This home, for a dynamic young family, came to us by way of the Bristol Circle residence. They admired the detail and solidity of that house and its classical form. After a long design process, the home that emerged was one with a more contemporary feeling structure, albeit strong neoclassical roots.

The husband, an attorney, may have preferred a career as an architect, in my opinion, although I doubt he would ever admit that. He was sketching all through the process and definitely played a significant role throughout the development. In addition to his input, the wife is to be credited with the interior design work, especially an exhaustive two-year search for amazing antique brass light fixtures, and has a wonderful eye for interior materials and colors.

The house is a pure rectangular volume of hard-troweled pale grey stucco, punctuated by a regular pattern of tall, vertically proportioned, deeply recessed, black steel windows and doors. It is capped by an artist's studio with a surrounding roof deck. A vocabulary as seen in some Department of Water and Power substations built in Los Angeles during the 1930s by the WPA seems to be the closest stylistic parallel. Certainly, it was hard not to rely, somewhat, on Adolf Loos's elegant buildings for inspiration. Aside from the steel casement windows and smooth-finish stucco, square-cut French limestone windowsills and wall cap offer the only decoration on the structure. An ancient sycamore tree in front of the home and a tall redwood in the rear help to compliment the scale of the house and make it feel like it's always been there.

As the scheme developed, at one point I became concerned about the classical nature of the house in a fairly rustic canyon setting, thinking the contrast might be awkward. However, as it evolved through materials, siting, and the large existing trees, the house provides a nice counterpoint to the soft and flowing landscape. The rear garden is organized with a pavilion as a terminus for a long rectangular pool. Within the pavilion, built-in seating surrounds a fireplace, which provides a serene, shaded setting from which to view the house and landscape reflected in the pool.

The interior palette of materials and paint grew out of a love for European styling. Patterned French cement tiles, classic honed Carrara marble, painted wood cabinets and paneling, and muted neutral tones serve to add flexibility to the palette of furnishings and artwork. The brass hardware, plumbing fixtures, and light fixtures provide a note of warmth in the otherwise cool palette. Simplicity and consistency in finishes are important to the house. The entire first floor is covered with large radiant heated slabs of French limestone. Upstairs, raw French oak with minimum protective finish, offers a rustic element against the otherwise crisp white walls.

Each time I visit their home, furniture has been rearranged and artwork rotated--it is an ever-changing landscape. In the end, the house and its classic arrangement and well-proportioned light-filled rooms provide this family with the blank canvas necessary for their ever-evolving life.