When it was time for the owners to replace their small 1920’s cottage for a “real” home for their young family, they wanted it to be generous and sexy, with a lot of outdoor living centered around a courtyard to enjoy the warm Calistoga weather all year-round.

The site, although not modest in size, already had two other structures and equipment that needed to remain, which posed a challenge to develop a courtyard-style home. By reinstating the existing barn to its 1920s size, and getting close to the property setbacks, we were able to develop a generous living and kitchen-dining area. These spaces are interconnected on the interior but have their own separate outdoor spaces, to allow for different forms of entertaining and relaxing to occur simultaneously inside and out.

We took some cues from Cabo-style living, especially with the use of a flat roof with wide overhangs and the selection of light, natural materials, which serve to visually separate the public areas from the private ones and to incorporate the entry porch as an outdoor living space. The bedrooms stack on a two story volume, on the North edge of the property and create the third side of the house’s inner-courtyard.