ORINDA RESIDENCE
A hillside home designed around an active family and life outdoors
For an active family of four, the challenge at this Orinda home was not simply adding more space. The existing house sat on a steep, oak-covered site, but everyday family life was largely disconnected from the landscape. The family wanted room for cooking and gathering, children and friends, pool parties and outdoor activity, with easier movement between the house and grounds.
Tierney Conner approached the renovation and addition by treating the hillside as an opportunity rather than a constraint. A major shift in the roofline brought more natural light into the main living spaces and opened views into the native oak canopy. The house was reorganized across three levels, creating seven distinct connections to the outdoors and giving the kitchen, family spaces, pool, lawn and gathering areas a stronger relationship to one another.
Architecture, interiors and landscape were developed as parts of the same spatial idea. Retaining walls required by the hillside became part of the architectural composition. Exterior materials and colors continued into the house, while dark roofing, windows, cabinetry and fireplace elements were balanced by lighter flooring and concrete. Each decision informed the next, creating a material palette that moves naturally from landscape to architecture to interior.
The result is a home organized around how this family actually lives: cooking and gathering together, kids moving easily between inside and outside, swimming, playing on the lawn, entertaining friends, and enjoying the oak canopy that first made the site distinctive.
Location: Orinda, California
Project: Whole-house renovation + addition
Architecture + Interiors + Landscape: Tierney Conner
Photography: Adam Potts