This living/bedroom space showcases neutral tones and shades of white to contrast the continued use of natural, treated wood surfaces.

A couple enlist Butler Armsden Architects and Leverone Design to reimagine their home as a multigenerational meeting point. In 1963, landscape designer Lawrence Halprin devised a master plan for a community that would live in harmony with the natural environment. The resulting Sea Ranch, which stretches 10 miles along the Pacific coastline in Sonoma County, California, is characterized by timber-frame, wood-clad structures that are in dialogue with the local climate and terrain. Sited on a bluff within this pioneering community is the vacation home of a lawyer couple. After purchasing the residence in 2007, they lived in the home as it was for four years, even keeping the previous owners’ furniture. Envisioning a retreat that would accommodate their extended family and guests, they then recruited Butler Armsden Architects and Leverone Design to help guide the project.

Fireplace as it was at time of home purchase

Fireplace after we ripped out many things from the room.

Sleeping nooks that look like the grooves in a block of cheese.

The home includes multiple furnishings and lights designed by Wright, including this dining set and hanging pendant light.

The back of the house serves as the greatest departure from the otherwise preserved proportions of the original Victorian farmhouse. With the thoughtful insertion of a “glass dining cube” and a rehabilitated deck space with sliding doors that can stand open, an outdoor living space creates additional programmatic flexibility while reinforcing the indoor/outdoor connection.

The open living space is surrounded by large, angular pieces of glass and sits on a floor made with Colorundum in a Cherokee Red, a material and color Wright often used in his work. This space also includes a brick wood-burning fireplace.

The extension’s lower level flows uninterrupted from the garden to the kitchen. Storage units hidden under the staircase give the living spaces an uncluttered feel. A Skygarden pendant by Marcel Wanders hangs over Snow 300 dining chairs by James Richardson, providing light in those rare hours when sunlight isn’t streaming in.

Modular vinyl record storage

Reminiscent of the Glass House, a monumental brick fireplace stands in the center of the living room.

When the sun is at its brightest, the east-facing glass wall is shielded by retractable Horiso venetian blinds that have been powdercoated to match the extension’s charcoal cladding.

Along with vaulted ceilings and sharp angles throughout, the home includes multiple custom built-in storage elements, including the bookshelves that line this living space.

At home with sound

Long living room seating area

A passage between the walls for hide and seek.

The addition’s two stories of cedar-framed sliding doors and window provide generous views of the house’s prized jacaranda tree. The addition’s polished concrete floor and white cladding extend into the garden, drawing occupants to the serene rear porch. There, they can relax on stools designed by Alvar Aalto and Charles Wilson while admiring the luscious greenery.