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.

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

A passage between the walls for hide and seek.

Foyer

This garage space uses iconic checkerboard floor tiles to contrast the rustic barn door that provides entry to the rest of The Barn.

Another view of the garage reveals its extensive space to house vehicles and protect them from the elements.

The living room Ortal fireplace is clad in cold-rolled steel with a waxed finish. The side chairs, vintage reproductions from Room and Board, feature shapely walnut arms.

Inspirational spaces

In all of its beige glory...

This "local prefab" home on the Isle of Skye is made mostly from materials sourced in northern Scotland. The timber-framed model, meant to evoke the simple agrarian barns of the area, can be constructed on-site in as little as a day and is designed for affordability.

Sketch of Soma Water