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Outdoor Living

An 800-square-foot deck has a metal privacy screen on one end, and is wrapped in a streamlined metal railing designed by Boyer. “All of the exterior materials had to be fire resistant” to comply with code, says Boyer, so a bamboo product was used for the deck.

The house is essentially an upscale surf shack. The design outdoors facilitates easy showering, clean up, and board storage.

Reilly, pictured here, deleted the original front door in order to create an expanse of uninterrupted wall in the living room. The existing slider is now the main entry point. She clad the exterior with planks marketed as a shou sugi ban product that reads as burned, knotty cedar. A new, corrugated metal roof replaced asphalt shingles.

"I've always loved the way buildings look when they're under construction, and the walls of the office are basically like open framing," Davis says.

Now, there’s enough room for a dedicated living and dining area, comfortably separated by a walkway out to the sliding glass doors and deck. The flooring is wide-plank pine, which will accrue a nice patina over time.

The kitchen is outfitted with custom teak cabinetry and a black soapstone counter that extends up the backsplash and waterfalls to the floor. Dramatic built-in shelves accentuate the high ceilings.

The team relocated the staircase so it doesn’t break up the facade.

The cabin’s structure steps down along the rock hillside, tracing its slope.

Boyer first visited the site in 2018 for the redesign. Having grown up in the area, it was awful to see the devastating effects of the fire, but there were also signs of regrowth just a year later. “The redwoods had started to grow a little fuzzy green against the charred black [bark],” says Boyer. “It was kind-of promising. It felt hopeful that nature was coming back so quickly.”

The dining table was custom built from walnut by furniture maker John Lightfoot Greiner.

“The covered walkway was very important, because how the view is revealed can be either mundane or thrilling,” adds Cutler.

Another sleeping area features double bunk beds.

The windows in the living area provide views out to the treetops. A rattan loveseat from Golden & Pine softens one corner of the space.

The large terrace on the upper level, which contains the house's bedrooms, is nearly 968 square feet.