The California Ranch House was a post-war “dream home” created in 1932 by Cliff May, whose 1,000-plus houses were built in Southern California where he was born, raised and worked as a licensed building designer. Descended from a prominent Californio family, which included one of the founders of San Diego, May himself lived in a 10,000-square-foot Ranch house set on 15 acres. He considered a Ranch-style house the quintessential California house—a low-profile and cross-ventilated structure whose level-to-the-ground floor, courtyard and exterior corridor made it conducive for informal outdoor living.
Inspired by the California indoor-outdoor lifestyle, Gustave Carlson, AIA, set out to renovate a client’s Ranch-style home in Northern California, adapting it into a dream home for aging in place. The design brief was to create an aesthetically cohesive and well-functioning contemporary residence for the homeowners who have lived there for more than 35 years.
vegetable beds that emphasize
low-maintenance and low-water use, coupled with well-connected spaces, such as a small patio with fire pit oriented for views to the garden, easy access to the ADU and a focal point (an olive tree).
Unifying previous renovations made by the same homeowners while accommodating new amenities were among Carlson’s design challenges. He was up to the task: Carlson’s work is rooted in California Modern. As evidenced in his book Pacific Modern: Houses of Northern California (ORO Editions), he fluently layers themes of that influential architecture vocabulary across various styles—from Northern California cabin and farmhouse, to classic, Craftsman and contemporary. An East Coast transplant of Scandinavian heritage who moved to Northern California more than 20 years ago, Carlson also brings an element of hygge (a Danish word, which loosely translates to “coziness”) into his projects.
“In my architecture work, hygge means well-designed houses, which are conducive to a low-key enjoyment of the good life, surrounded by family and friends,” notes Carlson whose namesake firm is based in Berkeley, Calif. He adds that in places like the San Francisco Bay Area, where the weather is milder than Scandinavia and blue skies abound, “hygge is also about wellness because indoor-outdoor living is possible nearly year-round.”
For the renovation, Carlson expanded the existing, single-story, 3,600-square-foot house with a 289-square-foot kitchen and indoor/outdoor entertainment room addition while seamlessly connecting the main living and kitchen spaces and creating a separate outdoor area for cooking/barbecuing and entertaining.
The color palette is serene while the high-end finishes, like custom conversion varnished cabinets, were selected for their elegance and low-maintenance. The upgraded appliances, including refrigerator, wine fridge and range, are energy-efficient. The lighting systems, furniture selection and overall space planning support aging in place. Designed by Thomas Skradski of Lumenworks, the lighting is programmable and on a key-pad system for easy use and maximum flexibility.
To better optimize the 12,000-square-foot lot, Carlson designed a new 584-square-foot one-bedroom Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). “The challenge was to accommodate all essential amenities within the existing parcel, which required ingenuity,” Carlson says. He adds that building a separate ADU, instead of adding that program to the existing structure, creates harmony—an element of hygge—of scale among architectural volumes and landscaped areas while providing maximum flexibility. Although the ADU currently functions as a guest cottage and gym space, in the future, a caregiver could live in it, offering proximity and privacy.
Ingenuity also played a role in the landscape design, an integral component of indoor-outdoor living in a Ranch home, per Cliff May. “There is great potential in the use of outdoor spaces that can extend the activities that occur within the home,” notes Paul T. Lettieri, principal at The Guzzardo Partnership Inc., a landscape architecture and land-planning firm. Lettieri adds that because residential landscape is often thought of as decorative, “the creation of a usable landscape with a high level of functionality coupled with the aesthetic goals is often a lost opportunity”.
For this remodel, Lettieri “reimagined the front yard and created a quiet oasis in the backyard”. He and his team were also responsible for most of the paving layout, plantings and special design features.
The front yard now has a simple and clear relationship between the house and the street. There’s a stronger pattern of colors and textures in the new landscape, which also retained many significant trees—such as a 50-year-old hornbeam (whose leaves change to shades of orange, red and yellow in the fall season) and a few well-placed crepe myrtles, set off by the smaller rectangular lawn.
In the backyard, the previous garden had a larger lawn area that had outlived its usefulness, so the new garden—featuring raised vegetable beds with tomatoes, herbs and organic plantings—emphasizes low-maintenance and low-water use coupled with well-connected spaces, such as a small patio with fire pit oriented for views to the garden, easy access to the ADU and a focal point (an olive tree). This makes for seamless indoor/outdoor entertainment while creating what Lettieri calls a “landscape painting” when viewed from the new kitchen.
finishes, like custom conversion varnished cabinets, were selected for their elegance and low-maintenance. The lighting systems, furniture selection and overall space planning support aging in place.
Sustainability was also a core focus: The project incorporates a 31-panel solar array and sustainable construction materials. The new wood flooring features rift-sawn white oak. The custom kitchen cabinets are made from FSC-certified rift-sawn white oak and custom-stained with conversion varnish by Steve Alt of West Summit Cabinetry.
The builder on the project was Canning Construction, founded by brothers Dave and Steve Canning. The custom home and remodel company has a highly personalized approach and a mostly referral-based clientele.
During construction, communication between the architect and contractor was key. But, as Dave Canning points out: “Remodels always engender questions and modifications during the actual construction, and I got quick responses [from Carlson] that made sense to me and kept things moving along. Communication,
trust and a competent project team make construction work successful.”
Gustave Carlson’s design for this remodel project demonstrates his firm’s commitment to harmoniously blending aesthetics and functionality while catering to clients’ unique preferences and needs. This project is an example of what a dream team, consisting of architect, landscape architect and builder, along with other project team members, can accomplish—a dream home that encapsulates the essence of California
living for contemporary times and for the future, just as Cliff May intended.
PHOTOS: Belden Carlson
Retrofit Team
ARCHITECT AND INTERIOR DESIGNER: Gustave Carlson Design
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: The Guzzardo Partnership Inc.
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Canning Construction
LIGHTING DESIGN: Lumenworks
Materials
CUSTOM CABINETS: West Summit Cabinetry, (530) 271-2036
COUNTERTOPS: Caesarstone
DINING TABLE AND CHAIRS, KITCHEN STOOLS: Holly Hunt
APPLIANCES: Sub-Zero and Wolf
LIGHTING: Allied Maker
WINDOWS AND DOORS: Marvin
BIFOLD DOOR: Loewen
FURNITURE: Design Within Reach
PAINT: Farrow and Ball
FLOORING: Rift-sawn White Oak from Big Oak Hardwood Floor Co., (650) 591-8651
