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The metal Grillage chair on the deck is by François Azambourg for Ligne Roset.

Designers Christopher Robertson and Vivi Nguyen-Robertson conceived their house as an unfolding sequence of simple geometric forms: a low concrete wall, a concrete cube, and a boxclad in Siberian larch.

Sliding doors from Western Window Systems connect the living room and the deck, which is made of pressure-treated pine planks surrounding a black gravel pit.

A long window was used as a backsplash in the kitchen to bring in even more light to the space.

In the bright and airy kitchen, top-of-the-line appliances include a Miele integrated refrigerator, a Liebherr freezer unit, and a concealed Qasair Condari Westmore rangehood. The Salinas System Kitchen island was designed by Patricia Urquiola for Boffi.

New Kitchen detail

Another water-saving project in Menlo Park includes a rock bed with succulents.

Large sliding doors allow the dining area to flow into the courtyard.

As night falls, the home lights up like a lantern, enhancing the warm glow of the wood ceiling. Immense clerestory windows and glass sliders connect the home to the outdoors.

The rear courtyard appears to float over the site. On the right is a large screened porch with three walls of retractable insect screens from Phantom Screens, which make it easy to use the space whether it's bug season or not.

The garden courtyard is the first space the owners experience when entering from the street.

The previous homeowners had cultivated a large, Asian-inspired garden. The courtyard centers around this towering, bushy tree.

The living and dining room look out to the central courtyard, promoting indoor/outdoor living. Here, five doors slide into a pocket in the wall to create a nearly 23-foot-wide opening on one side looking into the garden. Another set on the opposite side enhances cross ventilation.

Today, a California live oak blocks a view from the street, and a massive pine sits in the front courtyard—in addition to a Japanese maple, bamboo, and other specimens. Here is a look into the second courtyard and a covered patio off the kitchen.

The courtyard seamlessly integrates the indoor and outdoor space.

"The use of materials, the careful details, the integrated sense of place, the weaving together of inside and out, and creating a special home that the clients love make this a special story for me," Epstein notes fondly.