He wanted a great yard, she wanted a great room.  They both desired a home with a strong beating heart for themselves and their two teen-age children.  This modern family practices togetherness, not hanging out in separate rooms.  The architects’ assignment was to design an appealing centralized habitat for all members of the household to use and enjoy.

The design solution is one big indoor-outdoor space.  An L-shaped living-dining area on the main floor has the kitchen as its pivot point. Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors on four sides dissolve the boundary between indoors and out.  

The house is a minimalist sculpture of three boxes, one white stucco, one grey, and the third and largest a two-story volume clad in larch siding. The entrance expresses the couple’s affinity for gardens and areas for contemplation, with a whisper of Japanese influence:  the concrete walkway slips through a gravel garden with low shrubs and a single cercis tree that produces white blossoms in the spring.  

The staircase landing has its own small courtyard open to the sky, an ideal meditation spot. The second floor has two small ensuite bedrooms and a master with a wood soaking tub and deck off the bathroom.