When Serban and Laura Gudino-Penciu purchased a 900-square-foot bungalow in Eagle Rock in 2004, it was just the two of them. The Pencius' 1924 house is on a charming street filled with 100-year-old homes and walking distance to stores and restaurants. But after the birth of their two sons, who are now 12 and 15, and Serban's transition to entrepreneurial freelance work from a corporate job, the family of four needed more live-work space.
Serban admits it was tough to give up the garage, even though there is room to park one car in the driveway. 'We still haven't gotten rid of everything that was in there,' he says. While the front of the house fits in with the other bungalows on the street, Solbes designed the back to be more contemporary, achieving the light and space the family wanted.