Caroline Nassif's design transformed her clients' 1920s home as well as their lives.

What began as a quest for a better bathtub evolved into a full-scale reinvention of a 1921 Craftsman in Oakland’s Lakeshore area. When software designer Andrew Watterson and his partner, Keith Kurson, bought the house in 2021, they quickly discovered that decades of piecemeal renovations had left it riddled with problems: cramped rooms, awkward circulation, leaks, and a poorly designed bathroom.

The couple turned to architect Caroline Nassif, a longtime friend who had spent a decade at Lundberg Design before founding Studio Ovo. During a dinner at the house, Nassif quickly sketched a new vision. What started as a bathroom renovation soon expanded into a complete gut renovation of the home’s two primary levels above guest rooms below.

Nassif reorganized the layout around the way the couple actually lives. The formerly compartmentalized main floor became an open-plan sequence of kitchen, dining, and living spaces designed for the dinner parties and game nights that regularly draw 20 guests. Upstairs, she created a more private realm with dual home offices, a generous primary suite, and a spa-like bath studded with a deep soaking tub.

“She took a piece of tracing paper and drew out our floor plan,” Watterson recalls. The breakthrough came when Nassif looked at the divided kitchen and dining room and offered a deceptively simple solution: “So, knock down the wall.”

Material choices reflect the home’s blend of Craftsman aesthetics and modern restraint, with walnut cabinetry, European white oak floors, stone surfaces, and carefully crafted details throughout. New openings visually connect both levels to the tiered backyard gardens, strengthening the feeling of retreat.

“We have a custom window from the bedroom that looks onto the garden,” says Watterson. “Honestly, looking out from the window is one of the nicest experiences. We have the house that we want now.”

Photos by Brad Knipstein