Remodeling the upper floor of this hillside house first involved a decision about what to do with the dark and underutilized breakfast area. The clients also wanted to remove the small kitchen, and build the new one closer to the north-facing windows. The problem with this configuration was that the new dining area would be awkwardly removed from the kitchen.

Given how large the floor plan was, there was ample room to displace the breakfast area in favor of inserting a broad, raised stair landing. This facilitated access from kitchen to dining, resolving an awkward circulation pattern in the original plan.

An existing stepped ceiling motif was carried through to echo the cascading floors. These mimick the slope of the site and direct attention toward the views to the south.