Murphy Bungalow
Carmel-by-the-Sea
1933 Murphy Home Turns Modern
Written by: Lisa Crawford Watson
This 1933 house, crafted by the Carmel Development Company, was old but not historic, remodeled but not contemporary. The design revealed a valid use of space for the era, but the cramped layout curtailed the interaction customary to a current lifestyle. Particularly in a vacation home. Moreover, the finishes were dated, the roof was beyond repair, and moisture issues had compromised the structure. Still, the buyers had a sense of what it could be with the right vacation home remodeling team. So did John Lewis.
Nearly 90 years after Michael J. Murphy designed and built a Dolores Street bungalow to house a 1930s lifestyle, John Lewis worked with the enduring architecture in renovating the cottage to suit a contemporary life. It was the ultimate collaboration between two Carmel design-builders.
“Our goal,” said Lewis, “was to maintain the Carmel character of the house but get rid of the funk and turn it into a more fluid floor-plan, with seamless transitions throughout the space. This was our vision, our challenge, and our outcome.”
Before
After
