Bay View Kitchen

Berkeley, CA

Disguised refrigerator and custom red birch cabinets by Levitch. Open shelves display some of the Owner's handcrafted ceramics collection.
View from Dining Room to new bar seating and Kitchen. Open shelves display some of the Owner's handcrafted ceramics collection.
Range wall with panel-ready fridge at the left and full-height stone backsplash matching the counters
Custom kitchen cabinetry with warm wood veneer panels concealing integrated appliances, creating a clean, modern look that emphasizes craftsmanship, storage efficiency, and seamless design.
Custom kitchen cabinet with pull out pantry storage and integrated appliance shelf, showing concealed organization solutions that support a clean and highly functional modern kitchen design.
Kitchen view toward Dining Room. A beam replaces the wall that had separated the two rooms.
Bay view windows. The window over the sink was designed so it doesn't encroach upon deck and stair space outside. The floating shelves and trim around the backsplash were fashioned from leftover countertop material.

Bay View Kitchen

Berkeley, CA

  • Year Built: 2025

    The family wanted to maximize Bay views while reducing afternoon glare. They also wanted to open the Kitchen to the Dining Room.

    Challenges Overcome

    • There was an awkward step into the Kitchen from the Garage level, and we pushed the step closer to the Garage for a better flow.

    • The clients fell in love with Red Birch cabinets and wanted Levitch to build their cabinets. This isn’t a wood we typically use so we found local sources for the material.

    The window over the Eating Nook had previously been enlarged so we took a practical approach to enlarging it without needing lots of extra (and costly) engineering support to this hillside home.

    Photography by Treve Johnson

  • Clarity and Communication

    We had an excellent experience working with Maurice and his crew as we remodeled and combined our kitchen and dining room. The initial plans would have required expensive seismic upgrades…so their architects patiently reworked the plans … to stay within our budget. We also enjoyed working on the design phase.

    The best part … was their clarity and communication. The project start…coincided with our six-week foreign trip. Every evening we got updates. When they had questions we'd resolve them … by email or … Zooms. Change orders were minor and always reasonable.

    People were shocked we could get all this done while we were gone, but because they designed the plans, and because of their great communication, it really didn't matter at all that we were not on-location. Maurice is just such a nice person and went to great lengths to make sure we were happy with everything, we'd absolutely work with him again if we do more work on the house.

    -S. C.

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