It seems a truth universally acknowledged that a home situated on an 18-acre parcel of land in Summerland, California, must be grand. But even with that edict, a home created by Dylan Henderson of SALT Architecture is amazing… yet looks as if it’s been on-site forever.
“The owners wanted to feel the house had grown from, and was connected to, the land,” recalls Henderson. He used the surrounding landscape and topography to complement the home’s footprint, with rooflines both flat and peaked – and some even with gardens – reflecting the mountains to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
“The views are extremely expansive,” he notes. “It really is a transitional ranch-style home.” The owners’ main goal was to feel as if they were living outdoors – rising with the sun, going to sleep when it was dark. They even requested Henderson avoid any heating elements. (California’s building code superseded that request; all homes need heat.)
But it was the use of reclaimed material that enhanced the home’s blending into the site. All the wood is reclaimed, and the limestone was left natural, allowing its characteristics, including fossils and striations, to appear.
“It is a color palette,” explains Henderson, who is based out of Santa Barbara. Every piece – lighter stones with darker accents, and spruce and fir with gradations of browns and grays – needed thoughtful placement. “I would go out routinely to see whether I liked it from a patterning standpoint,” he describes of building with the reclaimed wood. “Whenever you get too precise, you can have issues. I think some of the artistic inconsistencies are beautiful.”
The materials are also naturally energy efficient, providing both great insulation and heating and cooling features. Stone floors absorb heat and slowly reflect it back into a room. An expansive outdoor area is screened in, allowing for year-round use as well as protection from the area’s many insects. A southward-facing overhang deflects direct sunlight from overheating the home; garden roofs provide insulation and cooling.
The owners’ desire for an open floor plan in the 5000-square-foot home created some challenges – and opportunities, Henderson shares. Two open, primary suites connect with the great room and use varying materials rather than doors to delineate spaces. Bathing areas are sleek and offset, but with such a private parcel, curtains aren’t needed. “All of it is very open and transparent,” describes Henderson. “The reclaimed features ground them back to the natural materials they love.”
Photography by Matt Wier.
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