Favorites

An Aria table from Room and Board creates a spot to gather. The countertop is Barbados honed marble from Walker Zanger, and it surrounds an LG induction cooktop.

Adam and Karyn Bechtel tasked architect Emily Jagoda with renovating the 1960 home they share with their two daughters in the hills of Woodside, California. A curvilinear, built-in sofa with integrated storage sits below a lofted art studio and angular clerestory windows that frame views of the surrounding trees.

In the living room, a Malm fireplace sits on a yellow powder-coated steel table that matches the bookshelf ladder leading to the loft. Jagoda designed the table with space underneath to store firewood.

“We were trying to be respectful of the original house but also feel free to make changes,” says Jagoda.

A cutout in a wall in the kitchen creates a sight line to the living/dining room, which is overlooked by the art loft. The kitchen range is by Fulgor Milano, while the sconces are from Vipp.

A Nelson Bubble pendant from Design Within Reach hangs above a dining table and chairs by Jasper Morrison for Maruni.

Loewen windows and sliding glass doors from Western Window Systems connect the common spaces on the ground level to the balcony and wooded backyard. “We really wanted to feel connected to nature,” says Karyn.

The loft is situated at the end of the wood-paneled hallway upstairs.

Douglas fir floors and a natural finish knotty pine ceiling run through the home’s second level, which was added in the 1980s and has an extra sitting room. “There’s a warmth to the wood we didn’t want to give up,” Karyn says.

“It has a public and private feel, which we like.” A French blue table designed by David adds color to the dining area. “It was important to us to have unexpected and whimsical elements in the house,” says Mark. “We didn’t want it to be too serious.”

A recent painting by Mark hangs on the door between the living room and bedroom but might soon be swapped out. “The idea is that I can make a piece in the studio, put it up and live with it for a while, and then change it for something new,” says Mark.

In the bedroom, the home’s allover fir lining extends to the base of the platform bed, which has matching linens for a highly monochromatic effect. Daylight streams through a skylight and ground-level window.

Marine-grade Douglas fir plywood lines the ceilings and walls and was used for flooring as well.

A Stûv wood-burning stove in the living room provides heat for the net-zero home. (Solar panels supply electricity.) Four equal-size rooms are separated by barn doors that allow for a circular flow through the house when left open. “Our dogs love it,” says David. A recent painting by Mark hangs on the door between the living room and bedroom but might soon be swapped out. “The idea is that I can make a piece in the studio, put it up and live with it for a while, and then change it for something new,” says Mark.

Sheathed in black asphalt shingles, the Sea Ranch home created by architect David Ross and artist Mark Dutcher exemplifies values espoused by the 60-year-old community: modesty, aesthetics, simplicity, and respect for the natural environment.

Alebrijes

The family added a Murphy bed for guests.