Favorites

The entrance to the home is through a timber-clad passageway, which connects the different spaces, which are all under one roof. Over time, the Canadian cedar timber cladding will develop a silver patina and the built form will dissolve further into the landscape.

The black door and window frames provide a contrast to the cedar siding.

The alley entrance is shaded by a cantilevered volume on the second floor. Turf-block pavers reduce runoff.

Layers

Built-in benches provide plenty of storage and reduce the need for free-floating furniture.

For the couple’s shared office, which is windowless, the team installed backlit panels to give the illusion of daylight entering the room.

"There’s a mutual tendency to stay in and work all the time because we have big creative appetites. We have to remind ourselves to take regular breaks to get out, see friends, interact with our community, and explore the many hidden gems on the California coast.”

Amongst the pines

The materiality of the rounded dividing cabinet is echoed in the white oak joinery that wraps around the structural element to offer additional storage and display space.

Berg floated a seating bench across a new kitchen window, which brings attention to the lowered sill placement.

Colorful accents pop against contrasting black stucco and white-painted Hardie panel siding on the exterior. The home's entrance is hidden away to the left, marked by a cheerful yellow bench by Design Within Reach and linear concrete pavers.

White oak storage wraps the kitchen, which is tucked under the lower ceiling, to create a more cozy spot that’s still connected to the living areas. “It's such a large space,” Erling says of the great room. “It's nice to be more intimate in the kitchen zone.” The counters are Gascogne blue limestone.