Favorites

The journey through the dark tunnel to the new, light-filled addition is both a texturally interesting and atmospheric experience, where the contrast between old and new, dark and light, can be felt.

Robertson restored the existing rooms in the front of the original house, and redesigned the back of the home to have a much more modern, indoor/outdoor living experience.

The new addition opens the interiors to the garden with floor-to-ceiling windows and easy access to the yard.

Tall steel-and-glass doors open to the backyard and bring some understated drama.

The back of the home and its soaring glass-and-concrete addition create a strong connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces, and the rear garden and the pool feel like "a secret refuge."

Photo: Willem-Dirk du Toit

The modernist extension is a brutalism-inspired beauty, featuring a charred wood–and–glass volume split neatly into two halves. It’s two-faced architecture, if you will—but together, the two sides tell one beautiful design story.

BEFORE: The weathered exterior of the Napa Valley home needed a refresh

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.”

Lofted above the great room is a vaulted atelier space dubbed “The Tower,” which features a mix of stone, steel, and wood, all connected by a sleek spiral staircase.

Inside, a freestanding fireplace anchors the main living area overlooking the ocean. Other notable features of the home include its different split levels and dramatic sloping roof.