Specialists in Modern Design for Views
Views add the inspiring beauty of nature to modern architecture, and an elemental warmth to contemporary design. It’s a combination that we love, and one that plays a huge role in our modern designs for a West Coast lifestyle.
Designing for stellar views takes know-how and skill, as framing beautiful, unobstructed vistas requires precise structural engineering for support, and strict adherence to local building and safety codes. When we design our homes we position each one in the best location for the view, and then continue adding great custom visuals throughout the property. These can include underwater windows into pools, hidden gardens, and rooftop terraces.
We’re grateful to be considered specialists when it comes to views, and a number of our projects have become well known for them. One of the first was our Laurel Way house in Beverly Hills.
Laurel Way. Photo by Art Gray.
Laurel Way is set on top of a hill with very steep slopes and panoramic vistas in all directions. In order to protect against the steepness of the hillsides, layers of green terraces ring the property, and a wraparound moat pool encircles the house. While adding a floating tranquility to the landscape, the moat pool also serves to protect the perimeter of the living space, without obstructing the views. On a clear day these stretch all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
In the living room, the ceiling is built in such a way as to draw the eyes out to the vanishing point of the horizon line.
Laurel Way. Photo by William MacCollum.
Palm trees against a pink sky create a classic Los Angeles scene just beyond the primary bedroom’s glass walls. Look out on the view from the bed or from the attached terrace with fire feature.
Laurel Way. Photo by Art Gray.
Laurel Way. Photo by Art Gray.
Light floods the garage. Rather than being a dark, windowless space, this room has the look and feel of a luxury auto showroom. Glass walls expose sweeping vistas that extend far beyond the moat feature and green hills.
Laurel Way. Photo by Art Gray.
Laurel Way. Photo by Art Gray.
In the foyer, a wine cellar is revealed under foot, below a glass walkway, and a Zen garden emerges from behind the home theater movie screen. These visual niches add a depth to the architecture and offer the opportunity for momentary contemplation.
Laurel Way. Photo by William MacCollum.
Laurel Way. Photo by William MacCollum.
In the daytime, reflected landscapes are doubled in the mirrored face of the infinity pool, while at night it glows in invitation as one of the best locations for watching the sparkle of the city lights.
Laurel Way. Photo by Art Gray.
Laurel Way. Photo by Art Gray.
Laurel Way. Photo by William MacCollum.
Long, transportive vistas stretch throughout the length of our Trousdale house, from the all-glass front door to the floor-to-ceiling glass walls at the farther end.
Light flows in from all directions as a modern skylight stretches overhead. The bright and spacious airiness created by these intersecting vistas extends down to the floor below through a glass bridge and open central volume.
Canyon views extend to the hills, enjoyed from the terraces that are oriented towards the setting sun.
These terraces include the living room, which becomes an extension of the outdoor living spaces when its glass walls are opened.
A floating glass-box design in the game room of our Benedict Canyon house cantilevers over the hillside, providing exhilarating panoramic vistas and natural light.
Benedict Canyon 2016. Photo by William MacCollum.
Benedict Canyon 2016. Photo by William MacCollum.
These same views of green ridges, distant mountains, and cloudless skies wrap around the primary bedroom upstairs.
Benedict Canyon 2016. Photo by William MacCollum.
In the living room, a perfectly framed view is created through the sliding glass wall that opens to the pool terrace. It provides light, a vista, fresh air, and an indoor outdoor feel.
Benedict Canyon 2016. Photo by William MacCollum.
Set far out on a slope, Los Tilos is all about the hillside and the incredible views. These inspire a sense of awe before one even arrives at the front door, as panoramic vistas reaching all the way to downtown Los Angeles rise up on the descent down the driveway.
Los Tilos. Photo by William MacCollum.
The house has an upside down design that places the parking on the rooftop, and the foyer and front entry on the top level. Rooftop style views stretch for miles from both areas.
Each floor is stacked one on top of the other, so that entire walls of glass amplify the vistas, which include iconic L.A. sights like the Hollywood sign, the Hollywood Bowl, and downtown.
Los Tilos. Photo by William MacCollum.
Fireside lounges and outdoor dining areas throughout the tiered hillside property take in the vastness of L.A. and its varied landscapes, which range from metropolitan areas to natural mountain spaces.
In front of the infinity pool views of downtown L.A. rise up in the distance.
Interior spaces are also view-centric, with each room and every floor opening up to its own panorama. The seamlessly flowing kitchen, dining room, and living room space opens up to fresh air and views of L.A. skies.
A floor-to-ceiling window frames California mountains in the primary bathroom, while the ultra modern bedroom is wrapped in sleek city views.
Our ‘living small’ concept and the L-shaped design of the home ensure that this bedroom also has views of the house and terrace. This adds a sense of connection and shared experience for those living in a spacious, spread out home. A house ‘lives small’ when its architectural design ensures visual connections and open sightlines.
Los Tilos. Photo by William MacCollum.
Walker Road is a modern family home built for the views, with multiple windows that frame the verdant five acre property. Based in Great Falls, Virginia outside of Washington D.C., the project offered the chance to bring our view-centered West Coast style to the East Coast.
Walker Road. Photo by William MacCollum.
Designed around a three story open central volume, the interior is illuminated through multi-story walls of glass that look out on the surrounding trees and valleys.
Walker Road. Photo by William MacCollum.
Ribbon windows add further glimpses of the outdoors.
Walker Road. Photo by William MacCollum.
Walker Road. Photo by William MacCollum.
It’s a thoroughly modern home, but it remains harmonious with the landscape, as design details like glass barriers on the terrace leave the views unobstructed.
Walker Road. Photo by William MacCollum.
In the Hollywood Hills at our Hopen Place house, one of the most stunning rooms is the glass walled primary bedroom, which features an ultra modern style and design. An infinity pool lies up close to the glass, so the views encompass a panorama of glittering lights, limitless sky, and tranquil water.
Hopen Place. Photo by William MacCollum.
The modern, stylish outdoor living areas in the backyard, and the pool itself, are all oriented around the dazzling Hollywood Hills views.
Hopen Place. Photo by William MacCollum.
Hopen Place. Photo by William MacCollum.
Hopen Place. Photo by William MacCollum.
Like the jewel box vistas found throughout our Laurel Way house, the home theater at Hopen reveals a surprising underwater view into the swimming pool. Ethereal, watery light filters through custom windows, adding to the cinematic ambiance.
Hopen Place. Photo by William MacCollum.
With a design that wraps around a courtyard pool facing jetliner skies, our 9342 Sierra Mar house feels like it’s perched right above the city. The infinity pool meets the walls of the home on one end and hovers over the edge of the hillside on the other, pulling the focus from the house toward both the plane of water and the city below.
Given the narrowness of the original lot, achieving panoramic vistas at our Grand View Drive house required a creative solution and ultra-custom design. The front of the house was shaved off to create a long angled face open to the view, and sliding glass walls further let in the setting sun. The finished look is of a three-story modern ship with a lookout deck on top.
This roof top deck is accessed by stairs, which climb through the center of the home, ending on the terrace, where it’s the perfect place to look out over the expanse of Los Angeles.
