Located on a lush hillside behind a main residence, this small structure housing a psychologist’s office/guesthouse is just a few steps away from home yet it feels like a protected sanctuary.

Solving the problem of an ever-frustrating commute, this home-office offers both privacy and convenience while enhancing the property’s value.  It also can double as a guesthouse for visiting friends or family.

The owners insisted on a minimalist design that was to be flexible, modern, private, warm and contextual. The structure’s highly articulated form is composed of a series of angled cedar wall planes.  “Breaking of the box” into a series of angled walls allows the building to more effectively blend into its environment.

Each plan angle responds to room function, view corridors, light quality and programmatic flexibility. The waiting room can also double as a guest room and has its own entrance. The main office space has its own entrance and it can double as a living room. Both spaces have abundant views to the eucalyptus trees and lush landscape. A bathroom, entrance closet and small “kitchenette” round out the program.

Interiors are simple and take a back seat to the views framed by the large wood trimmed windows. Staying with the natural palette of materials expressed on the exterior, the interior’s floors are maple and ceilings, doors, windows and cabinetry are vertical grain Douglas fir. Walls are simple white painted drywall and lighting is suspended below the wood purlins on stainless steel cable tacks.

The new landscaping, steps and site walls tie in with the materials used elsewhere on the site. Broken concrete steps and retaining walls, bamboo hedges, red flax, liriope shrubs and young eucalyptus trees will one day mature to create a seamless blend with their older counterparts.