Outdoor Spaces

Nestled in its hillside lot, the multi-level home features ample covered outdoor space.

The new home’s covered porch takes inspiration from the porch of the 150-year-old cottage shared by the extended family, just 100 yards away from the main home. The porch is designed for enjoying summer sunsets.

The previous homeowners had cultivated a large, Asian-inspired garden. The courtyard centers around this towering, bushy tree.

Dating back to 1961, the refreshed dwelling is an architectural jewel box, with a price tag to match.

Natalie and Lauren wanted to replicate the feel of a Zen garden with their home’s central courtyard. The garden features a Japanese maple that pops against the charred timber cladding, while structurally, the U-shape design ushers light right through to the back of the house.

The multi-level main residence sits nestled among soaring trees and thick landscaping, offering a tranquil oasis to reconnect with nature.

“You can really feel when you’re in the interior that it is exterior when you make the windows disappear completely,” says architect Ignacio Urquiza. “They disappear completely so the interior dining and living turn into exterior. The architecture tries to not disappear, but rather to blend with the reflection of the windows.”

A giant curved pocket door from Fleetwood — the first of its kind — removes the barrier between outside and in. The deck boards are carefully tapered to fit perfectly together as they radiate outward from the interior.

Finishes repeat to ensure a continuity of feeling throughout the home. In the primary bathroom, the floor is the same large format porcelain as the exterior spaces, the vanity counters are Concrete Collaborative terrazzo, and the shower wall tile is Mutina Rombini, which is also found on the kitchen island.

The same large format porcelain was used for the exterior patio, which is flush with the thresholds on the sliding glass doors. Blaine added a small bumpout at the end to accommodate a larger primary suite shower.

Sliding doors by Quantum were made to look like the original panes that couldn't be saved, and they lead to a fire pit outside.

The cantilevered roof creates a covered outdoor seating area offering mountain views.

“We drew a lot of inspiration from the house itself, but we tried to push it a bit further. We wanted to figure out a way to open the back elevation completely,” says Leidner.

The NanaWall glass walls offer maximum transparency and stacks neatly out of the way when open.