Hill House

The house’s public rooms open on to a west-facing interior courtyard. Shaded by a mechanical louver system, the courtyard includes a fireplace and borrowed views of the neighbor’s orange trees. The south wall is faced in flagstone with mid-century flair, and the ground surface is a custom terrazzo with a pattern of sweeping arcs that connect into the adjacent kitchen.

The kitchen opens onto the courtyard, and shares the same terrazzo floor design. Cabinets are plastic laminate on exposed-edge plywood, a long-lasting solution that will require little maintenance, and introduces a favorite color. Heath tile is used at the stove backsplash, with a custom high-polish hood that reflects light from the courtyard.

The dining and living spaces are separated by a floating cabinet, used to display some of the owner’s collectibles, as well as house the bar. A concrete block wall wraps the office, and continues to the exterior of the house, while the wood ceiling uses an over-scaled panel and connects the public spaces throughout.

The office / music room is wrapped on the outside by a concrete block wall, and lined on the interior with oak paneling that hides acoustic treatment, and provides display shelves for favorite album covers. A sliding door is designed with a TV motif, adding another layer of texture and hinting at what is beyond.

The front of the 1-story house reflects the client’s love of both the Flintstones and all things mid-century. The materials are chosen to be rugged and no-maintenance, and include board-formed concrete, concrete block, concrete panels, and integral-colored stucco. While the house is designed as a 1-story to allow the owner to age-in-place, the floating roof is not only very “Fred and Wilma”, it also is practical as it hides a storage attic and workspace.