The owners lived in the house for a year before the 14-month transformation began, and they knew what they wanted. They respected the spare frame but sought warm, tactile interiors in which to hang out with theirtwo young daughters and many friends. Rios brought in his colleagues, project
architect Huay Wee, together with interior designers Aimee Less
and Daniel Torres, to help him reconceive every surface, division
and detail. An edgy experiment with the feel of an industrial loft
has become a fluid progression of spaces on each of the three
principal levels. Earth tones pick up on the leafy canyon, and the
furnishings are soft and inviting. "We tried to give the spaces a
feeling of warmth and dressiness while keeping them functional,"
says Less.
The small entry lobby offers a taste of what is to come. A Bocci
chandelier of colored glass balls is suspended within the stairwell
to provide a visual link between the three floors. Exposed joists
have been sandblasted, while the floors throughout the house
have been recovered with hand-scraped white-oak boards
fabricated in Germany by Schotten and Hansen; these are also
used for the treads of the free-floating steel staircase. "There were
too many different materials before, and using this hand-crafted
wood for the floors made for a cohesive experience," says Rios.
The pattern of the grain and its subtle tone enrich every room,
and the grain is replicated in the tiled deck, blurring the division
between indoors and out.
