Our clients for this Silicon Valley remodel wanted us to enlarge their existing kitchen by expanding into their adjacent dinette and family room area and address heat and glare issues caused by the afternoon sun at the rear of the residence. Our remodel eventually addressed almost all of the ground floor rooms. In addition we coordinated the addition of new windows throughout the house and “refreshed” the front entry and rear façade. We expanded the kitchen into the dinette area by creating an informal bar area to replace their existing dinette area. We increased indoor-outdoor flow by creating a wall of French doors and windows at the rear which included solar shading integrated into the rear wall by means of a system of interior wall panels defined by carefully laid out reveals. We created a dropped ceiling between the kitchen and the family room to define the bar counter area. A new, minimalist fireplace design replaced the existing brick fireplace. Wenge-colored cabinets and soft putty-colored walls in the dining/family room create a serene overall unity to the space. At the front entry, new doors, hardware and lighting brought this Mid-century rancher into the 21st Century. Photos by Mark Brand.