open plan / ceiling

Artist and homeowner Simon Quinn in his studio space. Clerestory windows run along one wall, allowing natural light into the studio without compromising storage needs.

“My studio space is so glorious,” says artist and homeowner Miriam Nabarro. “The round window is a kind of thought space where ideas are born, and pocket doors open out to the verandah so I can work both inside and outside. It’s a very flexible space.”

Pictured on the right, an open-air atrium sits in the middle of the house.

“The fireplace really turns out to be a focus of the deck and the house,” says Marlatt. “We use it a lot more than I ever thought we would, frankly.”

Marlatt built the cabinets in place from Russian Birch plywood, and the counters are a thin application of Neolith stone. The backsplash is glass, making for easy clean-up, and a few of the cabinet fronts are painted Masonite, for fun pops of color. The ceramics on the shelves are by Burgevin.

The great room in the new addition. “Every day walking into that big room, you just have that, ‘Oh, wow,’ moment,” says Marlatt.

On the home's north-facing rear facade, rows of stacked windows by Sierra Pacific usher in ample natural light. "Most of the time, we don't have to turn on the lights,

A canvas by John Finneran hangs beneath the HVAC vents. Of the lacquered plywood used throughout, Lizz says, "To us, it doesn’t feel like pattern. White walls would be serious and cold, and our family’s not serious or cold. But when our appraiser saw it, he said, 'When are you going to finish it?'

A freestanding storage unit does triple duty as storage, display and a place for the HVAC unit.

Original details are peppered throughout the interiors, including the wood-paneled ceilings and brick fireplace in the main living area.

Potted greenery is abundant throughout the house.

Western red cedar slat panels are paired with a pine ceiling and stained oak cabinets in the kitchen. Model Six Stools by Jeff Covey for Herman Miller line the concrete counter.

The existing kitchen was tiny, so Patricia converted it and a small bedroom into a library. She saved the original chimney, as well as the woodburning oven and hot plate, and relocated them to the new, larger kitchen. “Everything I repurposed had to have a function,” she explains.

Speckled white granite covers the floors inside, and extends to the outdoor patios.

Featuring a vaulted, plywood ceiling, the kids' room upstairs doubles as a playroom. "It's a place we all lounge in to build Legos and read stories,

The linear quality of the stepped ceiling is best experienced from the loft area, where the home office is situated.

The interiors are grounded by a simple palette of black and wood tones with a few pops of color.