The master bedroom's sliding glass doors open up to an outdoor terrace, garden, and the pool.
Inspired by the Sydney Opera House, architects Andrew Maynard and Mark Austin paid careful attention to the extension’s “fifth elevation"—the way it’s seen from the sky. Its tiny houses, clustered at the southern end of the property, are clad in white steel panels and western red cedar shingles, contrasting materials that emphasize their geometric forms.
Kitchen
Showeroom
Living area
Location plan
Kitchen area
After months spent researching solutions to make her home’s fabric roof functional, Lisa Sette can finally relax.
Sonos speakers are wired throughout the house, complemented by Magico S3 standing speakers in the family room. The leather Lama lounger is by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba for Zanotta.
Sliders: At the back of the house, floor-to-ceiling LaCantina sliding doors replaced glass panes with a transom and clerestory above, enhancing the link between indoors and out. The residents wanted to stay true to the spirit of the midcentury house and felt that the architects Curtis and Davis would have embraced the technology if it had existed when the house was built in 1953.
"Maintaining sight lines to the outdoors and the adjacent den, we introduced a connectivity that transforms the kitchen into the center of family life,
The custom cedar tub, fabricated by Dovetail, elegantly fits into the master bathroom.
The house is surrounded by buildings on all sides except its south facade, which faces the street. An expansive operable window is key for effective ventilation during hot summer months. Additionally, a cantilevered balcony shelters a carport, bike storage, and even a playful swing.
The house’s entrance reveals some of its new floor-to-ceiling windows, many of which double as sliding doors for easy access to the exterior. Privacy was not an issue for the property, though certain rooms are outfitted with curtains.
South: Mark Word Design
The garden Mark Word Design created for an Austin, Texas, home sited adjacent to a nature reserve puts water conservation first. “It’s about usage levels, but it’s also about the way we treat storm water and runoff, since it all goes back into our supply at the end of the cycle,” designer Sarah Carr says. Word and his team kept the ratio of paved to unpaved surfaces low and chose plants that help reduce erosion, require little irrigation, and allow storm water to percolate.
The Village features gardens and orchards created by Tim Goss, Kia Micaud, and HomeGrown Organics. No roads run within the community, so it’s completely car-free (a parking lot sits at the far end of the site). An abundance of bicycles has meant a shortage of bike parking, an element of the plan the Grow team acknowledges they could have done differently.
Lewis draws back the curtains to reveal her “No Ordinary Kitchen.” True to her style, she chose a muted material palette to create a comforting and relaxed kitchen environment, from the white oak floors to the polished marble countertop on the island. Oil-rubbed bronze cabinet hardware provides a pop of contrast while stainless steel appliances by Signature Kitchen Suite make a sleek aesthetic statement.
The appliances have been installed, and the
Seemingly a single, seamless unit, the stair is composed of two elements—treads and mezzanine—and held in place by two distinct strategies: The stairs are welded to, and cantilever out from, a series of steel tubes concealed in the walls; the mezzanine
is attached on one side to a steel beam, and hung at two other points from rods attached to the roof structure.
Another custom oak unit houses the oven, range, refrigerator, and pantry.
The renovation dramatically increased natural light in the rooms and replaced tired finishes with a modern palette.
Resident Richard Kim, who works as the head of design at electric car company Faraday Future, tested his know-how with the creation of his own Los Angeles home, a curvilinear structure clad in Cor-Ten steel and black-stained cedar.
A set of Eames molded-plastic bar stools line the Caesarstone countertop in the kitchen.
