London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2025

A Spanish-Style Home in San Diego Gets a Big Upgrade With Just 39 Additional Square Feet

A Spanish-Style Home in San Diego Gets a Big Upgrade With Just 39 Additional Square Feet

Thanks to a simplified layout and clear connection to the outdoors, this historic home is ready for a new chapter.

The century-old residence in the University Heights neighborhood of San Diego, California, needed to be updated, but a nearby geological feature put it between the past and hard place-the home’s footprint couldn’t be widely expanded given there was a small canyon located right next door.



The main hub features accordion-style E Series doors from Andersen Windows & Doors that open onto the pool area. The flat roof provides an ideal spot for photovoltaic panels.

Built in 1927 as a series of compartmentalized rooms, the home lacked flow. Still, the owners wanted to retain the dwelling’s original Spanish style. "They envisioned an open living area that connected to the rear yard overlooking the canyon," says architect Tony Garcia of Asquared Studios, who designed the remodel.



Mary Scro’s interior design plan embraces the home’s Spanish-style architecture with decorative floor tiles, arched doorways, and rich wood accents.



An inviting banquette is the preferred spot for family meals, and it doubles as a WFH station.

Given the home’s unique siting, a large addition was out of the question. The team figured out how to optimize the layout while tacking on just 39 additional square feet. The renovation split the home into three interconnected spaces: a main hub with the kitchen and bedrooms, an "entertaining zone" with a living room and access to the pool, and a secondary outdoor dining area.



Home’s perch above a canyon, where breezes can easily drift in, allows for passive cooling.

"With a very minor addition, we were able to create an open living plan that takes advantage of natural light," Garcia says. It’s no surprise that the residence has become a favorite gathering place for the homeowners’ friends and family, and its canyon-top location is also ideal for making the most of passive cooling strategies, improving energy efficiency.



When the accordion-style glass doors by Andersen Windows & Doors are open, the backyard and the living room become one sunny space.



In all, only 39 square feet were added to the home, but it feels entirely different.



Outfitted in a soothing powder blue color scheme, the primary bathroom continues the home’s focus on standout tile work.

"We love being able to host, with plenty of room for everyone to feel comfortable," says owner Karen Koijane. "The new spaces have been invaluable, especially during the pandemic when working and schooling from home became necessary."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
×