TOM & KARIN'S PLACE

In a wooded setting at California's Sea Ranch,Tom & Karin's place is a small and simple main volume, but with steeply sloped appendages attached to its gray-shingled sides. These "add-ons," projecting outward and visually anchoring the building to its site, generate the sense that this is a compound of buildings. As you go around the house, the varying scale of the parts and the way they come together create unique places in an otherwise homogeneous woodland.br> The way the deck with a built-in bench seat and a hot tub extends into the shaded area beneath the trees accentuates the feeling that the house is entirely at home in the landscape. The add-ons suggest familiar shapes, such as agricultural sheds. The western red cedar siding on the angular extensions further intensifies the house's sense of being at one with the surroundings.

Despite the familiar elements, Obie Bowman has created a strongly modern house, especially inside, where a cantilevered master bedroom—cliff-like and suffused with light from above—overlooks a double-height living room. Because the house has so much glass, the interior cliff is clearly visible from outside, strengthening the house's sense of belonging to the site. Grids of wood organize storage spaces on the walls. Details such as the lamp above the dining table, projecting from the bottom chord of a Douglas fir truss, introduce interesting surprises. This is a house that is loose and unpredictable, exuding almost a funhouse quality.