The living area is anchored by a new stair leading to the second level, which is screened by slats of the same red oak used in the flooring. The side chair was sourced and reupholstered by Seattle-based Madsen Modern.
White laminate and wood veneer helped the partition stay within budget, and create a clean backdrop for the couple's eclectic display of folk and outsider art, much of which was collected on their travels around the world.
Built in Sunset Park, L.A., the original model was made by ERLA Construction (a company started by one of Minarc's cofounders) from a structural insulated panel (SIP) developed in house.
The wife selected blue and white penny tile, alternating the 1-foot sheets to create a dynamic striped design.
Warm, Scandinavian-inspired interiors create a cozy and inviting environment for the couple and guests.
The bathroom was enlivened with a wall of hexagonal blue Pratt & Larson tile.
A new powder room replaces a shallow closet that stood beside the dining room. The clients, who have two cats, selected whimsical wallpaper for the small space.
The main bedroom overlooks the front steps. Rafael added colorful slat accents over the window to contrast with the otherwise monochromatic scheme.
A consistent wood palette makes the interior feel cohesive.
A timber window seat is surrounded by secret storage cabinets, adding functionality to otherwise unused space.
Work It
“We wanted to open up the back of the house, but there’s nothing to look at,” says Dana. “So we decided to put something in our yard as a focal point, to create our own view.” The architects came up with a glass-walled studio, which Dana uses as
her home office. The architects mounted a steel I-beam that spans the yard, with holes drilled at eight-inch intervals for maximum flexibility of use. Right now it’s used for Ikea play equipment, but later they plan to hang a hammock and a movie screen.
ikea.com
Playful wallpaper from Graham & Brown livens up the house’s otherwise staid
powder room, which also contains a
pint-size Ikea sink.
A former
closet was transformed into a double-height library, complete with a reading nook and a rolling ladder from Spiral
Stairs of America. “That’s my
favorite part of the house,” says Dan.
“When I see Stella reaching for a book,
there’s nothing better.”
Juliet Gray, Mathias Kolehmainen, and their sons Cooper and Cyrus have a new favorite hangout: the wide back steps on the addition, which double as theater seating. (They project movies from the second-floor balcony onto an out-building across the yard.)
The family room has wall-to-wall cabinets built by Bradford T. Newhall Construction, a local company that also served as the general contractor on the project. The stainless steel drawer pulls are by Sugatsune. The minimalist white-and-wood interior complements the couple's collection of mod furniture, which includes a vintage sofa by Edward Wormley for Dunbar and two cork tables by Jasper Morrison for Moooi.
Now, built-in sofas line the perimeter of the room and utilize the room’s shape better.
To impart a high-design feel to the space, architect Mike Jacobs wrapped cabinetry from Ikea with a marble countertop and designed built-in bookshelves around the kitchen and study to help unify the area. Trips to shops in Palm Springs yielded the red side chair and metal magazine rack. The brown suede chair is from MidcenturyLA.
Architect Tamira Sawatzky used Ikea components—one-inch Lagan butcher block countertops and inexpensive Ekby Lerberg brackets—when designing the bookshelves along the living room wall in the home/studio he designed for himself and his wife in Toronto.
This 460 square foot addition to a Cape Cod home houses adds much needed space for additional family members.
Rear Elevation detail
View from former Dining Room
The step in the upstairs hall denotes where the old house ends and the new addition begins. "It’s really changed the way we live, that's for sure," says Catherine of their renovation. "It's just allowed a little bit more peace, because everyone is not on top of each other."
The walk-in shower has a skylight, and is covered in Ann Sacks Square Arcilla tile, which the architects chose because it doesn’t look "too precise." The floor is Waterworks terrazzo.
A view showing how the addition meets the original home. The exterior is clad in a European-style rain screen, a new product to the couple that they now recommend to clients. "We were eager to try out stuff and get to experiment a little bit in our own house," says Catherine.
The couple defined spaces with cabinetry throughout the first floor, like this new shallow cupboard by the front door. This side holds mail, keys, and dog leashes, while the other side has a bar for the room behind it. The openings at the bottom are for the HVAC to vent.
Surrounded by an apple orchard, an evergreen grove, and gardens originally tended by the owners’ parents, Sheffield Residence keeps family memories alive.
In order for the home to have a basement, it's raised 18 inches off the ground, but Appel's "design trick" of gently grading the land so water runs away from the home makes it feel connected to the ground.