This Bel Air residence, for a family with two children, replaced a smaller one in which the residents had lived for a dozen years, and developed out of memory of the many rustic mid-century modern houses I had seen over the decades in Los Angeles. While they appreciated the exceptionally peaceful and private half-acre site--well behind the neighboring properties, surrounded by trees and bucolic canyon views--the family had outgrown their old house and needed more space, ideally rendered in a traditional Mediterranean style. The challenge lay in developing a design in which two parents and three children could peacefully coexist in what would still be a relatively modest 3500 square foot structure.
My solution was to create a large communal space--effectively an indoor courtyard--in which they could dwell as a family, and a series of more private areas to be enjoyed individually or in smaller groupings. Despite the homeowners' initial stylistic preference for Tuscan, I believed that, given the beauty of the location, it could best be experienced with a more modern home--one that featured abundant glazing, and encouraged an indoor/outdoor lifestyle. Accordingly, we created a nearly double-height, open-plan living, dining, and kitchen space with a soaring wall of glass overlooking the grounds, and a series of single-height stucco volumes--a master suite with sitting room, three children's rooms with baths, and an entertainment lounge--arranged around the great room in a U-shape.
In addition to crafting cozier private quarters to answer the family's nesting instincts, we made liberal use of wood in the main living room to allay their concerns that the large expanse of glass--some 40 feet long and nearly 15 feet high--would make the space feel excessively cold. This is most evident in the simple pot-and-beam structural vocabulary, which blends California postwar modernism with Craftsman-style rusticity, a white oak floor, and the partial wall, finished in plain-sliced walnut, lightly separating the living area from the kitchen and dining zone. Electronically controlled clerestory windows contribute as well, providing an exit for hot air and offering a pleasurable balance of light throughout the day.
For the interior design, we took our cue from the Danish Modern furniture the husband had fortuitously inherited from his parents, augmenting these vintage pieces with contemporary additions that worked with the historic style--but not too many: we wanted not only to make the space feel larger, but to leave plenty of room for the children to play in.
My office also undertook the site design, and introduced a large zero edge pool that feels more akin to an Asian-influenced water feature and helps to blur the boundary between home and garden. Combined with the simple wooden pergola, the design has an appealing rusticity that is entirely in character with the natural surroundings.
