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This modern hillside house has come a long way from its modest origin as a traditional cottage to its current design, which was featured on the cover of Metropolitan Home and on HGTV’s ‘Top 10’. The original design included a swimming pool directly adjacent to the dining room and a large, dramatically sloped lot overlooking the Los Angeles basin, which contributed to the design challenge presented to SJD.  The clients, a vibrant couple in their thirties who entertain nearly nightly, hired me to complete a master bathroom renovation and addition. As is often the case, a small renovation project inspired a full house remodel—one that required extensive work on the property itself to maximize its potential.

Several rooms at the rear of the house were combined to create an indoor/outdoor living space that includes a seating area, dining area and bar. The new loft-like space has direct access to the rear yard, utilizing the patented Nana Wall panel system of folding glass doors, which stack against each other when open. The front entrance was moved to the street by constructing a custom, teak 11’ tall door. This captured additional living space in a secure, walled garden courtyard. The new front door is now a frameless, storefront-style glass door that expands the living space directly into the courtyard, which was designed by landscape designer Tory Polone.

No surface or plane was left unused:  the roof, complete with a putting green for the husband, is matched by an enormous new rear yard for the wife. The rear yard was created out of a perilously steep hillside by designing an enormous infinity edge pool with storage, a poker room and exercise room below. The addition of 1,200 square feet of ground space doubled the living space and added enormously to the value of this hillside property.

The interiors were provided by Susan Young Interiors, of Seattle, with a bold color scheme and brave mix of furniture that reflects the young couple’s international design aesthetic. The dramatic house and setting were recently used as the backdrop for the fall advertising campaign of Design Within Reach. The proceeds from the shoot were contributed to my clients’ non-profit organization.