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Designed by Arba, the retreat’s enclosed garden provides outdoor space out of the wind while the cuts give it a strong connection with the setting.

A new window adds natural light, and the room feels much bigger thanks to a glass enclosure for the shower. Jessica added custom concrete details throughout, along with Kohler faucets, Burke Decor sconces, and Wayfair mirrors.

Rich black soapstone counters wrap black-matte IKEA cabinets, and appliances are hidden behind cabinet fronts so the room recedes. Storage now extends under the windows and lines the dining area, where the table and chairs were both Craigslist finds.

Photographer: Taggart Sorenson

Photographer: Taggart Sorenson

A hatch door leads to the roof deck, which is lined with artificial turf.

The dining area features a Jason Wein Cooper River Diamond chandelier, Emile chairs from Zele, and a custom-made table.

A new addition to Sea Ranch’s enclave of utopian homes, this structure (and the separate guesthouse seen here) clad in rough concrete and Cor-ten steel seamlessly blends in with its half-a-century-old California neighbors. Designed by the dean of the Woodbury School of Architecture and the head of the University of Oregon’s architecture department, its spaces flow into one another underneath an angled plywood ceiling and illuminate built-in furniture crafted from vertical-grain Douglas fir.

For Gabriel Ramirez and his partner Sarah Mason Williams, following the Sea Ranch rules—local covenants guide new designs—didn’t mean slipping into Sea Ranch clichés. The architects love Cor-Ten steel, with its ruddy and almost organic surface, and they made it the main exterior material, along with board-formed concrete and ipe wood. The Cor-Ten, which quickly turned an autumnal rust in the sea air, and the concrete, with its grain and crannies, mean the house isn’t a pristine box, Ramirez says. His Neutra house “was very crisp and clean,” he says. “This house is more distressed, more wabi-sabi.”

"The patios at the ends of the house are left open to the landscape, and evoke the feeling of ruins," says Derek Dellekamp, the founder of the studio.

Pockets of courtyard-like spaces have been inserted into the longest volume to preserve the existing trees and allow for more natural light to pour into the interiors.

The interiors boast a chic, contemporary feel.

The master bedroom. "The small size of the home inspired me to design it as an urban retreat for casual living based on radical simplicity," says architect Cass Calder Smith.

The home was designed by James Gwise in collaboration with the homeowners. A long trellis and cantilevered awning serve as a new entrance.

“I love using board and batten, because it gives you a way of making hidden doors,” Davis says. In the living room, there’s a hidden closet under the stairs. In the kitchen, near the stove, there’s a hidden spice rack.

Hixton's over-arching goal for the kitchen was function. "I said repeatedly that function trumps aesthetics, but in the end, I don't think aesthetics was ever sacrificed," she shares. To plan for this, Dyer asked to see how Hixton stored food and created a bespoke cabinet specifically to house her stored bulk food. "The height on each drawer is specific to the height of a jar, pint, quart, half-gallon. It's amazing how much food it stores in such a small space," says Hixton.

On the valley side, the terrace steps down as a series of wide bleachers that double as casual seating for enjoying the scenery. The plan also sets the railings below the main floor, so that the interior offers unobstructed views of the landscape.

In this shower, gentle gray shades and minimal bath fixtures from Kallista add to the home’s contemplative ambience.