Collection by Jeanne
Break Away
Founded in 2014 by Alexis Rivas and Jemuel Joseph, Cover was born out of a frustration with the current residential building climate. Based on a belief that great design should be available to everyone, Cover strives to design for manufacturability, looking to Apple and Tesla for inspiration—as opposed to the traditional architectural model. This West Los Angeles pool and guesthouse is 410 square feet and features a full kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. It also doubles as a pool house. The compact design features floor-to-ceiling windows to bring the outside in.
Alexandra Angle transformed a beachside cabin into a colorful retreat for a college friend and her family. The living area features a PP130 Circle Chair by Hans Wegner and a Shaker wood stove by Antonio Citterio with Toan Nguyen for Wittus. A Tropicalia Cocoon hanging chair by Patricia Urquiola complements the fabric from Liberty that Angle used for the cushions on the built-in banquette.
For Gabriel Ramirez and his partner Sarah Mason Williams, following the Sea Ranch rules—local covenants guide new designs—didn’t mean slipping into Sea Ranch clichés. The architects love Cor-Ten steel, with its ruddy and almost organic surface, and they made it the main exterior material, along with board-formed concrete and ipe wood. The Cor-Ten, which quickly turned an autumnal rust in the sea air, and the concrete, with its grain and crannies, mean the house isn’t a pristine box, Ramirez says. His Neutra house “was very crisp and clean,” he says. “This house is more distressed, more wabi-sabi.”
The exterior defers to the local vernacular and landscape. The roof is made of exposed wood and handmade clay shingles. Structural walls from an earlier construction project were discovered onsite and form the basis for the stone barrier and stairs that hug the hillside. The architects took care not to disturb local shrubs and vegetation.