Residence 01

Martinez, California

House: 1902 Queen Anne
Work: May 2024 to July 2025
Before: 3 bed, 1 bath
After: 2 bed, 2 bath, front room
Delivery: My own home, as owner-builder

01 · The house

A 1902 Queen Anne on a corner lot, a short walk from downtown Martinez. In decent shape, but never really updated.

Three bedrooms and one bath. The front door opened straight into the living room. The primary bedroom sat behind the bay window, a galley kitchen ran through the middle, and a laundry area led out along the side of the house to the yard.

The original galley kitchen — The galley kitchen

The original, only bathroom — The only bathroom

The house from the street in April 2024 — From the street, April 2024.

02 · The idea

Keep the Victorian’s face to the street. Rebuild everything behind the front door around daylight, natural materials, and a young family.

For my own home, I developed the layout concept and coordinated with a structural engineer on the structural plans: a new vaulted roofline, foundation tie-downs, and a full foundation plan.

03 · What changed

The plan, redrawn from the studs.

1The interior gutted and the layout redrawn.
2A small addition at the back right corner for a new living room and a second bath.
3The rear bedroom extended.
4The main rooms opened to a vaulted roofline.
5Electrical and HVAC replaced throughout.
6A new deck off the back of the house.

Floor plan before: three bedrooms, one bath, galley kitchen, living room at the front — Before: 3 bed, 1 bath. Street at the bottom.

Floor plan after: open kitchen and dining at the back, new living room in the rear addition, two baths, two bedrooms, and the front room — After: 2 bed, 2 bath, front room, and a 112 sq ft rear addition.

Interior walls opened to the studs — Walls opened to the studs.

The ceiling opened to the rafters over the old kitchen — The ceiling, opened to the rafters.

The old bathroom stripped to the studs and subfloor — The old bathroom, stripped out.

04 · Daylight

Two skylights over the kitchen island. One in each bathroom.

“Natural light is inspiring. And showering under a skylight feels like being out in the elements. I wanted the bathrooms to feel like an escape.”

Vaulted ceiling with two new skylights before finishing — The vault and skylights, February 2025.

Kitchen and island under the finished skylights — The kitchen, finished.

Hall bath under its skylight, with green marble mosaic around the tub and a limestone floor — The hall bath, under its skylight.

05 · Materials

Chosen for what they put into the air, and how they age.

Insulation: Havelock wool in the walls instead of fiberglass.
Walls: Alkemis mineral paint on every interior wall. Zero VOC, Cradle to Cradle Gold certified.
Floors: Wide French white oak in herringbone, from the front door to the back of the house.
Counters: Leathered Taj Mahal quartzite. Natural stone, not engineered resin.
Primary bath: Dark porcelain panels over a natural stone mosaic floor.
Hall bath: Brushed limestone on the floor and tub front. Green marble mosaic, stacked vertically, on the shower walls.

Oak hood and quartzite backsplash — Quartzite, oak, and daylight from two sides.

Primary bath with dark porcelain panels and a pebble mosaic floor — The primary bath.

06 · Running the build

As owner-builder, there was no general contractor between the plan and the house. That job was mine.

I hired and scheduled every trade, kept them in sequence, and sourced every material myself, from the quartzite and tile to the paint and the wool.

07 · The result

1902 from the sidewalk. Open and light inside.

Two bedrooms, two baths where there had been one, and a front room kept open: for guests now, a listening room later. Work began in May 2024, and the family moved in July 2025.

The front room, with oak shelves, a bench, and the herringbone oak floor

The great room under the vaulted ceiling, looking down the hall to the front door

08 · Role and credits

Vision, layout, design: Anthony Booker, KEENTS
Project lead and sourcing: Anthony Booker, as owner-builder
Kitchen cabinetry and paneling: Ayume Concepts, with custom cabinets by Swede Kitchens
Construction: Independent trades, hired and scheduled directly

Next: Residence 02 · Berkeley