California Modernism has lost none of its charm—as it shouldn’t. Architecture that is tailored to the landscape, embraces open-plan layouts, and exhibits a seamless transition from inside to out, are just a few of the characteristics that make this type of living so attractive. Those exact elements are what drew former film director Lisa Meier—now a bicontinental designer and founder of Oneshot Design—to work on the circa 1963 house designed by architect Raymond Cobb.
“The house is so unique in part because of its size,” says Meier of the 6,072-square-foot home located in Los Gatos, California. “But its star-shaped layout centered around the kitchen is also quite unusual—it’s a bit hard to categorize but it most closely resembles a midcentury modern ranch house.” Situated on a hilltop with 360-degree views, Meier made sure to preserve the split-level home’s heritage while updating it for contemporaneous living. Initially, she thought the open angles throughout—which she describes as honeycomb-like—would be hard to plan around furniture-wise. Instead, she realized it provided a sense of spatial continuity.
To create the light and airy feeling that she felt the house called for, Meier painted the walls in a light and welcoming warm gray tone—a big improvement over the avocado green that previously adorned the walls. The old wood floors, originally laid out in varying colors, were ripped out along with carpet dotted throughout the home—both replaced with large oak planks in a white-washed oil finish that opens everything up. In the living room, Meier added classic midcentury pieces such as Hans Wegner shell chairs and a Noguchi coffee table, balancing them out with more contemporary designs such as a sleek Flexform sofa adorned with African mud cloth pillows, a Foscarini Twiggy lamp, and a leaf-like patterned rug that ties into the outdoors and the ceiling beams’ darker tones.
Meanwhile, in the family room, to play into the lack of symmetry, Meier kept it simple, adding an irregular-shaped cowhide rug along with an Eames lounge chair and two of the designer’s smaller plywood chairs. A Secto Design pendant light and a Flos floor lamp provide ambient illumination.
In the kitchen, which leads to the various public and private rooms, Meier replaced the cabinets with light oak cabinetry and ripped out one hanging cabinet that blocked views of the Los Gatos Mountains—replacing it with two Scandinavian pendant lights. A thin floating countertop made of Dekton by Cosentino offers a perfect perch from which to take in the panorama. The main bedroom, meanwhile, exhibits a stunning, original sunken bathtub made of terrazzo poured on-site.
Another fun find occurred in the office: As the designer sanded down the original bookshelves—also painted in an avocado green—she realized they were made of redwood. She decorated the restored shelves with vintage records, ceramic pieces by a local artist, books and the like, and added a vintage Danish desk overlooking the lush vistas provided by the floor-to-ceiling windows. In the lower level/basement, which opens up to the pool deck, the designer added carpet tiles from Flor to establish a perimeter and cover the old concrete floor, and then enlivened the room with designs by Florence Knoll—including a blue bouclé sofa—and a marble table from Flexform.
“It’s a total dream home,” says Meier. “The architect stayed persistent in his design concept, especially in regard to the honeycomb angles. They’re everywhere but it’s subtle. It’s like listening to a symphony—where the main line of a melody breaks down into different compositions, then returns to the main melodic theme. If you can do this in design, it’s a great achievement.”
Photography by Sabrina Rothe.
For more like this residence by Lisa Meier, be sure to check out this idyllic abode in Montecito.
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