The stark white house at the end of Plaza Drive in San Jose’s historic Palm Haven neighborhood takes you by surprise. It’s small in scale, a single story on a corner lot. But its domed tower and decorative parapet across the roofline force you to take a second look.
This is Michael Borbely’s mini masterpiece – a recently completed Mission Revival house of stucco and tile that took years of research to create, plus help from San Jose’s Fireclay Tile to reproduce century-old details.
Borbely, 45, is an architectural activist of sorts who spearheaded an effort several years ago to restore the pillars at the entrance to the 1930s Palm Haven in Willow Glen to their original Mission Revival style. So when he was ready for a new project after selling his Prairie style house in the neighborhood, “I looked for the house in the worst condition that had the most impact on the neighborhood.” He decided on a tiny Spanish style house for sale nearby in need of a major remodel. He wanted the house to fit into the streetscape and, taking some cues from the pillars and an original Mission Revival house in the neighborhood, decided to reinvent a scaled-down version.
It still causes a little bewilderment when people walk by.
“When people ask what it is, they have all sorts of strange ideas,” said Borbely, who owns a small design and construction company called Novuspace. “Because Mission Revival is so rarely done anymore — and when it’s done it’s done out of proper context — I think that furthers people’s confusion when they see it.”
In the early 1900s, when the Spanish Colonial Revival style was hitting its stride in the United States, he said, there was no accepted category called Mission Revival. It was all considered Spanish.
“It wasn’t until later that historians in the architectural community agreed that there are pretty clear distinctions that separate real Mission Revival from Spanish mode,” he said. “It comes down to an
espadana – a curvilinear parapet.”
Most examples of Mission Revival style were executed in structures as large as the original Spanish missions, such as libraries and train stations. But here was Borbely with a 1,700 square foot original house that barely fit on its little, long, narrow corner lot.
“It’s a very challenging lot,” he said, “I found that if you scale down the components, Mission style fits quite nicely here. People say they feel it’s on a human scale. It’s got a tower, but not a tower that towers
over you.”
The narrow lot size also meant that Borbely had to forego one of the key features of Mission style – an exterior arched loggia. Instead, Borbely turned the concept “inside out,” he said, resulting in the home’s most stunning attribute: its wide, vaulted, triple-arched entry hall. The new house is barely 2,000 square feet, and the central hallway takes up a sizeable portion of it.
“It’s not a big house, but it’s a flexible house,” he said. “I see this as able to double as a dining space,” or a gracious area for wine receptions. A wainscoting of colorful tile, reproduced by Fireclay Tile, came from a 100-year-old photograph Borbely unearthed.
What used to be a tiny breakfast nook at the front of the old house is now the domed tower room that Borbely uses as a study. The old galley kitchen was turned into a guest room.
The new kitchen at the far end of the entry hall, down a few steps, makes another strong statement. The sanctuary-like ceiling explodes into view, with heavy timbers closely spaced and highly-carved corbels. Nava’s Brothers built the red oak cabinetry, including a pew-like banquet for the kitchen table. The kitchen accents tiles were created by local ceramic artist Babak Daleki at www.dalekiceramicstudio.com.
As much as the house is reminiscent of the old, Borbely integrated modern, environmentally-friendly features, including salvaged materials, LED lighting and solar power that not only heats his house but powers his electric car in the driveway.
Borbely even took pains to ornament the long side of the house – an area often downplayed in design. But since the side faces a sidewalk, Borbely added window hoods that suggest a deep adobe wall, a large, carved false door and a vintage style iron fence with a cross motif.
“I wanted to make it pleasing to look at no matter where you were,” he said.
Judging from the neighbors’ reactions, he seems to have succeeded:
“My neighbors have given me a list of properties they want me to work on.”
Related Stories:
La Estancia – A Los Gatos Mission Revival
Update:
This post is featured in the San Jose Mercury News Home and Garden section here.
Here’s the complete slideshow:
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