Pins Sur Mer is a 1500 SF vacation house on the bluffs overlooking Schooner Gulch and Bowling Ball Beach in Mendocino County. The house is set amongst a grove of Bishop Pines and the owners requested covered sitting porches on at least two sides. This raised concerns about the amount and quality of interior light in this often foggy and overcast environment. Because we wanted a compact footprint to minimize tree removal our solution was to plan the rooms around a high, centrally skylit entry surrounded by interior openings allowing light to pour into every room. The entry is demarked by four huge pine columns and is also the cultural center, containing an upright piano and wall of bookshelves, complete with a rolling library ladder.

The floors are recycled antique oak and cut limestone, walls are painted gypsum board, ceilings are Douglas fir beams and decking, cabinets are VGDF, Rumford fireplaces are natural colored plaster, and windows are pine with painted aluminum cladding.

The exterior materials are rough 1x12 redwood board vertical siding and painted corrugated metal roofing. A separate garage/shop/utility structure forms a parking courtyard and acts as a screen between Highway 1 and the house.