Houzz Tour: A Modern Beach House That’s a California Dream
Generous windows, mountain views and an open floor plan bring sunlight and spaciousness to an ecofriendly coastal home
Architect David Wilson in Berkeley, California, had been on the hunt for the perfect plot of land in Stinson Beach for years. This small beach community in Northern California is just north of San Francisco and is one of the few stretches of usable beach in the area. For Wilson and his wife, Stacia Cronin, it was their dream location for a modern and eco-friendly home.
Eventually, they found the ideal spot – a south-sloping plot of land with beautiful views of Mount Tamalpais’s ridges and the perfect amount of sunlight for solar power. There was only one problem: local laws limited how big they could build their property. But this was a welcome challenge for Wilson, because it meant minimising his home’s footprint as much as possible.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here David Wilson, Stacia Cronin, and their labrador, Teton
Location California, USA
That’s interesting The south-sloping roofline is perfectly situated for solar panels, which supply the home’s annual energy needs.
Eventually, they found the ideal spot – a south-sloping plot of land with beautiful views of Mount Tamalpais’s ridges and the perfect amount of sunlight for solar power. There was only one problem: local laws limited how big they could build their property. But this was a welcome challenge for Wilson, because it meant minimising his home’s footprint as much as possible.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here David Wilson, Stacia Cronin, and their labrador, Teton
Location California, USA
That’s interesting The south-sloping roofline is perfectly situated for solar panels, which supply the home’s annual energy needs.
A full wall of windows exposes the living room to one of the mountain ranges just beyond the house. Recycled wood on the ceiling –salvaged from the old gym at Stanford University – warms up the steel and glass in this space. Eco-friendliness was important, so the home was designed to ventilate completely naturally, and concrete flooring and insulation help maintain the temperature.
Chandelier: Foscarini, Lightweight
Get tips for decorating with bright orange
Chandelier: Foscarini, Lightweight
Get tips for decorating with bright orange
A customised built-in seating area serves as a replacement for a space-sucking sofa or armchairs. The plush leather seating and customised cushions are incredibly comfortable, but allow the living room to feel open and light. The coffee table is a piece that Wilson designed especially for this house.
The colour palette naturally developed as the house’s design progressed. Rather than deciding on it from the beginning, Wilson decided to base his design on how the colour of each new material and finish reacted to the previous ones.
While most of the walls are made of an unfinished and uncoloured plaster, the hallway is done in a green-colour plaster, which draws the eye down the hallway towards the stairwell. The mossy green works beautifully with the cool grey stone of the fireplace surround.
While most of the walls are made of an unfinished and uncoloured plaster, the hallway is done in a green-colour plaster, which draws the eye down the hallway towards the stairwell. The mossy green works beautifully with the cool grey stone of the fireplace surround.
Even though the house is on a small plot of land, the large windows and clear views help it feel open and connected to the outdoors. Wilson brought more of the natural outdoor elements inside with a bespoke dining table of his own design. Photos by Wilson and a painting by Chase Wilson add color to the white walls.
Dining chairs: Design Within Reach; chandelier: Foscarini, Lightweight
Dining chairs: Design Within Reach; chandelier: Foscarini, Lightweight
Olive ash wood was used for the light-coloured kitchen cupboards. The bar stools are part of a set that Wilson designed in the 1990s, and they work perfectly with the cupboard’s light hue. Pendant lights from Prandina provide ample lighting for the island workspace and blend in with the space’s modern décor.
Check out ways to natural wood in your home
Check out ways to natural wood in your home
A customised stainless steel extractor hood, eye-level cupboards and concrete tiles all reinforce the home’s modern theme, but they were also chosen for their sturdy and economical designs. Granite worktops in an antique finish were also chosen for their durability as well as their aesthetic.
Wilson shaped the design of the house around a living room, with bedrooms and bathrooms branching off the main space. The connected living room, dining room and kitchen allow for a large and inviting space to host family and friends who trek out to the beach.
Instead of cutting down on communal space, Wilson scaled down the size of the bedrooms to fit everything in. They were designed to fit the necessities: a bed and little else.
Solar panels were installed on the south-sloping roof as an efficient means for the home to produce its own energy. The roof has the perfect orientation for this installation, and it’s able to provide all the energy needs throughout the year.
Metal fabrication: Hellikson Design; windows and doors: Blomberg; sinks: Concreteworks; lighting: City Electric, Sunny St. Pierre; cabinets: Richard Klunge; recycled wood: Crossroads; structural steel: Allen Steel
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Metal fabrication: Hellikson Design; windows and doors: Blomberg; sinks: Concreteworks; lighting: City Electric, Sunny St. Pierre; cabinets: Richard Klunge; recycled wood: Crossroads; structural steel: Allen Steel
Do you like this home? Let us know why in the Comments below.
Corrugated metal was used with cement board to create a strong, clean and economical exterior. Wilson and his firm did all of the landscaping themselves, implementing local varieties of coastal plant life.