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The husband is a psychoanalyst who attends to patients in São Paulo as well as in the home—hence the generous proportions of the library and office.

A glazed floor panel in the living room allows visitors to observe free-roaming animals—including European bison, red deer, fallow deer, mouflon, and boar.

A kitchen was situated in a cozy niche off the towering great room, and outfitted with blue shaker-style cabinetry and custom tile work created by the husband and wife.

Despite facing the street, the master bathroom contains a delightful surprise: a private outdoor shower with a green wall.

“I studied architecture as an undergrad, and even though I’m in interiors now, that education of not overpopulating spaces, of letting the building be seamless, has always carried through for me,” says Caroline.

Kitchen

Living Room

Beside a simple but spacious kitchen, the living area is meant to be warm and casual.

Thompson, a founding principal of Assembledge+, had recently participated in a Los Angeles Magazine project to imagine solutions for those who lack housing in the city. Their notion was for public agencies to subsidize building ADUs in backyards along alleyways, dovetailing with existing alley revitalization initiatives

Chuch Estudio plays with color and form to create furnishings and spaces that are seriously fun.

“We definitely wanted to preserve the character of the home and make sure that it always fits the neighborhood,” says designer Jenny Bassett. To that end, the team kept the front façade intact, only repainting and adding new landscaping. The fireplace in the living room was also retained, so wood is stored in the front yard for easy access.

The angle of the custom range hood creates, in negative space, the same trapezoidal shape as the exterior. Cabinets are IKEA with custom-painted fronts.

The brass backsplash was a risky experiment carried off by Natalie, who started with unlacquered 4x8 foot sheets, then gave them patina by covering them in vinegar, ketchup, and salt, and leaving them out in the sun. The resulting pattern was aligned as carefully as possible, and the surface sealed. “We just had to essentially cut the topography into a way that felt really great,” says Natalie.