1941 Redwood Home by William Wurster, Walnut Creek, CA

Designed by mid-century modern architect William W. Wurster, this single family home is in the forefront of the mid-century modern life style -- California indoor-outdoor living at its best. The single level home is built of redwood board and batten, with crisp white painted overhangs and window frames.
Walk through the walkway’s tall redwood front door into an outdoor living room and a beautiful interior garden courtyard, then into the house. The house features wood clad walls, oversize windows and doors and high ceilings. The open floor plan offers great views -- even from the two bedrooms -- into the perfectly private, beautiful courtyard.

The house is vintage, structurally unchanged since it was built in 1941. At 1000 square feet of interior space, this is one of Wurster’s "Large Small Houses" that feel expansive and incorporate outdoor spaces in everyday living areas. Wurster was also a genius at siting: The transoms in the all- glass kitchen entry open to the winds coming from San Francisco. The home’s front door opens out and latches sturdily to allow flow-through evening breezes, with the screen door on the inside. The house windows provide a view out to the courtyard and Mt. Diablo in the distance.
Wurster created the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design, combining architecture, landscaping and urban planning. His San Francisco firm, Wurster, Bernardi and Emmons, was famous for homes, skyscrapers Ghirardelli Square, and the iconic Marina Safeway. He worked with famous landscape designers Thomas Church and Lawrence Halprin.
Stay Details: Two bedrooms, sleeps 4. The great room has a working fireplace, 50” Samsung smart TV, hi-fi and cable, and a piano. A full bath and a powder room. Sheets, towels, linens, included. Gas range, dishwasher, new refrigerator and microwave. Dishes, pots and pans, small appliances, everything you need in the granite kitchen. Full size washer and dryer in the detached laundry.

The outdoor living room includes a sofa and chairs as well as patio furniture in the garden courtyard, a perfect place for morning coffee, relaxing or entertaining. Two camellia trees, a Queen Elizabeth rose, and flowers, with shade sails across the open courtyard. (Nearly zero mosquitoes here, unlike other parts of the country, so wonderful to sit out in the evening.)

The Almond-Shuey neighborhood is vibrant traditional neighborhood, filled with millennials, seniors, babies and retirees. You can walk from your front door to the city's numerous restaurants. Walk to shops and Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom's, Tiffany's, Target and Whole Foods. Lesher Center for the Arts is down the street, and a block further is City Hall and Civic Park with a playground and an entrance to the Iron Horse Trail. To get to or from San Francisco, or SFO or OAK airports, take BART, a 15 minute walk away. The location is fantastic: Freeway entrances to 680 and 24 are only a few blocks away.