Details

“The bank of full-height windows brings in tons of southern light, but it also gives the stable a strong street presence, and it ties into the stick-built window pattern already established at the entry to the main house,” Schaer says. The locally-sourced Douglas fir windows and doors were provided by Lindal Cedar Homes.

To detail to the kitchen cabinetry and shelving, plywood sheets were turned on their sides to expose multi-toned striations.

A wall of three-inch-wide cedar slats contrasts with the tile backsplash.

The retaining wall anchors the standing-seam steel roof.

Glazing on both sides gives the television room an airy, pavilion-like feel.

Large sliding doors fully enable indoor/outdoor living.

The media room is clad in floor-to-ceiling oak panels. The custom-made, built-in oak banquette was designed by ABD Studio and upholstered in a striped linen. The eclectic mix of artwork is from the collection of the owner and includes pieces from Kiki Smith, Kenneth Noland, and a sculptural work from Mary Shaffer. The rug and side tables are vintage.

“It’s like an oasis—we never had privacy before.” —Amy Bancroft, resident

The once public hallway between the two apartments now boasts a bold wallpaper by Kravitz Design for Flavor Paper.

The custom steel stair by Metropolis Metalworks serves as the centerpiece to the space. The live edge burled Redwoods slabs covers the listening area and wetbar. In the distance, the stair leads up to the rest of the home and more everyday life.

Wooten handpicked every piece in the house, such as the 1955 Medea chair by Vittorio Nobili, near which he placed an abandoned bird’s nest he found on the property.

“I suppose you could consider me part of a subculture who lived in various inner-city spaces,” says Simpson, whose previous homes include ad hoc spaces in industrial warehouses, floors of office buildings, and units above shops and bars. In designing his Island Bay home completely from scratch, he retained his experimental spirit: “We wanted a house that responded to our wider social, environmental, and economic concerns rather than something that blindly followed convention,” he says. Unassuming in sight, the home’s corrugated-metal cladding (above) recalls the tin shed, a vernacular housing type in the region.

Sliding doors cast shadows across the concrete floor.

The two-story shutters, designed by architect Jim Cutler and built by Breig Brothers Inc., glide with the touch of a finger, thanks to a system that uses high-quality stainless steel roller-bearing wheels.

Garage - Man Door