Houzz Tour: Modern Studio Inspires Creativity
A freestanding studio in California's Wine Country plays host to writing workshops, salons, great meals and the owners' creative pursuits
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
When the creative couple who own this property decided they needed an addition that would be multipurpose, they were not kidding around. Today they use this freestanding studio to host seminars, salons, writing workshops and gallery shows; to develop photographs and teach drawing classes with a model; for gathering large groups for meals; and for housing overflow guests. Because they also share the property with finches, woodpeckers, blue jays and black ravens, they have named the property "Birdland."
Photographer David Wakely and writer Sharon Smith owned a very small cabin on an acre of land up a hillside near the Russian River in Sonoma County, California, and made the hourlong trek from their main residence in San Francisco almost every weekend. They found they loved having guests but had no space to have a big meal or do their creative work. Wakely began talking to architect Cathy Schwabe about future plans to expand. "This couple is very creative, and they enjoy working on projects together," says Schwabe. Together the trio began to plan a space that would meet the couple's needs.
Houzz at a Glance:
Who lives here: David Wakely and Sharon Smith
Location: Forestville, California
Size: 864 square feet
That's interesting: Wakely has been Schwabe's architectural photographer for years. They traded design hours for photography hours on this studio.
Photographer David Wakely and writer Sharon Smith owned a very small cabin on an acre of land up a hillside near the Russian River in Sonoma County, California, and made the hourlong trek from their main residence in San Francisco almost every weekend. They found they loved having guests but had no space to have a big meal or do their creative work. Wakely began talking to architect Cathy Schwabe about future plans to expand. "This couple is very creative, and they enjoy working on projects together," says Schwabe. Together the trio began to plan a space that would meet the couple's needs.
Houzz at a Glance:
Who lives here: David Wakely and Sharon Smith
Location: Forestville, California
Size: 864 square feet
That's interesting: Wakely has been Schwabe's architectural photographer for years. They traded design hours for photography hours on this studio.
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| That's Smith in the front, in the red sweater. At the end of a daylong workshop, they pulled out this long table from their versatile studio and gathered for a meal. |
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| Schwabe nestled the studio into the hillside above the existing two-bedroom cabin. "I was inspired by many things, but the exterior's form was inspired by local Sonoma barns because of their simplicity and practicality," says Schwabe. The studio's small size means a reduced carbon footprint, and Schwabe sited and shaped it to make the most of natural light and ventilation. |
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| Cleverly placed sliding doors provide privacy when necessary and close off messier work areas when guests visit. To the left, a sliding barn door separates a work and darkroom space. The couple has decided their next project will be to transform this space into a kitchen so they won't have to schlep so much during big holiday meals. Over the darkroom/future kitchen space, there is a loft. Currently, the loft is accessible only by a ladder and is used for storage, but a more user-friendly ladder or staircase can be added with ease in the future, opening it up as a sleeping space. |
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| During workshops and seminars, the doors are closed and tables, chairs and guests spread into this space. The floors are stained concrete, which helps keep the space cool in the summer and warm in the winter. |
A skylight adds natural light to the entryway. The one bathroom in the studio is located behind the translucent door on the left. Schwabe added a washer and dryer in the bathroom, as there wasn't room for them in the main house.
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| The main space is furnished with pieces that are easy to rearrange for different events. Large windows and glass doors flood the open room with natural light. Several doors open to the outdoors. Smaller groups tend to gather around the woodstove or in the alcove to the right. During the colder months, the stove spreads heat across the concrete floors. The exposed Douglas fir rafters add rhythm, warmth and natural texture overhead. Rigid insulation is sandwiched between the roof and the rafters. |
This corner alcove is a cozy spot within the large room. The sofa converts into a bed, and the corner transforms into a sleeping alcove.
"The bays and woodstove invite the use of the edge, providing intimate places for solitary use or small group gatherings turned towards views," says Schwabe.
"The bays and woodstove invite the use of the edge, providing intimate places for solitary use or small group gatherings turned towards views," says Schwabe.
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| Schwabe used high-performance glass for the doors and windows, improving the studio's energy efficiency. "Wood windows and doors with exterior aluminum cladding prevent thermal bridging, lengthen life span and reduce maintenance requirements," she says. |
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| The couple has been working on the entire property for some time; this curved retaining wall creates a terrace between the cabin and the studio. |
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| The stone retaining wall up at the studio extends out from the building and relates back to the terrace below. David sketched his ideas for the terrace walls. A stoneworker built the patios and retaining walls with stones from a local quarry. The interior stained concrete floors extend outside and transition to irregular pavers near the stone walls, emphasizing how easy it is to move between indoors and out. |
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| Locally harvested western cedar board and batten siding is resistant to decay. On the north side, more likely to mildew, the corrugated metal covers the facade. An entry porch offers protection from inclement weather and leads to the front door. More Houzz Tours: Cabin Studios in the Landscape Courtyards and Calm in Japan |
Ideabook updated on June 9, 2012.
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What to address first? The woodstove heats the concrete in winter; the warmth spreads across the floor. WESTERN RED CEDAR is what is rot resistant,not the fact that it is board and batten in its form. More than one side of the house has at least some corrugated metal; the photo you are talking about is the east side, but the photo above it shows that the north side is completely covered in corrugated.
To see more pictures of it more filled with more furniture (it still looks quite spacious), including the bedroom set up, check out Cathy's site:
http://www.cathyschwabearchitecture.com/projects/russian-river.html
As the owners originally set up the studio to be just that, they did not include a kitchen. Now that they have been using it for a few years, they have found that they'd like one in the studio building and are working on a design with Cathy. The space was designed to accomodate changing needs like suddenly deciding they want a kitchen, or a sleeping loft.
Those are the facts.