Houzz Tour: Beauty and Balance on the California Coast

“The Fairs really were exceptional clients and subsequently have become great friends,” says architect Craig Schultz. “They love to entertain, cook, laugh, and they truly enjoy life. They are committed to an encompassing approach to their lives, and this has led to an appreciation in everything from organics to architecture. They both love to travel, truly appreciate architecture, and living as art.”

“We were originally approached by the clients for a complete remodel, part of which was to create a true Japanese tea room. I was excited by the prospect of taking on the project, having just read a detailed book on the Tea Ceremony, its meaning, and associated architecture,” Schultz says.

What began as a literal iteration of a tearoom concept transformed as the project moved forward and resulted in a modern and versatile living space with subtle allusions to the original intent.

The inspiration for the entry courtyard, the primary entrance to the home, stemmed from Blythe’s practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu, with the intention that she would use the space for her sessions. A gravel field offers an abstract allusion to water, inspiring contemplation.

The entry pavers mimic the structure of the overhead trellis and function as a path of floating stepping stones across the sea of gravel. Strategically placed rocks look like miniature islands, reinforcing the concept of water.

Intended to be more than an observable minimalist Zen rock garden, the courtyard was also designed to be a gathering space for family and friends to enjoy the coastal Southern California weather all year. Designed in collaboration with landscape designer Carol McElwee, an outdoor fire pit and Koi pond were added to soften the space and add an element of life.

Constructed of reinforced concrete, the minimal, sculptural Koi pond adds visual interest to the courtyard while supplementing the essence of water in the entry.

The solitary fire bowl is the elemental antithesis of the pond and serves as a visual cue for outdoor lounging.

While the remodel took the house down to its original studs, Schultz abstracted the original design of the gable ends — aptly nicknamed the smiling whales — to create the template for the trellis structure. Through details like these, the design maintains a loose connection between old and new.

This perpetual tension of counterparts is a theme throughout many details of the house, including material selection. “For me this is really a conversation between contrasts — refined materials vs. textured materials, and manufactured materials vs. natural — always attempting to create a balance between warm and cool, and materials that will age contrasted against materials that are fixed in time.” The exterior of the house, primarily composed of concrete and cor-ten steel, reveals one extreme of this statement.

Creating a counterpoint to the gravel massing of the entry courtyard, the sloped backyard presented a uniquely different challenge. “Blythe is a biodynamic gardener, and we wanted to be able to create a level area where this gardening could take place,” Schultz says. The result is a cascading series of terraced raised beds which create a workable garden and inviting secondary entrance to the house.

Once inside the home, the vast expanses of wood paneling and flooring exude the warmth potentially lacking from the industrial materials of the exterior.

Between visually and texturally contrasting materials, Schultz was also able to create an extremely balanced design that reveals how it’s possible to design a home that can be both livable and a showpiece without feeling stark or cold. “I think it is really a combination of allowing for two contrary elements to exist simultaneously.”

Materials and architectural details do more than simply create constant visual balances and counterbalances. They are also tools that, when used well, create a seamless flow and connection between spaces.

The Fairs' home, despite measuring just over 3,000 square feet, maintains the feeling of a hillside cottage. Mastering this feat is not attainable through only well-selected materials and a balanced floor plan.

“I think it really begins with understanding how your clients' want to live and absorbing the program/needs/lifestyle/personality fully," Schultz says. "Once you have these ideas firmly ingrained, the connection of spaces can occur on a more complex level.

"If you were an actor it would be equated to knowing the lines so well that you are no longer thinking of what words come next, but finally being able to open yourself to reacting to those around you."

“Practically, however, I think it’s a consistent use of materials and a linking of textures that provides one with this understanding,” Schultz says.

The consistency in materials translated to furnishings as well. Schultz worked closely with the owners on furniture selection and even custom designed the oversized dining room table. “The table was developed around both the layout of the architecture, as well as the Fairs' propensity to entertain.”

With an open-plan living room and dining room, creating informal yet defined living spaces brings the scale of the room down to a more intimate level.

The massive, built-in bookcase is a feature that anchors the far wall spanning the entire great room and connects the entire open living space. Originally, Schultz had intended to use traditional Japanese Shoji screens to conceal the books, but as the project progressed it was decided that the shelves should remain open.

The platform bed in the master bedroom was also designed and made by Laidlaw Schultz Architects.

The clean lines and understated silhouette were carefully crafted to showcase the beautifully woven duvet cover by Jack Lenor Larsen, a close family friend of the Fairs who also personally curated the fabric selection for every room of the house.

“It was a pleasure choosing from his suggestions and incorporating his fabrics,” notes Schultz. “I think it’s a nice play between old and new as well as between textures.”

The built-in utilitarian elegance continues in the master bathroom with its soaking tub and floating vanity. "The creation of these elements creates both an aesthetic backdrop, but also serves as a way to organize, keeping the view uninterrupted,” Schultz says.

“Everyone who walks in here is touched and comments on how peaceful the house is, and that the house breathes,” says Blythe Fair.

With a home that has so much of its inhabitants and their passions in every inch of its composition, I imagine that the house not only breathes, but also speaks and lives with the same zeal and enthusiasm for design and life as its owners do.

Photos by John Ellis Photographer

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