We wanted to downsize and looked for a small, single-level house in a particular neighborhood in Sausalito. We found the perfect house built in 1950 with great bones, but it was missing a light-filled kitchen, a wine cellar, and a dining area. We come from the wine industry and love to host small dinner parties but there was no obvious place to put a dining table for even four people. Our prior home had a lovely light-filled open plan living room, kitchen, and eating area which we wanted to recreate on a smaller scale. We found a wonderful local architect who incorporated the previous carport into the house to create a large open living space. A large beam carried the weight across the long expanse, and two sets of large windows along with a skylight brought balanced light into the space. We were also excited to work with some newer materials, namely polycarbonate for the garage and cement fiber board for the exterior siding, in order to arrive at an “modern mid-century” home.