Photo by Ron Rosenzweig

A wall of mirrors virtually expands the entertaining area. Photo by: Brad Nicol

Builder: Great Neighborhood Homes Artisan Home Tour 2016

Jessica Glynn Photography

This 5,200-square foot modern farmhouse is located on Manhattan Beach’s Fourth Street, which leads directly to the ocean. A raw stone facade and custom-built Dutch front-door greets guests, and customized millwork can be found throughout the home. The exposed beams, wooden furnishings, rustic-chic lighting, and soothing palette are inspired by Scandinavian farmhouses and breezy coastal living. The home’s understated elegance privileges comfort and vertical space. To this end, the 5-bed, 7-bath (counting halves) home has a 4-stop elevator and a basement theater with tiered seating and 13-foot ceilings. A third story porch is separated from the upstairs living area by a glass wall that disappears as desired, and its stone fireplace ensures that this panoramic ocean view can be enjoyed year-round. This house is full of gorgeous materials, including a kitchen backsplash of Calacatta marble, mined from the Apuan mountains of Italy, and countertops of polished porcelain. The curved antique French limestone fireplace in the living room is a true statement piece, and the basement includes a temperature-controlled glass room-within-a-room for an aesthetic but functional take on wine storage. The takeaway? Efficiency and beauty are two sides of the same coin.

This landscape lighting project was primarily in the back yard, but this photo shows an interesting retro-fit lighting effect we installed in the front yard. This existing house number box was lit from the inside by our wide-effect Ozark fixture, making for a stunning glow effect. While this was an existing box, our in-house metal fabrication facility has crafted similar boxes and shapes with cutouts of all sorts. These are great ways to illuminate a street number or the name of a property, and is available in any desired size or finish. These work particularly well here in Canada, since the point of illumination is shielded from snow, making them excellent year-round effects for important house number and sign lighting.

Nicki Chavoya, Casa Loma Studios

Architect: Akin Atelier Landscape Designer: Dangar Barin Smith Photographer: Murray Fredericks

Skysight Photography