Four Enormous Glass Doors Turn This Northern California Home Into an Outdoor Pavilion

Overlooking the town of Healdsburg in the wine country of Sonoma County, this astonishing residence uses garage-style doors to connect with its bucolic environment.

Text by

Lucy Wang

View 10 Photos

When venture capitalist Sam Long tapped San Francisco–based Feldman Architecture for the design of his new residence in California’s Sonoma Valley, the directions were clear: create a rural retreat that embraced the outdoors with the character of an open-air pavilion.

The home rests on a 40-acre property in Healdsburg, a quaint town in California's winemaking region.

Key to that vision were the home’s six garage-style glass doors, custom-made by Renlita. The oversized, steel-framed glazed panels dramatically lift up for a seamless connection to the outdoors while offering sweeping views on both sides of the house.

Glazed garage doors by Renlita lift up to completely open the home to nature.

Set on a 40-acre hilltop property logged in the 1800s, the steel-and-glass residence’s connection to the landscape isn’t limited to just views. Arterra Landscape Architects were brought on to thoughtfully restore the land to its natural state through woodland revitalization, non-native plant extraction, and the implementation of a rainwater collection system.

Arterra Landscape Architects revitalized the surrounding woodland, creating a natural, native environment for the home.

The careful material selection takes inspiration from the landscape and creates a clean and minimalist effect so as not to detract from the surroundings. The interior echoes those clean lines and materials with plaster walls, concrete floors, and timber cabinetry.

Warm wood and dark surfaces contrast with white walls.

The L-shaped home comprises two perpendicular sections. The great room is housed in the taller of the two, which runs east along the ridge of the hill for optimal views. Four glass doors open on each side of the great room for stunning views.

"With these doors drawn up, the site offers one sweeping, continuous view from the pool, through the great room, and down into the distant village below," write the architects.

Shop the Look

The main living area opens up to a swimming pool and terrace, as well as another outdoor lounge with a fire pit and views of the town.

The home’s second wing extends to the north and flows from a two-car garage on its south end to a media room that connects to the pool, and finally the master bedroom.