategically planned to create a harmonious and functional environment.
Tree protection
Irrigation
Well location
Propane tanks or other fuel storage
Underground power feed
Solar installation and inverters
Fire protection tanks, stand-pipe and site locations
Septic fields and redundant field areas
Driveway layout and material
Terraces and decks
Landscape
Exterior lighting
Foundation
Here, we lay the groundwork for a solid and stable home or commercial space.This is the base of your building that supports the weight of the structure. Our architects will guide you through the choices that determine the strength and durability of your foundation, ensuring a secure base for your architectural vision, and preventing problems later on like settling or cracking. We will make recommendations based on a geo-technical investigation of your precise location, followed by a structural engineering recommendation. Again, the architect acts as a master coordinator between all parties.
Soil study
Drilled piers or spread footings
Slab
Raised floor over crawl space
Retaining walls
Framing
Design and construction of the frame of the house, including decisions about the type of materials used, such as FSC certified wood, engineered lumber, or all-steel. It’s important to coordinate this, because all of the other systems will fit into it. Your architect will ensure that there is ample room for these other systems, avoiding conflicts during construction.
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood
Engineered lumber, TJI, LVL, parallam
Hybrid: steel, with wood for large open expanses
All-steel
Insulation
This is what keeps your house comfortable and reduces your energy bills. The most advanced example is called a “passive house” that retains heat from human activity and sunshine and employs virtually no mechanical space-conditioning systems.
Rock wool exterior
Fiberglass (incl. non-formaldehyde options)
Cotton batt
Cellulose
Spray foam (open and closed cell)
Siding and exterior surfaces
Exterior finish determines not only the look of the house, but also the durability and maintenance requirements. Your architect can help guide the selection, including considerations such as code requirements for wildfire resistance.
Siding vs rainscreen
Natural wood, stain and maintenance considerations per Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)
Engineered siding and rainscreen (i.e. parklex resin and bamboo strand)
Fiber-reinforced concrete
Stucco and lime plaster
Electrical and smart home
An electrical plan in many ways determines how you’ll use your home. Oftentimes, we work in coordination with a lighting designer to develop a plan that will allow for different moods and uses, with simple & integrated control systems.
Shade pockets-recessed roller blinds
Lighting controls
Integrated AV systems
Security
Roofing material
For houses with shaped roof, the roof is a major architectural feature and determines much of the visual style. Your architect will help guide you in the selection process for both aesthetic and functional reasons including long-term wear and code requirements.
Code requirements for fire rating
Asphalt shingle
Slate shingle
Tile (terracotta and glazed)
Steel (standing seam or horizontal lap patterns)
Flooring
This is the single largest surface area in the home. In addition to being a large visual component, many times heating and other systems are integrated into the flooring. Your architect can help you determine which material is appropriate for each living space, and then make a selection within that range.
Full-dimension hardwood
Engineered hardwood
Tile (porcelain and ceramic options, large format)
Walls, textures, and ultimately colors help shape the experience of a space. Sense of space is more than just shape – it is defined by material. Materials can be used to highlight special architectural features, contribute to the ambiance of a room, and create continuity throughout the house. This is an area where an architect helps you to create a personalized expression of your home.
Sheetrock (texture and level of finish 3-5 for smoothness)
Lime washes
Plaster
Stone/ brick veneer
Paneling (natural, book matched, painted, stained)
Cabinetry
In addition to the functional components, cabinetry is an element where design & material expression can be introduced on a very refined level. This is where you will come into physical contact with your home, and you will appreciate the fine level of craftsmanship and detail that an architect can provide.
Wood or laminate
Drawer and box construction (dowel and peg, dovetail…) formed steel, wood,
Manufactured or custom
Wood grain or paint/
Tile and stone
With a large array of natural and man-made materials, we guide our clients in selecting the best products for your lifestyle and the style of your home. Every selection has its own benefits, applications, and limitations. An experienced architect will help you choose not only based on appearance, but help you make selections that will have a long lifespan.
Stone style and wear potential, porosity,patina, maintenance
Bath details
Bathrooms are becoming more and more spa-like. They are the places we go to relax and unwind. An architect will help you find the space and function for this most intimate portion of the home.
Number of fixtures (3-6)
Shower bath combo
Wet room
Free standing tub
Bidet/ bidet-wc combo
Number of vanities
Curbless shower, linear drain
Make up area(s)
Closets
Closets can run the gamut from simple storage to wardrobe display. Their appointments are another area where a custom home can be much more tailored than an ordinary house.
Walk-in vs, in room (space and flow)
Basic pole and shelf
Added fit out, drawers, wardrobes, specialty systems
Dressing area, mirror location
Doors
There is a lot of style embedded in the door selection, including the casings and surrounds. The front door, especially, is a signature piece in almost every home. There are also functional choices to be made; for example, door selection can create additional levels of privacy within the house. Your architect will guide you to define a door style that is both functional and complements the overall aesthetic of the home.
Style (flat panel vs. detailed, painted vs. wood grain)
Baseboard and casings
Hardware and fixtures, (stops)
If you’re ready to delve deeper into the world of architecture terms and gain access to the complete guide, we invite you to head over to this page to download the printable PDF. Additionally, if you’re embarking on a custom residential or commercial project, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Schedule your complimentary 20-minute consultation to have your questions answered, regardless of the phase your project is in.
Together, let’s create a beautiful, functional, and sustainable building that perfectly aligns with your unique vision and requirements.
Ross Levy, licensed architect and principal at Levy Art + Architecture, has been creating environmentally-conscious designs that support modern lifestyles for nearly 30 years. With his background as a building contractor, he brings a craftsman’s perspective and attention to detail to every unique project. Ross completed graduate work at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, is a founding member of The Viet Nam Green Building Council, and has served for many years on the AIA Public Policy committee.
Whether you are building a standalone structure in wine country, mountains, or along the coast, our guide to architecture terms will help you work effectively with an architect on your new project.
Common architectural terms are defined as a quick primer, followed by a checklist with more specific descriptions of building components and systems.
This is your decision-making guide if you are beginning a new architecture project.
Architecture – General Terms
Building siting (view, sun exposure, prevailing breeze, Zoning Codes)
Total mass and volume (inside and outside shape)
Interior organization, space and flow
Proportion of each space, length width and height
Features (double height spaces, stairs, beams and exposed structure, large operable glass, ceiling shapes and skylights)
Architecture is the overall design and planning of your ideal project including the size, layout, and style of the structure. Discussing architecture is important because it will help to determine the overall look and feel of the building, and ensure that it meets your needs and preferences. A skilled architect will also act as the point of coordination between all of your other vendors (landscapers, general contractors, lighting designers etc), so that you end up with a unified and complete vision.
Building siting: The process of selecting the best location on a piece of land for a building based on factors such as views, sun exposure, prevailing breeze, and local zoning codes.
Total mass and volume: The overall size and shape of a building, both inside and outside, which can affect the building’s aesthetic appeal, energy efficiency, and functional layout.
Interior organization, space, and flow: The arrangement of rooms, walls, doors, and other elements inside a building to create functional and efficient living spaces that meet the needs of the occupants.
Proportion of each space: The relative size and dimensions (length, width, and height) of each room or space in a building, including ceiling height and floor area. This affects the overall comfort and functionality of the living spaces.
Features: The unique design elements or functional features incorporated into a building, such as fireplaces, built-in storage, or outdoor living spaces.
Double-height spaces: An interior space that extends vertically to the full height of two stories, which can create a sense of openness and grandeur in a building.
Stairs: An element of a building that provides access between different levels, which can be designed to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the building and create a sense of visual interest.
Beams and exposed structure: The structural elements of a building that are left exposed, which can create a visually interesting and unique design feature.
Large operable glass: Large windows or doors that can be opened to connect the interior of a building to the outdoor environment, which can provide natural light and ventilation.
Ceiling shapes and skylights: The design of the ceiling, including shapes, angles, and the inclusion of skylights, can affect the aesthetic appeal and functionality of a building, as well as the amount of natural light that enters the space.
Working on a custom residential or commercial project? We’d be happy to guide you through this process and work with you to create a beautiful, functional, and sustainable building that fits your unique vision and needs.
Ross Levy, licensed architect and principal at Levy Art + Architecture, has been creating environmentally-conscious designs that support modern lifestyles for nearly 30 years. With his background as a building contractor, he brings a craftsman’s perspective and attention to detail to every unique project. Ross completed graduate work at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, is a founding member of The Viet Nam Green Building Council, and has served for many years on the AIA Public Policy committee.
Is your custom home one that you can live in comfortably and feel good about?
In 2010, we completed construction of the first completely self-powering house in San Francisco. That’s right: 100% energy neutral.
Today, more than a decade later, we wish that all homes would be built this way.
Here’s how we did it, and what you can do to improve your own project in a move toward a net-zero (or better!) future.
1) START WITH SOLAR
An eight-kilowatt solar array, grid-connected and net-metered, produces all power necessary for domestic and transportation purposes without any on-site carbon emissions. The owner, who had been working in the solar industry for over twenty years at the time of construction, was committed to “getting off the pipe” …as in: a house without a gas meter.
2) ALIGN WITH THE SUN
The self-powering home design includes a structure with ample roof area for the panels and a highly-efficient envelope. The floor plan sees open living spaces at the rear of the house, directly adjacent to the garden. These rooms employ ample, south-facing glazing for maximum solar gain.
3) USE PASSIVE RADIANT HEATING
On mild days, exposed concrete floors with radiant tubes convey passively-collected heat to the north-facing portions of the house via a small recirculating pump. We specified Marvin wood windows with High-R-Tripane glazing and sprayed, Biobase, soy foam insulation for R-19 walls and an R-40 roof. This creates a tight enclosure while also accounting for existing, historic “blind walls” and the inherent problems with air and moisture infiltration that they present.
A three-story stairwell topped with operable skylights is a dramatic vertical space and creates a heat stack, providing all cooling necessary for the moderate San Francisco climate.
The mechanical systems are based on the “all electric” concept. In the active heating mode, a 2/3 ton electric heat pump provides hot water for the floor system. A second heat pump provides domestic hot water for showers, laundry etc.
4) CHOOSE SMART FIXTURES & APPLIANCES
LED fixtures and high-efficiency appliances lower the total electrical load, while a plug-in hybrid charges in off-hours to balance production and consumption cycles with the net metering approach.
5) RECLAIM WATER
A gray water reclamation system provides irrigation for a shared backyard vegetable garden and for drought-tolerant landscape features – both at the yard and the street.
GOING FURTHER
This self-powering home project was cutting edge a decade ago. It represents more than a “green” structure. We work at the level of lifestyle: considering transportation, food production and community in this urban setting in a holistic approach while also serving the specific needs and desires of the homeowner.
Being able to “divorce” the local power company and lower your utility bills is a nice perk, of course.
But being environmentally sustainable is just the beginning; this is now our status quo.
Levy Art + Architecture firm is an interdisciplinary studio operating at the intersection of architecture, environmentalism and art. Our work is inspired by a commitment to research and sustainability as a basis for the design process. The knowledge derived from this study is embodied in form, structure and light. It defines spaces that transform our daily experience and influence the way we live in urban and natural environments.
Levy Art + Architecture’s recently-completed luxury residential design was featured in the nation’s largest luxury media outlet.
Sky High
by MAILE PINGEL, PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTOPHER STARK
A trio of talents breathe new life into a dated condo atop San Francisco’s Russian Hill.
“This is a one-of-a-kind apartment, but it was a bit of an unorthodox approach for me,” says San Francisco interior designer Eche Martinez of the Russian Hill condominium he recently completed with architect Ross Levy and fellow designer Cindy Bayon. “I got to come in after the dusty part of the project and bring it to life,” he says. The condo, located in a landmark building, was nearing the end of its two-year renovation by Levy and Bayon when the owners, newlyweds, brought in Martinez, whom the wife had met through a mutual friend, to take the project across the finish line. “Cindy and Ross did an incredible job of layering natural materials and beautiful finishes for an eclectic, quirky Bay Area aesthetic, and it was an impeccable job by the builder, Justine Sears,” he explains. “My role was really more of an art director.”
“It’s a modern space within a traditional setting,” explains Levy, a longtime friend of the husband. The original floor plan was a series of formal rooms, so the architect opened the space to create a contemporary flow that would also establish a gallery-like setting for the couple’s art collection. Working with project architect Patrick Donato, Levy rearranged the entry sequence to take advantage of spectacular downtown and Bay Bridge views. Original doors and windows couldn’t be changed, so they were painted white to disappear into the walls. Likening the condo’s new flow of rooms to a renovated historic Italian palazzo, Levy then added subtle definition to the great room by creating varying ceiling designs over the living, dining and family room areas.
RESPECT: ARCHITECTURE EXISTS IN CONTEXT… URBAN, NATURAL, AND CULTURAL
The architectural project never takes place in a vacuum.
The context that we face today is more complex, layered and nuanced than any that has preceded it. We work piece by piece into a world that is not always well conceived, created of different layers of success and failure in planning and building. On top of this, time has passed. Now places, specific structures, and larger districts are imbued with an overlay of human history — some shared public sense of their significance and cultural importance.
Understanding and working with the circumstances that surround us grounds our work and is an act of respect for the community. This is an exercise that involves equal parts 1) recognition: what and who have come before and 2) innovation: the next, logical evolution from a land use, environmental and cultural perspective. Some of these factors are defined in subjective terms, so stakeholder engagement is critical as a preliminary step towards creating a common vocabulary through which a project may be discussed.
On a planet with nearly 8 billion human souls and an exponentially increasing rate of global warming, issues of housing, climate change, and the related issues of disaster relief and human equity are inexorably intertwined. Working within this tangled web with the understanding that the building sector is the single largest source of carbon in our atmosphere, we as architects face the intersection of technical and social crises as a portion of our everyday work. As we attempt to green this largest piece of the infrastructure we encounter, the difficult interplay of tradition and progress, science and society that are, incomprehensibly, at odds with each other in this most critical moment.
In the course of our work, we weigh necessary change against the challenges that go along with it. In cities, where there has been a resurgence of demand for a tight-knit, pedestrian lifestyle, we are working into intact and semi-intact urban fabrics to create contemporary space in historic settings. The continuity of the street wall, and the history of the community create a seen and unseen amorphous context, that we must decipher. Approaching this work with a sense of respect, for each other and for the planet is critical to our success. The public sphere must be studied, comprehended, and integrated to create an architecture that is relevant.
In the rural setting, life has always been more direct. Our work in this context is always closer to the land. Topography, the natural land features, and prevailing climate defines this context along with the real consideration of the flow of resources through these isolated settings. The best works of architecture do more than provide shelter, they enhance their surroundings, honor the land, and model a regenerative relationship with the ecosystem.
In between there are amorphous suburbs that defy form and function poorly from planetary and cultural perspectives. Urban sprawl and the issues of traffic and resource consumption that go along with it are well documented. Many of the social ills of our time; depression, addiction, suicide are problems of distress and alienation, as described in Phillip Slater’s seminal 1970 book “The Pursuit of Loneliness.” Although the critique of this pattern is complete, the solution, the adaptation, is unclear. People enjoy their space, or at least they’ve been sold on a lifestyle premised on individuality and separation. Perhaps respect, an acknowledgment of the “other” whether that other is a neighbor, a forest, or a nation, is the point from which we can begin to re-engage and create a more equitable, just and sustainable world. Doing nothing, business as usual, is no longer an option.
We overhauled a Marina-style house on Ocean Beach, allowing our client to keep an eye on the surf in the Pacific Ocean. The editors at Dwell wrote the following feature about the project:
A SURFER’S SAN FRANCISCO HOME HELPS KEEP AN EYE ON THE WAVES
If you’ve walked around San Francisco, chances are you’ve passed a Marina-style house. After all, the style originated in the city’s Marina District. “They were simple houses: one story over a garage,” says architect Ross Levy, who overhauled a specimen on Ocean Beach last year.
Although the house faces the Pacific Ocean, much of its outlook was compromised by poor window placement and an ad-hoc addition. “Sometime in the ’60s, someone plunked a third floor on top of the house, and they really did plunk it down,” says Levy. “It was like someone airlifted some plywood and nailed it together. And then you had a third floor.”
This meant that the resulting interior floor plan was “strangely arranged” and not conducive for the home’s most recent owner, a passionate surfer drawn to its proximity to the water. Levy sums up the client’s brief: “See the waves from wherever you are. That was the program.”
The home’s existing layout clustered the living spaces on the second floor— there, the front door opened into the living room, and the staircase was crammed into a narrow passage. The bedrooms were then spread between the two floors, and there was an ocean-facing deck at the third level, but the view on one side was blocked by the house.
For the remodel, the team flipped the floor plan, relocating the communal spaces to a gently expanded third floor. Dubbed the “lookout,” that level is now filled with natural light and has an enviable vantage point of the water. The designers reduced the number of bedrooms to three and grouped them all together on the second floor.
As the architects started cataloging the available space during the preliminary design phase, they made a happy discovery: “There was this cavity between the second and third floors in the building that we didn’t fully understand until we started measuring and tearing stuff apart,” says Levy. “That gave us all kinds of design opportunities that we hadn’t really counted on.”
The team anchored the new design with a bold, sculptural staircase treatment, wherein the open oak tread appears suspended on a screen of steel rods. The delicate treatment allows light to flow down from the top floor. “One of the perennial problems with the reverse floor plan remodel is, how do you get the people from the bottom to the top?” says Levy. “So, we made this floating, rod-suspended stair to be as light as air, and to really draw your eyes straight up.”
Now, the home is more in sync with its surroundings—and even better, the homeowner’s lifestyle. Although the family only moved 20 minutes away from their last home in Bernal Heights, being this much closer to the water makes all the difference when taking advantage of good conditions. “For surfers, they can look at the surf report and [check the] cameras online,” says Levy, “but there’s a lot to be said for being there.”
