Project Description
Our client’s desire was a modern home that presented a strong connection to the outdoors. The design of the front façade creates a formal street presence that feels generous and open while maintaining a sense of privacy for the interior spaces. The darkened glass and metal frames of the window openings along with stained cedar spandrel panels contrast the crisp stucco massing, suggesting a large-scale portico. From a closer perspective, the main level openings are revealed as french doors leading out to the front terrace with the central, recessed entry doors offering a framed view through the house. The interior spaces facing the more private back yard are allowed greater connection and visual extension to the outdoors. The family room takes full advantage of a double-height space with french doors and transom windows creating vertical openings that emphasize the scale of the surrounding landscape. The kitchen breaks from the formal language of the front façade with a dining bay that projects into the yard, reintroducing the same stained cedar panels. The 3-season room is pulled away from the main house like a pavilion, with two walls of telescoping doors and a soaring cathedral ceiling that erase the physical division of interior and exterior. Rolling screens allow for summer use with the doors pulled open, while radiant in-floor heat and a dramatic wood-burning fireplace give warmth and comfort the remainder of the year. This jewel epitomizes the design direction to create a home unified with its site.