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Tanner Foust delights in the surprised expressions on visitors’ faces when they first look into the garage trophy room. The Genesis GV80 can be seen through the glass. Preproduction model with optional features shown.

Garage

Contemporary furnishings now contrast with the traditional detailing of the preserved architecture.

The pantry lines the wall to the right.

Vince and Ayşe relax on a sofa that converts to a bunk bed in the living area, where a shade pulls down from a large picture window and provides a screen for the movie projector above the sofa.

When a Los Angeles–based entrepreneur and writer were seeking creative refuge, they didn’t have to travel far for inspiration. The duo simply looked to their backyard to erect a 245-square-foot guesthouse on their hillside property in the Los Feliz neighborhood. Nestled just behind their main residence, the tranquil space, designed by Jerome Byron, serves as a work/play sanctuary for the couple and their two children.

It was important to make the home as fire-resistant as possible, granted its wooded Northern California site. (Natalie is on the board of the wildfire council.) The Harrisons pulled the siding off the house and put it through a shou sugi ban treatment — contractors created a giant burn box and roasted the whole pile. “It feels earthy, and also like you never have to treat it again,” explains Natalie. “We found people to actually do this—they burn it, and put it back up.”

In the dining area, a Guild chandelier hangs above a table and chairs from Carl Hansen.

In the angular primary bathroom, “there’s a lot of levels, there’s a lot going on,” says Carine. “ Plaster felt like a really natural element that went with the architectural style of the house, but then it also sort of neutralised the busyness of all the things that were going on.” Travertine parquet tiles line the floor.

“There’s something about it that feels very contextual to where it is—on a little teeny hill, looking out over the Dry Creek Valley, and there’s nothing else artful around,” says Louis.

The stilts, or pilotis, helped reduce the construction impact on the land. From within, the elevated house looks out to the middle of the surrounding trees.

The green backsplash tiles are vintage, reclaimed from another project.