Two Gables

Love Letter

Designed to the voiced brief of "a love letter," Two Gables is a home for a couple entering a new phase of life, seeking change and growth for themselves and their family. The empty-nester clients aspired for a light-filled, contemporary home with dedicated living, working, and entertaining spaces—a dramatic departure from their former 19th-century Victorian residence's density, ornateness, and cellular nature, located just two blocks away.

The design challenge was finding the balance between intimate, comfortable spaces for two that effortlessly accommodate larger gatherings of friends and family. The brief included a desire to use as few materials as possible and cohere to a warm gray palette to set the stage for furnishings and art curated by the owner.

Located on a one-acre wooded ravine site, the house is strategically positioned within existing trees to maximize picturesque views. Two crisp, vernacular-inspired gabled volumes—one for sleeping and another for living—are connected by a glazed breezeway that fuses house and landscape.

Positioned upward and slightly angled away from the street, the home creates an eccentric approach that delays views and enhances privacy. The frontal procession presents the flanking gabled volumes as solids, composed of nickel-gapped Accoya siding and colored standing seam roofing, punctuated by deeply inset wood-clad windows. The contrasting dynamic rear exterior, complete with extending linear gabion arms, interacts with and accesses landscaped spaces.

The northern "living" volume is hollowed out, featuring full-height glazing that is inset and framed by the wood cladding, accentuating the structure's thickness. In the inset, a small, covered terrace overlooks the backyard, pool house, and ravine. In contrast, the southern "sleeping" volume projects a quieter, low-glazed bay into the serene landscape.

Upon entering, the connection to the outdoors becomes prominent in all primary spaces. The breezeway features floor-to-ceiling glass doors and an exterior wood shell that slides inside on both ends, softening the threshold. At the entry, an operable vertical wood screen provides a variety of degrees of privacy, allowing light in during the day and screening views into the home at night.

The emotional heart of the home is the whitewashed, intimate yet volumetric "coffee house" – a double-height space that celebrates the gable form. The bright, casual space connects the kitchen with expansive windows and a terrace overlooking the back garden. A banquette, built-in seating, and millwork carved into the walls' thickness surround a centered fireplace and rotating TV/message board. A double-height glass wall facing the rear yard, carefully designed to maximize sightlines, provides views from the office loft above across the ravine landscape. A slatted wood ceiling, backed by acoustic materials, not only accentuates the height of the space and its gable form but is also painted white to seamlessly match the walls, brightening the entire room.

Rooted in familiar forms, Two Gables embraces the clients' needs and the principles of adaptable, sustainable, and exceptional design.

And well, they love it.