Celebrate the outdoors: welcome to our Celebration Idea House, built to showcase new materials and a fresh approach to outdoor living

Sunset, Oct, 2006 by Daniel Gregory

The design

Ask Westerners what they love most about life in the West and, chances are, outdoor living will top the list. Sunset's Celebration Idea House shows our appreciation for our unique way of life. Every major room opens to nature; decks on three sides double the living space and allow easy flow throughout the house; and the signature feature is an outdoor family room. Combining the best of high-tech, environmentally sustainable, and nature-oriented products, we built a house that takes full advantage of the way the West allows us to live.

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The outdoor family room, or covered porch, bridges the living-dining-kitchen section of the house and the bedrooms. Architect Henry Siegel drew his inspiration from so-called "dogtrot houses" in the South, where he grew up. These houses were usually just two rooms flanking a covered breezeway (the dogtrot). The design allows cooling breezes to flow through the open core and into rooms where windows on exterior walls create cross-ventilation. To make the outdoor family room a true extension of the house, interior designer Chad De Witt used features such as a sofa, floor lamp, and coffee tables to give the look and feel of an indoor room. "We wanted to make it the heart of the home," De Witt says.

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The main living wing is a single soaring shed-roofed space with a bump-out alcove on each side. One side houses a reading bay with a built-in daybed; the other comprises the kitchen and powder room. The private wing on the other side of the outdoor family room holds a guest room/office and a child's room (each with an adjoining bathroom) and a master suite. Barn doors open most of the bedroom corridor to the outdoor family room.

Clarum Homes built the house using structural insulated panels (SIPs)--precut wood-and-polystyrene units assembled on-site. By Insulspan, the panels are better insulated than conventional wood framing, and more resistant to earthquake, fire, and insect damage.

Living spaces

Unexpected drama appears in the main living area, where the ceiling soars to 18 feet at its highest point above the fireplace wall. A window bay to the left of the fireplace acts as a light scoop.

THE READING BAY (left) uses built-in cabinetry and a wall of windows to shape a seductive curl-up space. The window seat is large enough to double as a bed for overnight guests. Lift-up compartments under the seating pads store blankets, bedding, and games; in front are open shelves for storage and display, echoing those under the hearth. A built-in cabinet at one side of the bay works as a coffee table. The warm wood veneer is by Veneer Specialists. The cabinetry was manufactured by Amberwood Products.

THE FIREPLACE WALL dominates the loftier end of the living area (bottom) like a stage in a theater. Chad De Witt designed it to incorporate multiple functions; a long, built-in hearth runs the width of the room and combines storage compartments with seating. The top of the hearth and fireplace front were made by Concreteworks Studio out of finely textured concrete, tinted a serene olive green and embedded with imprints of eucalyptus leaves and rice hulls for an organic and tactile effect.

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DARK FLOORING from Anderson Hardwood Floors anchors the space. Its hand-hewn texture also adds warmth.

PAINT COLORS help soften the large scale of the room. A lighter hue brightens the lower walls; the slightly darker shade on the upper level visually lowers it and echoes the floor.

LIGHTING is simple and contemporary and includes minimalist sconces, a reading lamp, and a sculptural glass table lamp used as a decorative accent.

A VINTAGE MODERN SIDEBOARD from Trout Farm Antiques mixes easily with contemporary furniture in the living area.

THE PATTERNED AREA RUG from Karastan defines a sitting area within the open main living section of the house.

Bedrooms and personal spaces

The private wing of the house opens to the outdoor family room through barn doors that turn the bedroom corridor into an open-air gallery.

THE GUEST ROOM (left) makes the most of built-ins--cabinets, modular shelving, and a desk in a window bay--that allow it to double as a home office.

HEADBOARDS don't need to be heavy or complicated. The one in the guest room is made of several different fabrics in similar color combinations, pieced together to form a striking composition. Like a large piece of art hanging over the bed, it acts as the room's primary focal point.

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THE MASTER BEDROOM (bottom) has a headboard that's a freestanding island, separating the bed from the dressing area directly behind it while also housing one of the closets. De Witt treated the floating wall headboard as a three-dimensional accent, covering it in a distinctive ginkgo-patterned wallpaper that reinforces the connection to nature. Opposite the bed are French doors leading to a deck.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY THOMAS J. STORY

ILLUSTRATION: NIK SCHULZ

* FOR A SLIDE SHOW OF THE BUILDING PROCESS, GO TO www.sunset.com/celebration