Completed client project. The owners of the two-story home on Dog Bar Road in Colfax came to us wanting to control glare and improve privacy without losing the curved window wall that gave their 2007 custom residence its character. The house measured about 3,226 square feet, with beige stucco walls, flat rooflines and wide overhangs, three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Its open upstairs main level held the living, dining and kitchen areas, while the lower walk-out level contained a guest unit with a living room, full bathroom, kitchenette and private entry. An oversized four-car garage and a dedicated wine cellar added to the house’s distinct layout. The windows were dual-pane throughout, and the curved window wall at one end of the main level was the focal point. Redfin’s record of 99 Colfax single-family closings showed a median home size of 1,680 square feet, which reinforced that we needed to respond to this house’s particular scale and rooms rather than use a standard window package (Redfin’s Colfax sales data).
The photographs on this page are from the Designed & Curated portfolio and show finishes we have used on other projects. They are not photographs of this house.
My first question was which windows the owners wanted to preserve, and where glare or privacy affected the way they used the rooms. On site, we found the wide roof overhangs already shaded parts of the upper windows, while the lower guest unit’s separate entry and walk-out level made privacy a different concern there. We measured the openings room by room and checked how the existing window trim met the stucco. The curved wall was made up of dual-pane windows within the home’s existing exterior, not an invitation to reshape the wall. We kept the openings as they were, and the window-by-window decisions followed from that finding.
The curved window wall and its shades
We kept the curved window wall intact and did not enlarge or replace its dual-pane windows. The composition roof and wide overhangs were part of the house’s original weather protection, so we did not add exterior shading that would alter the roofline or stucco. Instead, we measured and installed fitted interior solar shades at the curved glass. The shades softened the strong daylight without hiding the curve or blocking the owners’ view toward the wooded setting. We chose a warm, restrained finish that sat comfortably beside the modern trim and beige stucco rather than competing with the window wall.
The curved glass remained the room’s architectural feature, but the owners could now reduce glare when the light became uncomfortable. We left the other upstairs main-level windows in place, with no change to their size or position. Where the owners wanted added control, we used matching shades and adjusted the opacity to suit the room. That approach kept the open living, dining and kitchen areas visually connected while avoiding a uniform treatment where the rooms had different light needs.
The lower guest unit and the two-level layout
The lower-level guest unit needed a different balance. Its private entrance, kitchenette and full bathroom made it function independently from the three-bedroom main level, and the approach from the sloped property brought more privacy into the window decisions. We kept its existing window openings and installed privacy-focused shades there, using a compatible material and color so the lower rooms still related to the upstairs finishes. The separate entry continued to serve the guest unit without asking the owners to route visitors through the main living space.
The house’s central propane heating and central cooling remained the comfort systems for both levels. We treated the shades as a way to manage sunlight and privacy, not as a replacement for heating or cooling. The full dual-pane windows also stayed, so the work did not disturb the stucco openings or require changes to the composition roof. With the main-level shades and lower-level privacy coverings in place, the windows continued to bring in daylight while giving the owners more control in each part of the house.
The well, septic system and local sewer rule
The house used a private well and septic system, and the kitchen island sink, butler’s pantry, lower kitchenette and bathrooms already sat within the existing layout. We left those rooms and their plumbing in place because the window work did not call for new wet rooms or plumbing changes. The owners’ 220-volt, other electrical service also remained outside this window-focused scope. The result was a whole-home window project that respected the house’s systems as well as its two-level construction.
Before closing out the local requirements, we checked the City of Colfax rule that property owners needed a valid sewer lateral certificate before selling, with cleaning and testing of the lateral at the owner’s expense. Because this house was recorded as using a septic system, we checked the rule’s applicability with the City’s Community Services Department rather than treating the sewer certificate as a required part of this window work (City of Colfax sewer collection system).
We invited you to get in touch to talk about making your own home work better.
