This peaceful modern home was designed by Fergus Garber Architects, located in Woodside, a small town in San Mateo County, California. Shielded by a screen of Douglas fir and redwood, the dwelling’s glass walls and earthly elements blur the line between indoors and outdoors.
Looks can be deceiving. Designed with clean lines from honest materials such as steel, reclaimed wood, concrete, and zinc, this home is seemingly simple. Yet despite the structure’s abundance of clear glass, there is something that cannot easily be seen—the complexity of its siting and footprint.
DESIGN DETAILS: ARCHITECT Fergus Garber Architects GENERAL CONTRACTOR Marrone & Marrone INTERIOR DESIGN Douglas Durkin Design LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Bernard Trainor + Associates STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING Rinne & Peterson Structural Engineers CIVIL ENGINEERING Lea & Braze Engineerig, Inc. LIGHTING DESIGN Eric Johnson Associates
The 13-acre site had suffered from unsustainable alterations that caused significant erosion and steepened the natural slope. The design response was to extensively regrade the hill returning it to more natural grades. The T-plan residence is comprised of a two-story east-west core and single-story wings on the north and south sides. These wings tether the 5,800 square foot house to the earth and choreograph easy movement between inside and outside.
The subtle, elemental house nestles intimately into the hillside, at the same time opening out to a preserved heirloom orchard, the client’s own apiary, and spectacular views of the bay. To bring the outdoors in, an elemental material palette was derived from the environs.
The board-formed concrete was mocked up more than a dozen times to achieve a color approximating the bark on the site’s oak trees. Throughout the home, radiant heated floors are covered with bluestone and white oak, the mass of which was determined through energy modeling to help regulate interior temperature.
Reclaimed sinker cypress cladding was chosen because of its incredible durability and deeply rich patina as it is wood fossilized from years at the bottom of swamps. Every steel surface, such as the structural posts, stair railings, and the fireplace surround have been acid-blackened for visual richness.
The alignment of the cypress boards, the intricacy of the fine steel-bar stair rail, the hidden rainwater leaders, and the careful finishing of wood, steel, and concrete speak to the meticulous construction of the house.
What We Love: This peaceful modern home provides its inhabitants with a fabulous indoor-outdoor connection, surrounded by the beauty of nature. The idyllic location of this home affords an abundance of privacy, which works well with copious amounts of glazing. Despite the modern aesthetics, this home is very inviting with its integration of reclaimed wood. Overall, we are loving the natural setting of this home and how the architects designed the residence to enhance the views.
Tell Us: What are your thoughts on the overall design aesthetics of this home? Would you change any of the details if lived here? Let us know in the Comments below!
Note: Be sure to have a look at a couple of other fabulous home tours that we have showcased here on One Kindesign in Northern California: Modern Spanish revival home with dreamy interiors in Northern California and Sky high mountain modern luxury surrounded by nature in Sierra Nevadas.
This property also consists of a sumptuous swimming pool and spa along with a 1,100 square foot pool house, perfect for entertaining.
PHOTOGRAPHER Tom Rossiter, Rhythm Visuals, Mac House
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