Flight of Fancy
An Emeryville architect coaxes an improbable topography into
an enchanted getaway home
Marc and Elaine Gradman’s new weekend house in Marin County’s
Inverness Park seems to bring out poetic flights of fancy. “It
feels like living in a grand tree house,” says Elaine of
her hillside hideaway.
Adds architect Robert Swatt, “What I like about the house
is the way it tiptoes on the land.”
These extravagant statements are inspired by the home’s
impressive, almost improbable, location at the top of a very
steep hill and by its views, which might have come out of a children’s
storybook. “It was obvious the house had to be at the top
of the property,” Swatt says. “The challenge
was the steepness and the trees. There are these incredibly
tall cedars, some of them 150 feet tall, and they have root
systems all spread out. Building the driveway was like threading
a needle. To achieve the grade without destroying the vegetation,
it had to be
a switchback. The driveway is really more than a driveway;
it’s
a little road.”
At the top of the driveway, the site continues to slope,
more gently, up the hill toward a thick stand of trees. Many
builders might have been tempted to dig and fill until there
was a flat pad for the structure, but Swatt took another
approach.
“We don’t flatten out the land; we work with the
land,” says Swatt, whose small Emeryville firm, Swatt Architects,
has attracted international attention for its ability to combine
crisp, modernist design with a respect for California’s
varied topography.
When you arrive at the bottom of the hill and look up,
you first notice the straight lines and minimal detailing
of a house that’s
as bright and geometric as a stack of sugar cubes. Once you reach
the front door, however, you realize that something more subtle
than strict geometry is going on. The house is built on five
levels, with each room designed to meet the ground where it always
was, so that the structure steps gently up the slope. Not only
do the levels respond to the lay of the land, they define the
interior spaces and make visitors want to explore.
From the front door, a few steps lead down to the spacious
living room. A wall of floor-to-ceiling, wraparound glass,
delicately framed in clear anodized aluminum, reveals an
enchanting, multilayered view, through the Douglas fir
trees, over grazing cows and the rich green of wetlands,
and on to the little town of Point Reyes Station nestled
below the coastal hills. The tree-house effect comes from
the fact that the house is built at the mid-height of some
of the tallest trees, so that it seems to hover within
them.
Down a few steps, the kitchen windows open
to the same storybook view from a slightly different angle. A
few steps upward, two bedrooms and the master suite occupy the
quieter, darker area of the house, looking toward the trees.
Each room opens onto its own terrace, underscoring the connection
with the land. The
highest point of the house is the master bedroom and
bath, where the bathtub has turned out to be a splendid
spot for bird-watching.
“The first night we spent in the house was so special,” Elaine
recalls. “Late at night we listened to owls outside, and
the next morning there were dozens of redheaded woodpeckers flying
around.”
Working with interior designer Connie Wong, Elaine
has responded to the natural surroundings with soft
colors derived from nature. Pale grays, sage green,
pale ochre yellow, and the translucent greens and blues
of glass turn up over and over—in concrete
counters, shower tiles, stone floors, polished limestone, and
fabrics. In the kitchen, the cabinets are stained a soft gray,
the tile is a muted yellow, and other surfaces are sage green.
There are also a few touches of black and white.
“The black and white is for the cows,” Elaine says
with a smile, nodding toward the dairy cows scattered
across the fields far below. “We didn’t want it to
be stark,” she explains. “We
wanted a modern version of a country kitchen,
and we realized that essential parts of a country kitchen are
open cabinets, wide plank floors, and stained cabinets. So that’s
what we did, but in a fresh way.”
The warmly hued oak table by the window fits
right in. The table is one of several pieces
of old furniture that the couple inherited from
Marc’s family. Although the Gradmans are committed
to modern design–their Palo Alto house
is also modern—they
have no fear of including some old pieces in
the mix.
“We’re using them, well, because we have them,” Elaine explains, “but
also because we like the idea of bringing old energy into a
new house. It makes it feel grounded.”
As soon as the house was close to finished, the couple began
to invite friends for the weekend. “It feels like a retreat,
and I love to offer that feeling to people we know.”
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