Pro Projects
A responsive family home provides a tranquil refuge
See how architect Mahya Salehi overcame a number of obstacles, from site constraints to daylighting challenges, to design a family home that ticks all the boxes and uses 100 Series windows and doors.
When tackling this new home project, the family’s choice was to buy an existing home that would surely need updating or build a new one tailored to their needs and lifestyle, so the couple decided to build. They found an infill lot in their town of Fremont, California. Although its shape was unusual, its location, in a vibrant neighborhood with good schools, was perfect. Their next move was to hire architect Mahya Salehi, AIA, founder of the eponymously named studio. Here’s how Salehi made this family’s dream home come true.
Letting in the light
The lot has a long driveway that snakes between two existing homes and down a slope to the main site. Surrounded by existing homes, finding natural light was the first challenge presented by the location. A shadow study shed light on a daylighting strategy that includes the following features:
- A south-facing courtyard: This outdoor space carved into the side of the home has 100 Series gliding patio doors and floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, which allows it to light multiple rooms.
- A window wall: Positioned at the back of the home where the floor plan opens up, this configuration uses the Easy Connect Joining System to let light into the great room and is complemented by light coming from the adjacent courtyard.
- A double-height stairwell: This vertical volume acts as a light well, beaming light from the skylights into the center of the home.
- Lots of floor-to-ceiling glass: 100 Series Picture windows and gliding patio doors of a consistent height are integrated throughout the home.
The city’s height restriction was a second challenge. To work around the two-story limitation, Salehi used the sloping site to her advantage. She integrated the basement level into the hillside and positioned the second and third stories, so there’s never more than two overlapping at once — resulting in three finished levels and a total of 4,800 square feet.
The split-level approach accommodates the family’s complex program requirements: two home offices and an in-law suite that can house relatives for extended stays. It also left room for lots of indoor/outdoor living. Additional space was converted into decks in various locations, including a massive one off the primary suite.
The window wall at the back of the home ushers natural light into a great room that’s the heart of the family’s home. It was created with 100 Series Picture Windows that are united with the Easy Connect Joining System.
Playing with layout
Salehi has helped a lot of clients fix the problems resulting from an almost “reckless” embrace of open-concept floor plans. She’s well acquainted with the acoustic issues, inefficiency, and discomfort that can result from removing all walls, so she guided her clients carefully in balancing open and defined spaces throughout their home.
“There’s a hybrid scenario where you maintain openness, whether visually or through proximity, while still having rooms that feel like different spaces.”
Mahya Salehi, AIA
A certain degree of openness helps natural light penetrate deep into the interior. This is key to the daylighting strategy at the back of the home where a window wall makes up one side of the great room. Here is where the kitchen, breakfast nook, and family room are located in one hardworking space. By housing multiple functions in this great room, something fundamental to family life is fostered, an opportunity for connection. The children might be doing homework or craft projects in the breakfast nook, and their parents might be cooking dinner, but everyone is near one another.
The main floor includes a great room that’s the heart of the home along with more defined rooms for specific purposes. This approach creates two kinds of public spaces, one for the family and the other for guests. It also avoids the problems associated with having a totally open-concept main floor.
The rest of the main level is devoted to more defined spaces: a peaceful home office, a private in-law suite, and formal living and dining rooms. The latter two spaces are key to the family’s lifestyle as their home is often the site of large group gatherings.
Her hybrid approach of creating both family-focused spaces and guest-oriented spaces maximizes functionality and spatial efficiency. The long narrow lot could have resulted in a corridor-like home, but Salehi’s thoughtful plan allowed her to divide it in a way that’s more human scale and still "fits many unique experiences within the same level.”
In the formal living room, a 100 Series Single-Hung Window with a cottage sash was a practical choice. The window is so tall that the shorter bottom sash makes it easier to open, and there’s no need for an operable upper sash.
Keeping on budget
The home was started during the pandemic, throwing curveballs in the planning and increasing the cost of the materials and labor, so Salehi had to get creative. Instead of panels for the exterior, she elevated everyday stucco with a unique raking technique. Using stucco spoke to the local vernacular and was feasible and cost-effective thanks to the deep knowledge of area pros. She also made smart choices with her window and door specifications.
Salehi opted for fixed windows in high spots where they wouldn’t be operable. In places where there was a door, she added floor-to-ceiling windows rather than more operable doors than were needed. The window wall only features one operable window, above the sink, because part of the configuration includes a 100 Series Gliding Patio Door, which lets in all the fresh air needed. In the dining room where people are most always seated, she skipped the floor-to-ceiling windows because they wouldn’t have been fully appreciated from a seated position. She specified windows and doors from our 100 Series product line. Part of the reason she was able to mix and match different window types so easily is because of the modular design of the product line. Sight lines and setbacks match across the entire series. Additionally, choosing 100 Series was the perfect choice for staying within budget without sacrificing quality.
A 100 Series Gliding Patio Door in the primary suite opens to a large balcony that was made possible due to the split-level design.
Salehi’s success in designing this home is rooted in what she describes as a responsive approach — responding to the clients’ needs, of course, but also to the local zoning requirements, local environment, and leveraging the knowledge of the building pros in her community. "The [home] starts to tell you what it wants to be,” she said. “You can take limitations and actually make them the concept of the project.”
Now when her clients leave their busy Silicon Valley jobs and return home, it’s to a tranquil hideaway that’s exactly right for their family.
About Mahya Salehi Studio
Mahya Salehi Studio is an architecture and interior design practice based in Walnut Creek, California. Founded by architect Mahya Salehi, AIA, the studio specializes in custom residential projects that balance beauty, functionality, and a deep sensitivity to site and context. With a holistic approach, the team designs architecture and interiors in parallel — ensuring cohesive, tailored spaces that feel both timeless and highly personal.
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