Houzz Tour: A Flexible Modern Home for a Young Family
This architect-designed new build in Northern California features spaces that can change as the kids grow up
Photo by Ramsay Photography
A Creative Approach
Those who park out front have a bit of a climb to the front door, but it’s a pleasant one thanks to the thoughtful design of the concrete steps and terraces by Merge Studio landscape architects. The stairs are spaced out nicely with long runs incorporated after three steps. Each step has an integrated light. The stairs have staggered edges and extend into a series of retaining walls. These retaining walls form terraces and planters filled with attractive native plants. The designers carefully chose plants that are good for the local wildlife, attract pollinators like bees and butterflies, and require little water.
How to Hire a Landscape Architect
A Creative Approach
Those who park out front have a bit of a climb to the front door, but it’s a pleasant one thanks to the thoughtful design of the concrete steps and terraces by Merge Studio landscape architects. The stairs are spaced out nicely with long runs incorporated after three steps. Each step has an integrated light. The stairs have staggered edges and extend into a series of retaining walls. These retaining walls form terraces and planters filled with attractive native plants. The designers carefully chose plants that are good for the local wildlife, attract pollinators like bees and butterflies, and require little water.
How to Hire a Landscape Architect
The main entry is protected from the elements by the overhang of the master bedroom’s balcony. Alper clad the entry in cedar. “Cedar is a warm tactile material that’s welcoming,” she says.
The deck off the front of the house extends into a pergola-like carport, nicely tucked around to the side. The siding of the house is fiber cement board and batten. “I staggered the battens to relate to the random quality of the trees,” she says. Staggering and shifting are themes that continue through the home’s design.
The most dramatic architectural feature is the large block of windows that extends two stories high and wraps around the corner of the house. It is composed of 16 windows in a variety of sizes.
The deck off the front of the house extends into a pergola-like carport, nicely tucked around to the side. The siding of the house is fiber cement board and batten. “I staggered the battens to relate to the random quality of the trees,” she says. Staggering and shifting are themes that continue through the home’s design.
The most dramatic architectural feature is the large block of windows that extends two stories high and wraps around the corner of the house. It is composed of 16 windows in a variety of sizes.
We’ll explore the way the wall of windows affects each room first, starting with the living room.
“This was a sweet spot to capture the view — it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere because of the siting,” Alper says. “Being up the hillside means the wall of windows looks out above the rooftops of the neighboring homes, straight out to the trees and the mountains.”
“This was a sweet spot to capture the view — it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere because of the siting,” Alper says. “Being up the hillside means the wall of windows looks out above the rooftops of the neighboring homes, straight out to the trees and the mountains.”
Two beanbag chairs create a kid-friendly spot in front of the windows. The pine window trim adds warmth to the space and works well with the rift-cut oak across the space on the kitchen island and cabinets.
Find beanbag chairs in the Houzz Shop
Find beanbag chairs in the Houzz Shop
Here is the view straight up from those beanbags. The room above the living room is the master bedroom.
The house was built with energy efficiency in mind. The skylight shown here can be opened to let rising hot air escape. Both towers have skylights for this purpose. Together with the insulation and low-emissivity windows, the house exceeds the California Green Building Standards Code. “The house stays quite cool, and they only need air conditioning on the hottest days,” Alper says.
The house was built with energy efficiency in mind. The skylight shown here can be opened to let rising hot air escape. Both towers have skylights for this purpose. Together with the insulation and low-emissivity windows, the house exceeds the California Green Building Standards Code. “The house stays quite cool, and they only need air conditioning on the hottest days,” Alper says.
The window also is a highlight the master bedroom. Alper kept the parapet wall low to keep the view open, and then topped it with a glass railing to make it a safe 42-inch-high barrier. It overlooks the beanbag area below. “If they ever wanted to create a more private sound barrier here, I designed it so it would be easy to install a wall here,” she says. For now, the homeowners wouldn’t dream of losing the view of the treetops and mountains.
The wall of windows is one of the homeowners’ favorite things about the house. “Obviously our windows are quite dramatic, and I usually love them except when I need to clean them,” Leander says.
Considering the Kitchen View
The kitchen is open to the living room, and the couple wanted it to blend in and not immediately scream kitchen. This meant a clean, balanced, minimalist look with appliances that didn’t stand out. A sleek induction cooktop helps maintain the clean lines. The architect specified a long metal shelf that extends off the vent hood at the same 13-inch depth, an atypical look for a hood.
“The rhythm of the backsplash tiles is part of the staggered and shifting theme,” she says. The cabinet wood is rift-cut oak. A trio of pendants and stools punctuate the space with black.
Find induction cooktops in the Houzz Shop
The kitchen is open to the living room, and the couple wanted it to blend in and not immediately scream kitchen. This meant a clean, balanced, minimalist look with appliances that didn’t stand out. A sleek induction cooktop helps maintain the clean lines. The architect specified a long metal shelf that extends off the vent hood at the same 13-inch depth, an atypical look for a hood.
“The rhythm of the backsplash tiles is part of the staggered and shifting theme,” she says. The cabinet wood is rift-cut oak. A trio of pendants and stools punctuate the space with black.
Find induction cooktops in the Houzz Shop
Alper put the refrigerator and the small appliances in the pantry to keep the kitchen clean and uncluttered. “The fridge really works as part of the kitchen flow because the pantry doors open wide, making it part of the kitchen,” she says.
The pantry also houses the washer and dryer, which saved them from using valuable square footage for a separate laundry room.
The homeowners love the kitchen setup. “The hiding of the fridge in the pantry is the best thing ever for some reason,” Leander says.
The pantry also houses the washer and dryer, which saved them from using valuable square footage for a separate laundry room.
The homeowners love the kitchen setup. “The hiding of the fridge in the pantry is the best thing ever for some reason,” Leander says.
This photo was taken from the dining room. The front entrance is behind the fireplace, and the bench is in an entry vestibule. The fireplace surround is a slab that appears to float in front of the baseboards along the wall behind it. Its height lines up with the top of the pantry’s sliding doors to the left, creating a subtle visual connection.
The floors are oak lightened by a lime stain. Together with the white walls, other wood finishes and carefully edited furnishings, the overall aesthetic recalls Scandinavian modern design, a look the homeowners found themselves drawn to when seeking inspiration.
Find Scandinavian inspiration on Houzz
The floors are oak lightened by a lime stain. Together with the white walls, other wood finishes and carefully edited furnishings, the overall aesthetic recalls Scandinavian modern design, a look the homeowners found themselves drawn to when seeking inspiration.
Find Scandinavian inspiration on Houzz
Connecting Indoors and Out
The dining area not only opens to the living room, but it also opens to the deck off the front and, on the opposite side, to a more private patio off the back of the house. “When it’s nice out for a little more than half of the year, the doors to the deck and patio are open, which makes the house feel bigger,” Leander says. This also keeps the house cool by letting the breeze blow right through the dining room.
Shop for modern pendant lights
The dining area not only opens to the living room, but it also opens to the deck off the front and, on the opposite side, to a more private patio off the back of the house. “When it’s nice out for a little more than half of the year, the doors to the deck and patio are open, which makes the house feel bigger,” Leander says. This also keeps the house cool by letting the breeze blow right through the dining room.
Shop for modern pendant lights
Over the buffet, an artistic patterned glass transom by 3form draws the eye up. Down the hallway to its right is a first-floor bedroom and a full bathroom. The location of the bathroom off this hallway gives it an en suite feel, but it also serves as the first floor’s only bathroom, which saved space. “The bedroom downstairs works out great when Wina’s mom comes all the way from Indonesia to visit for a while. The rest of the time, it’s a multifunctional space, and it will become one of the kid’s rooms eventually,” Leander says.
On the other side of the wall, the staircase also enjoys a view of the patterned transom glass.
A Flexible Second Floor
At the top of the stairs is a flexible family room-playroom-office space. Alper designed it so that, if the family’s needs change, it would be easy to put up walls and transform it into a fourth bedroom. There are two other bedrooms and two full bathrooms up here.
At the top of the stairs is a flexible family room-playroom-office space. Alper designed it so that, if the family’s needs change, it would be easy to put up walls and transform it into a fourth bedroom. There are two other bedrooms and two full bathrooms up here.
Photo by Rebecca Gosselin Photography
The stair landing is a flexible space, large enough for a reading nook (as styled in the previous photo). For now the kids are using it as their own fort-like spot. When the kids are older, the reading nook setup will come in handy.
The stair landing is a flexible space, large enough for a reading nook (as styled in the previous photo). For now the kids are using it as their own fort-like spot. When the kids are older, the reading nook setup will come in handy.
This is the master bedroom’s deck, which extends over the front entry. Glass railings keep the views of the majestic trees and mountains open just as they do inside in the master bedroom along the parapet wall.
The master bathroom also has a direct entrance to the deck. An encaustic cement tile floor adds pattern to the otherwise minimalist space. The glass on the shower enclosure lets in light on two sides, making it feel more expansive.
Find encaustic cement tile in the Houzz Shop
Find encaustic cement tile in the Houzz Shop
The kids’ bathroom has a fun wavy tile design on the wall. The patterned tile in all three bathrooms in the house is encaustic cement.
Pro tip: “In a smaller space, it’s good to keep materials similar and consistent,” Alper says.
The homeowners love their house down to every tiny detail. “Our house is great for our family of four, and it never feels too big or too small. Mostly what I love about our house is that it feels simple but with wonderful little details thrown in … even a tiny thing like screwless wall plates feels good,” Leander says.
Although he and his wife enjoyed renovating houses in the past, they liked the challenging experience of starting from scratch. “A completely new build gives you the blank slate to make anything you want,” he says.
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Pro tip: “In a smaller space, it’s good to keep materials similar and consistent,” Alper says.
The homeowners love their house down to every tiny detail. “Our house is great for our family of four, and it never feels too big or too small. Mostly what I love about our house is that it feels simple but with wonderful little details thrown in … even a tiny thing like screwless wall plates feels good,” Leander says.
Although he and his wife enjoyed renovating houses in the past, they liked the challenging experience of starting from scratch. “A completely new build gives you the blank slate to make anything you want,” he says.
More on Houzz
Read other home tours
Find a home pro for your next project
Browse home products
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Stephen Leander; his wife, Wina Wihartanti; and their two young children
Location: Sebastopol, California
Size: 2,250 square feet (209 square meters); three bedrooms, three bathrooms
Designers: Amy A. Alper (architect) and Rochelle Silberman Design (interior designer)
When looking for an architect to design a house for their lot in Sebastopol, California, this couple searched for “Sonoma County architects” on Houzz and found Amy Alper, whose work they admired. When they realized that she’d been involved in the design of the Carneros Resort and Spa — a place they hold dear because it was where they had their wedding — they sensed they had found someone who would design a home they would love. “Amy was the first architect we called and ended up being the only one I ever talked to,” says homeowner Stephen Leander.
Leander and his wife, Wina Wihartanti, wanted an energy-efficient and flexible design that would change with them as their young family grew. In fact, when they began the design process, they had one child, and by the time they moved in, they had two. “I also knew our lot was going to present a challenge and also wanted someone to be with us from beginning to end and beyond,” he says.
Their lot had beautiful trees and lovely views of the Mayacamas Mountains, but it came with challenges. The design for the house needed to address a steep hillside, a shared driveway with its placement already dictated, and tight constraints from a view easement (to protect neighbors’ views) that ran diagonally through the middle of the property. The easement rendered about half of the lot unbuildable. But these challenges also inspired an alluring entry, framed mountain views and a striking house composed of two towers.
“Because of the constraints, the only solution was a two-story house,” Alper says. The height restriction dictated that the house be no taller than 30 feet. The two towers dominate the composition of the house, providing a dramatic and varied roofline. A long parapet wall (a low wall that can crown a roof) provides a strong horizontal element that runs the length of the house, from outside on the balcony, through the interior and then back outside again.
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