Houzz Tour: A Light-Filled Home Clings to a Cliff
Sloped walls of glass, earth roofs and minimalist interiors create a home seemingly etched into the California landscape
Stephanie Granada
18 March 2018
Houzz Contributor. Journalist who covers homes, design, travel, food, style and health for various print and digital outlets.
Houzz Contributor. Journalist who covers homes, design, travel, food, style and health... More
Photos by Obie Bowman
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired businessman and a children’s book illustrator
Location: Sausalito, California
Size: 4,000 square feet (372 square meters), plus a 700-square-foot (65-square-meter) garage and courtyard
Architect: Obie Bowman
On the steep hills of Sausalito, California, above Highway 101, a couple dreamed of building an eco-friendly home with a whimsical design. They called architect Obie Bowman, whose work is characterized by a strong connection with nature.
In this case, given the lot’s location on the side of a cliff, the landscape had to guide the design. “It was immediately apparent the house had to step up and down the hill or else it would be looming out excessively,” Bowman says.
Another determining factor was the weather: Like nearby San Francisco, Sausalito is foggy. “Sunlight was a critical concern,” Bowman says. The house faces east, so having conventional walls and windows would mean that by noon all the natural light would be blocked by the hills to the west. The architect incorporated sloped glazing in lieu of standard walls to catch light throughout the day. “The whole thing is like a quasi skylight,” he says. Plentiful windows also serve to better capture the views of San Francisco Bay.
Those two decisions — sloped glass walls and having the home step down the hill — dictated the layout and look of the home. The exposed beams, concrete walls and nuts and bolts are structural necessities holding up the three-level home, and Bowman, who favors a rustic, unfinished aesthetic, chose not to hide them but rather to make them part of the design.
The house is hard to make out from the outside — and that’s the point. “Sausalito has a rigid design review,” Bowman says. “They are concerned about the look of buildings on the hill. We didn’t want to make this big, obtrusive thing. Rather, the house works with the land.” Though bird fly-ins are always a concern when working with glass, the sloped angle of the windows helps prevent this.
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired businessman and a children’s book illustrator
Location: Sausalito, California
Size: 4,000 square feet (372 square meters), plus a 700-square-foot (65-square-meter) garage and courtyard
Architect: Obie Bowman
On the steep hills of Sausalito, California, above Highway 101, a couple dreamed of building an eco-friendly home with a whimsical design. They called architect Obie Bowman, whose work is characterized by a strong connection with nature.
In this case, given the lot’s location on the side of a cliff, the landscape had to guide the design. “It was immediately apparent the house had to step up and down the hill or else it would be looming out excessively,” Bowman says.
Another determining factor was the weather: Like nearby San Francisco, Sausalito is foggy. “Sunlight was a critical concern,” Bowman says. The house faces east, so having conventional walls and windows would mean that by noon all the natural light would be blocked by the hills to the west. The architect incorporated sloped glazing in lieu of standard walls to catch light throughout the day. “The whole thing is like a quasi skylight,” he says. Plentiful windows also serve to better capture the views of San Francisco Bay.
Those two decisions — sloped glass walls and having the home step down the hill — dictated the layout and look of the home. The exposed beams, concrete walls and nuts and bolts are structural necessities holding up the three-level home, and Bowman, who favors a rustic, unfinished aesthetic, chose not to hide them but rather to make them part of the design.
The house is hard to make out from the outside — and that’s the point. “Sausalito has a rigid design review,” Bowman says. “They are concerned about the look of buildings on the hill. We didn’t want to make this big, obtrusive thing. Rather, the house works with the land.” Though bird fly-ins are always a concern when working with glass, the sloped angle of the windows helps prevent this.
This driveway leads to the garage and entryway. It presented one of the trickiest challenges. Per code, there had to be enough space for firetruck access. Bowman created a 700-square-foot garage at the end of the driveway and an entryway courtyard to its left to allow such a truck room to turn around and get back out. From this vantage point, you get a peek at the lot’s showpiece: sweeping views of San Francisco and the bay.
Similar to artists who like to work with a limited color palette, Bowman prefers to choose a few building materials and stick with them. Throughout the home, you’ll see the same elements pop up time and again: Douglas fir floors, beams and frames; concrete walls, counters and foundational slabs; and metal walls, cabinets, hardware and rails. “We fight like crazy to keep it to three materials, but inevitably we always end up with a few more,” Bowman says.
In this photo, you can see three examples of structural features that are typically hidden but in this home work as part of the aesthetic.
In this photo, you can see three examples of structural features that are typically hidden but in this home work as part of the aesthetic.
- A concrete shear wall at the far end of the living room strengthens the home against lateral, or horizontal, forces, such as earthquakes. Normally, wood walls are stiff enough to keep a building in place, but the heavy earth roofs on each level need something more stable than glass to hold them up. (A foundation of concrete piers drilled into bedrock and spanned by concrete beams keeps everything pinned into place and further solidifies the frame. Silicone gaskets around the windows allow for some flexibility and movement.)
- A 40-foot-long flange from the top of the concrete wall to the end of the kitchen also helps hold up the roof. The team painted the steel in black paint that has flecks of forest green to make it prettier and to reflect a bit of the greenery outside.
- Wooden beams make up the third exposed structural system seam. “Most residential homes are just kind of thrown together and any sloppiness is hidden with gypsum board that’s trimmed and painted to look fairly neat,” Bowman says. “We totally lose the construction, technique and any expression of how the building is made. I miss that and like the idea of seeing how the thing is held up.”
In addition to designing glass walls that flood the rooms with light, Bowman incorporated an actual skylight along the western edge of the living room. “I try to use as little artificial light as possible,” he says. Above each beam, near the skylight, Stonco fixtures bounce light off the skylight’s glass and corrugated metal walls at night and reduce the need for lots of lamps.
Corrugated metal on the walls appeals to Bowman’s affinity for vernacular architecture and rustic materials. Practically speaking, it serves as a big reflecting board for light to move around the room.
Corrugated metal on the walls appeals to Bowman’s affinity for vernacular architecture and rustic materials. Practically speaking, it serves as a big reflecting board for light to move around the room.
The main living area is on the second level of the three-level home. Here, where the entryway, living room and kitchen are located, the idea was to have as few walls as possible. The fridge, oven and pantry stand alone in an encased unit. The range, sink and counter space all live in an island. Shelves built onto the exterior of the island free up space that might otherwise cover the windows or light-reflecting corrugated metal walls.
Since the homeowners wanted a bar, Bowman added a second, 6-foot span to the left. “It also provides a barrier to whatever is going on in the kitchen,” he says. “If they are having dessert, for example, the dirty dinner dishes are not right out there.”
Several window seats line the length of the living room, providing sunny reading nooks. The side door attached to the kitchen leads to a deck. “We wanted to have a strong outdoor-indoor connection throughout,” Bowman says.
Behind the fridge unit, a hallway leads to the master bedroom and bath. Behind the hallway, a staircase leads down to the lower floor. The stairs on the right lead to the upper floor. The homeowner commissioned artists Katherine Jacobus and Linda Horning to hand-paint the graphic design on the wall behind the stairs. That wall belongs to the master bath, which has a glass ceiling to keep it private without blocking light.
Since the homeowners wanted a bar, Bowman added a second, 6-foot span to the left. “It also provides a barrier to whatever is going on in the kitchen,” he says. “If they are having dessert, for example, the dirty dinner dishes are not right out there.”
Several window seats line the length of the living room, providing sunny reading nooks. The side door attached to the kitchen leads to a deck. “We wanted to have a strong outdoor-indoor connection throughout,” Bowman says.
Behind the fridge unit, a hallway leads to the master bedroom and bath. Behind the hallway, a staircase leads down to the lower floor. The stairs on the right lead to the upper floor. The homeowner commissioned artists Katherine Jacobus and Linda Horning to hand-paint the graphic design on the wall behind the stairs. That wall belongs to the master bath, which has a glass ceiling to keep it private without blocking light.
The concrete countertops tie back to the living room shear wall. The material is convenient for its heat-resistant, stain-proof and easy-to-clean qualities. “You don’t have to worry about food getting trapped in any trim,” Bowman says. Plus, “it just looks cool.”
Cabinets are the same metal seen on the walls, except flattened. Pulls are simple wire metal with a stainless steel finish. “It’s natural for me to not keep adding new materials,” Bowman says.
Counters: Sonoma Cast Stone; cabinets: North Coast Millworks; hardware: Trimco
Cabinets are the same metal seen on the walls, except flattened. Pulls are simple wire metal with a stainless steel finish. “It’s natural for me to not keep adding new materials,” Bowman says.
Counters: Sonoma Cast Stone; cabinets: North Coast Millworks; hardware: Trimco
Near the entryway, a sliding barn door opens to a coat closet. At the end of the hallway, a powder room features corrugated metal walls and a concrete sink. There’s no window in there, but a frosted glass door keeps it bright enough during the day.
A niche next to the door gives the homeowners a place to display personal items and art.
The beams and ceilings are resawn Douglas fir. The floors, frames, cabinets and doors are vertical-grain Douglas fir. “Everywhere you see wood inside the house, it’s Douglas fir,” Bowman says. “At night when the wood is lit up, it has this fantastic look to it — like a pumpkin glowing.”
A niche next to the door gives the homeowners a place to display personal items and art.
The beams and ceilings are resawn Douglas fir. The floors, frames, cabinets and doors are vertical-grain Douglas fir. “Everywhere you see wood inside the house, it’s Douglas fir,” Bowman says. “At night when the wood is lit up, it has this fantastic look to it — like a pumpkin glowing.”
Outside the front door, the entry courtyard’s materials closely match the elements inside. Bowman used cedar wood for the majority of the home. Corrugated metal delineates secondary spaces. “It also hints at what you’re about to see inside,” he says.
The guardrails — powder-coated steel pipes with stainless steel cables — are the same on every outdoor deck, as are the concrete floors.
The guardrails — powder-coated steel pipes with stainless steel cables — are the same on every outdoor deck, as are the concrete floors.
Personal spaces, like the master bedroom seen here, have shades that can be drawn for privacy or to provide darkness.
Short floor-level shelves prevent the windows from running all the way down to the floor. “Otherwise, you would end up with a space there that is unusable,” Bowman says. It also allows people to get close to the windows without bumping their heads on the sloped glass.
Short floor-level shelves prevent the windows from running all the way down to the floor. “Otherwise, you would end up with a space there that is unusable,” Bowman says. It also allows people to get close to the windows without bumping their heads on the sloped glass.
On the top floor, the homeowners have identical 210-square-foot studios with a half bath between the two spaces. Desks look out to the landscape and are outfitted with seven 4-by-36-inch drawers.
Here we see a departure from the neutral and rustic-hued home. “I didn’t want to be a sissy about color,” Bowman says. Dunn-Edwards Beaded Blue paint was used for the studios to mix up the palette and reflect the bay and sky. The second level has some spaces painted in hunter green to mimic the landscape, and the lowest level has an area with cranberry red paint — a nod to dirt.
Here we see a departure from the neutral and rustic-hued home. “I didn’t want to be a sissy about color,” Bowman says. Dunn-Edwards Beaded Blue paint was used for the studios to mix up the palette and reflect the bay and sky. The second level has some spaces painted in hunter green to mimic the landscape, and the lowest level has an area with cranberry red paint — a nod to dirt.
Above each level of the house is an earth-covered roof, which helps the home look like part of the landscape. Vegetation above a building also helps keep it cool. The team was careful to plant hardy greenery that wouldn’t have to be watered often. “That would kind of defeat the ecological purpose,” he says.
The structure sticking out on top of the roof is from one of the studios. It has window panels on the top for sunlight access and thermal chimneys to keep the room cool. “Hot air rises, so the ideal place to get rid of heat is at the top,” Bowman says.
Window panels closest to the edge of the roof belong to the garage. “I like the idea of every room having some access to sunlight, so when you walk in during the day you don’t have to stumble around in the dark or need to turn on lights right away,” Bowman says.
The structure sticking out on top of the roof is from one of the studios. It has window panels on the top for sunlight access and thermal chimneys to keep the room cool. “Hot air rises, so the ideal place to get rid of heat is at the top,” Bowman says.
Window panels closest to the edge of the roof belong to the garage. “I like the idea of every room having some access to sunlight, so when you walk in during the day you don’t have to stumble around in the dark or need to turn on lights right away,” Bowman says.
The entry level is the heart of the home. Inside, it holds the living room, kitchen, dining room, master bath and bedroom, as well as a powder room. Outside is the entry courtyard, garage and a deck.
Downstairs, on the lower level, the architect built two bedrooms with full baths for guests or for when the homeowners’ kids visit, a family room, the laundry, a mechanical room and a deck.
On the top level, the homeowners have their two studio offices and half bath.
Bowman drew this sketch — using black rolling ball pens and Prismacolor markers — to outline his early vision for the home.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
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Great design!. Must be nice to have a client that is open to innovative design. I agree that doug fir floors are not only not environmentally friendly but also very soft. If there are pets or any kind of traffic including high heels it will look terrible in short order. Sounds like they will need to have a slipper collection for guests and owners.
Literally living on the edge must be exhilarating and breathtaking!