Architect Eric Olsen has designed his share of sizable homes, but when he got a cold call from a young couple asking if he’d consider redoing their modest ranch house in Newport Beach, his curiosity was piqued. “Their idea was something cool and chic and functional, with no wasted space,” he recalls. “And they wanted to keep it single story.”

The couple loved the fact that they and their sons—now eight and five—used every inch of the original house. But it was sorely in need of updating, and they hoped to expand it to include three bedrooms, a den/office, and a space for watching TV and hanging out, along with a better connection to the backyard.

After sizing up the lot and the neighborhood, Olsen weighed their wish list against the cost of an extensive renovation and suggested they start from scratch. The chance to finally get the home they wanted made the decision an easy one for the couple.

Olsen began by orienting the house around a patio and pool and setting a great room comprising the dining area, kitchen, and a sitting area at the front. A windowed corridor along one side leads to the boys’ bedrooms and terminates at the main suite. Across the far end of the pool is a standalone office that doubles as a guest bedroom.

The owners were open to doing something unique, so Olsen designed an exterior wall of board-formed concrete, complemented by stained-cedar siding and Texas limestone. “The concrete is very different for the neighborhood,” Olsen says. “But immediately behind that it becomes very warm and organic, which fits contextually with what’s going on on the street.”

Olsen was soon joined by interior designer Raili Clasen, with whom he’s collaborated on close to a dozen projects. “We love working together,” Clasen says. “Eric brings in the dark and moody elements, while I’m more whimsical and out of the box.”

With the textured materials setting the tone, Clasen got to thinking about making the high-ceilinged great room conducive to gatherings that frequently spill out through huge sliders to the backyard. “What about pendants made of concrete?” she asked Olsen. The result is a one-of-a-kind light installation by artist Chris Buzzell over the kitchen island: seven bell-shaped pendants of polished concrete, the largest of which weigh 250 pounds.

“The feeling of the house can expand the more people you have in it, but it feels very intimate when it’s just the family.”
—Eric Olsen, architect

“It was one of the best decisions we made,” says the husband. “Traditional pendants would have been overwhelmed by the scale of the room or the blackness of the wall behind.”

In cozy contrast is the step-down den, whose walls Clasen upholstered in the same plaid fabric that covers the ottomans. “We’re there every night, watching TV and playing games,” says the wife.

Late this spring, the couple hosted a “we’re all vaccinated” party and texted Olsen a photo of kids sprawled out in the den watching a movie. The house, they said, worked just as they’d hoped it would. Olsen was delighted. “The feeling of the house can expand the more people you have in it,” he says, “but it feels very intimate when it’s just the family.”

More from Eric Olsen Design:

An Architect’s Dream Kitchen Channels SoCal’s Laid-Back Vibes With a Fusion of Homey Materials

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Eric Olsen Design / @ericolsendesign

Interior Designer: Raili Ca Design / @raili_ca_design

Landscape Architect: C.M. Brown Landscape Architect / @cmbrownlandscape

Lighting Design: Buzzell Studios / @buzzellstudios

Cabinetry Design/Installation: Hills Company Woodworking

Wood Flooring: Warren Christopher

Home Builder: KRS Development / @krsdevelopmentinc

Structural Engineer: ESI/FME

Civil Engineer: DZN Engineering