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City Cabin | Olson Kundig

Husband-and-wife team Elaine and Stanley Yang of real estate and development firm Mini Inno discovered this 2,000-square-foot ranch home, and set about transforming it into an idyllic weekend retreat. Built in 1966, the home sits on 3.6 acres and, while the bones were good, it was a bit outdated in terms of style. The revitalized, Moroccan-inspired retreat is a sanctuary worthy of its soothing surroundings.

Now, the kitchen has walnut cabinetry with inset doors painted a creamy white. The counter is marble, and the backsplash is the Classic Field tile in chartreuse from Heath Ceramics. The floors are new linoleum.

"In some ways the strongest attributes of the house are probably the outside spaces,” says Court. The original cedar deck was replaced with Kebony decking that wraps around a century-old cherry tree. A pair of Andy rockers from Mamagreen face an ottoman by Kenneth Cobonpue. The accordion doors are a NanaWall SL-60 system that allows the main room of the guesthouse to open completely to the deck.

The house meets LBC standards for net-positive water, on-site water treatment, and net-positive energy. To create a closed-loop system, potable water (blue) is collected via the rooftop and stored in an underground fiberglass cistern that holds 10,000 gallons. “In three weeks in January this year, we captured enough water for six months of use in the house,” says Todd. That rainwater is purified via a filtration system in the lower-level mechanical room before reaching faucets. A septic tank outfitted with a textile filter scrubs gray water and blackwater (orange) for non-potable use, such as irrigation. An array of 42 solar panels supplies 105 percent of the property’s power needs (yellow), and two wall-mounted batteries store backup power.

An island with seating from Blu Dot is joined by a custom walnut table fabricated by SOBU. The paint color on the island, Pigeon by Farrow & Ball, syncs with the new poured concrete floors.

A round window casts a lunar-like glow above the bed in one of the suites.

Mac describes adding the fireplace’s Domingue plaster finish as a real "labor of love." "The end result was a credit to the builder and his team. It really pulled the spaces together, and there is nothing better than the natural light playing with the plaster finish," explains the architect.

Open shelves, sourced from Rejuvenation, don’t feel as heavy as the upper cabinets installed before.

Two passthrough in the kitchen open to the living room and breakfast nook.

The Bionic Fire wood-burning stove by Rais can be pivoted outward to warm the deck.

A picture window over a custom concrete bench fashions a window seat. “Family, friends, and animals all enjoy the various places to relax in the lounge,” says the homeowner. “The window seat is universally the most prized nook in the home.”

In the entry, a high interior window borrows light from the bedroom wing and a woven wood screen in the kitchen lets the owners see who’s at the front door. Kalon Studios crafted the bench from a single ash log. “It will split a bit over time,” Lachapelle says.

When the couple purchased the home, there was no landscaping besides some local shrubs and Joshua trees. They decided to give the backyard a calming vibe with a saltwater hot tub. "It’s an invigorating experience, showering and soaking under an open sky so close to nature," she says. The saltwater uses fewer chemicals than chlorine, and helps relieve swelling and aching joints for hikers.

The rug in the sunken living room is from West Elm.

A cobblestone courtyard lined with palm trees and native plants welcomes visitors to the home.

For the island, Tu Taller Design fashioned a Corian countertop with an integrated drying rack and cutting board to keep the space streamlined.