Owners:  Anonymous
Architect: Stan Field, Field Architecture

Homeowner Summary
Built: 2006
Square Footage: 3,500

As new houses have proliferated in the valley, the trend has been to build big with floor plans that include all of the perceived right rooms: the towering foyer, the formal living and dining rooms, and cavernous bathrooms and kitchen. Of course, over the years in the course of my work as a real estate agent and interior designer, I have seen many of these gigantic homes with enormous volume, and an abundance of infrequently, or never used rooms. Every time I left one of these gargantuan homes, 
I came away thinking how wonderful it would be to have a beautiful, but functional house, with no excess, yet with just the right rooms and layout to serve the needs of everyone in the family.  Over the years, these thoughts kept repeating themselves in my mind. When it was time to design my own home, they congealed into a single guiding principle.
 
Some years ago, we lived on the Stanford Campus in a totally renovated Eichler. We thoroughly enjoyed this modern, inside-outside home. But when my husband took a job outside of the academic world, we decided to move to Los Altos, a family-friendly town, where I had worked for more than two decades.  After months of searching, we found not a house, but a bright corner lot with just the right orientation for a great garden. It was also close to the schools our sons would attend. As a dedicated
career couple, life gets quite hectic at times, so the idea that our children could walk and bike to school convinced us that this was the right spot to build a house and take root.

Now that we had decided to build, the next step was the design process. Fortunately, my past experience as an interior designer, spec house builder, and realtor came to my aid once again, but this time in the design of my own home. After drawing a few sketches and bubble diagrams, I was able to place the footprint of the structure to ensure maximum light into the house.  I then brainstormed with my nephew, a commercial building architect, on an endless number of possible locations for the house on the corner lot. I was looking for one that would not make the house appear ostentatious, but would capitalize on both the natural light and need for privacy while bringing the outdoors in.  Finally, we came up with a staggered arrangement for the footprint.  The design for our home followed four important criteria:

Quintessentially minimalist – Especially the floor plan. There was no need for a foyer, or formal dining and living rooms, or huge kitchen, or over-sized bath- rooms. All that we needed was a great room that feeds into the highly efficient and small indoor kitchen, as well as into an outdoor kitchen and rear yard.  We placed the master bedroom strategically next to the great room to enjoy an extremely open, yet compact flow between active and passive space. When the children are home, they are welcome to spill into our bedroom at any time.  We cherish this time with our children and, as planned, they come to our room to linger, cuddle, read and confide to us in our bed.  Later, when they leave for college, we will be very comfortable and fully functional in these two rooms – the great room and master bedroom.

Indoor and outdoor living year round – At the rear of the house, a large overhang to protect us from rain and to provide shade from the sun. Under it is an outdoor kitchen and space for entertaining that we use often for memorable family gatherings.

As green as practical at the time of construction – Radiant heat was a must. Concrete wall and glass, plus the generous overhang are employed as thermal mass for heating and cooling the house.  We also went down instead of up for rooms that are less frequently used such as the children’s playroom and a theater that triples as music room and guest bedroom. These underground rooms also minimize the need for frequent cooling and heating.

Pleasing yet sustainable garden – The sunniest corner is dedicated to the fruit orchard and edible garden surrounded by evergreen shrubs for privacy. We chose trees for their seasonal blooms, foliage and naked trunks.  In the front, a dry rock garden welcomes our visitors. The rest of our outdoor space is for cut flowers wherever they can thrive.