Designed by SkB Architects, this California farmhouse lives a former female CEO and bicycling enthusiast who desires a place doubling as a retreat of solitude and a gathering hub for friends and family.
Taking the forms of a traditional farmhouse and inspiration from the concept of community, the property includes a main house and a guest house with an embedded bike barn. Lisa Picard, the former CEO of Equity Office who has a penchant for bicycling, lives there half of the year.
"We were inspired by the client’s goals and needs as well as the site. We wanted to create a place of sanctuary for our client, a place to recharge,” notes SkB Architects. "We wanted it to be simple, calming and low-maintenance. It was designed to be comfortable whether there’s one person or 50 people in it.”
The house doesn’t have a traditional front door: guests are welcomed through an unlocked entry gate and then follow a path that leads them to the central dining terrace and door beyond. A warm atmosphere that invites people in the moment they pass the gate.
The primary bedroom is separated from the living space by a double-sided fireplace within a custom wardrobe clad in steel and walnut. The bike barn is meant to imply an additive construction over time to the guest house.
“The design isn’t about big architecture, it’s about placing the focus on the human experience,” adds SkB Architects. “We told our client that the house is not complete until the landscaping is ripe and the place is simply magical now.”
Photo credit: Suzanna Scott, Hannah Rankin
Architecture: SkB Architects (Instagram @skbarchitects)
