a r s c a s u s: Interior Design & Architecture: Stone Villa: A Californian-Style Retreat

Santa Lucia Preserve, between Carmel and Big Sur, California, USA

Architects: Feldman Architecture

Photography © Joe Fletcher

The owners’ intention was to create a private retreat capable of accommodating everyday life while welcoming five children and extended guests. The realised outcome is a home that nurtures relationships and celebrates its environment through thoughtful indoor-outdoor connections.

Feldman Architecture: “The owners dreamt of their property as a place of retreat, dedicated to spending quality time with family and friends, and an escape from the foggy weather of their Carmel home to the sun, warmth and natural serenity of the inland foothills”.

Jonathan Feldman: “We sought to create building forms that resembled the simple Italian hillside structures but integrated larger glass openings and minimalistic contemporary detailing”.

In this project, the palette instills a sense of permanence and quiet with the use of local stone. The heavy and rough materials, which were beautiful from day one, will grow even more timeless and rich as they patina and the lush landscape continues to knit together each structure. The result is a home that is simultaneously private, generous and intimately entwined with its environment, inviting occupants to experience architecture and landscape as a cohesive, living whole.