The couple and their friends spent hours clearing brush and felling at-risk oak and madrone trees. “There was no view at all,” Molly says. “You had to duck and peek through thick oak brush just to see that there was anything on the horizon.”
In search of a Bay Area retreat, Jeff Waldman and Molly Fiffer purchased a piece of land on which to experiment and gain new skills, one task at a time.
The 46-foot-long pool faces east for prime sunrise views.
A creek-side sauna and hot tub round out the amenities at Snow.
The living area features a Strato CB2 sectional that Melody owned before the couple moved in together. In the kitchen, pendants made by the pair hang over a concrete-topped island.
After renting in San Francisco for a decade, DIY couple Molly Fiffer and Jeff Waldman bought 10 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the pair and their friends built a cabin compound complete with sheds, tree decks, a pavilion, a wood-fired hot tub, an outhouse, and an outdoor shower. The cabin is made from locally sourced, rough-sawn redwood, which the couple stained with nontoxic Eco Wood Treatment to give the panels an aged appearance and a dark patina.
"A matching bench extends into the open shower where accordion corner windows can open entirely,
An open-air boardwalk carries the family west from the gathering spaces to their bedroom cabin.
The living room’s wood-burning fireplace has a concrete hearth that wraps the chimney and runs under the windows, acting as seating, a plant ledge, and creating a spot to store logs, all of which are harvested from the site.
The living room is warmed by a Morsø 1440 cast-iron stove and features a pair of calfskin folding seats that are original to the house.
Frances Bacon, the couple’s French bulldog, rests on the screened-in porch.
The Pine wood-clad cabin sits atop an elevated platform left behind by a previous builder in a failed first construction attempt, and overlooks the Cautín River. "
The communal dining table in the main house was custom-made by a local woodworker and island timber mill owner, Joe Romano, in collaboration with WindowCraft. Raw metal supports for the table were fabricated by Salish Metalworks on Orcas Island, a sister island to San Juan.
The living room has a long, built-in couch with a custom midcentury-inspired fireplace. Polished concrete floors in the interior contrast with the outdoor timber decking.
The backyard—complete with an outdoor dining area and fire pit— is fully enclosed, offering an idllyic oasis to rest or entertain. Additional highlights of the home include an outdoor shower, a detached room that could be used as a guest-suite, and easy beach access.
Woven into a stand of redwoods on Jason Titus and Nerija Sinkevičiūtė-Titus’s property in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a tree house by San Francisco designer/artist Jay Nelson gives the couple and their three boys a new perspective on the forest.
Cape Long lights by Cedar and Moss illuminate the kitchen, which features dark Dekton countertops and Thonet Bentwood counter stools.
A Ligne Roset lounger doubles as a place to crash in the guest room. Cirtus Garden fabric from Schumacher brings in some fun with a pop.
The drop ceiling was removed to make the kitchen feel larger, and Troy RLM kitchen lights were installed above it.
For cross ventilation, the residents can open and close the large sliding doors around the porch, which the architect describes as “the heart of the home.” Likewise, windows are positioned to provide breezes when necessary.
“The Floating Farmhouse also operates as a well-established luxury vacation rental and film/photo shoot location, providing substantial annual revenue,” says the listing agent.
Entire walls fold away to further blur the distinction between indoors and out. The yellow Togo seating is from Ligne Roset.
The living room opens to a terrace made of four slabs of black concrete separated by rows of woolly thyme. A fire pit designed by Jørgensen’s firm and Adirondack chairs from Erin Martin Design provide an ideal setting for taking in the scenery, especially at night. “Strangely, the view here really didn’t change a lot,” says Buttons. “The fire came up behind us, jumped around, and spared a lot of the surroundings. I can’t imagine finding another place like it.”
There’s no deck or patio at the back of the house—nature begins directly at the doorstep. "Our home steals as little space as possible from the setting. It is almost traversed by the forest,” adds David.
Griffith says that deer and other animals can routinely be seen from the windows.
The new cabana offers a place to lounge out of the sun.
The neutral palette fosters a sense of calm and quiet, whether in the bedrooms or the common area, and gives the space a timeless appeal.
Appliances are hidden behind white panelling in the kitchen. A built-in nook in the kitchen entrance creates a niche to drop your things and disconnect from the road.
The vestibule is the entry point, and it also separates the sleeping area of the house from the communal areas.
During storm season, nature’s awe-inspiring light show is on full display through the oversized windows.
In the kitchen, a concrete Caesarstone countertop echoes the flooring material; the slatted pine mezzanine is a nod to the ceiling finish. “Everything is referencing something else,” says Armstrong.
A classic Jeanneret Chandigarh armchair sits by the fireplace.
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