Inside A Modernist Masterpiece In Wine Country

For the internationally renowned architectural firm Swatt l Miers, setting is practically as important as style. Their designs have long been recognized for a strong connection to the land and a blurring of the boundaries between impeccably crafted indoors and out. That distinctive harmony is readily apparent in the glass-enclosed spaces of this dazzling contemporary residence in Healdsburg. At 9,372 square feet, it encompasses four bedrooms, five full and two half baths, and a host of seamlessly integrated interior and exterior spaces, each of which is imbued with a feeling of weightlessness, glorious natural light, and impressive attention to detail.

The home feels perfectly at one with its 38.28-acre surroundings, following the contours of the land and in one carefully chosen spot, even allowing a tree to weave its boughs between exterior beams. Walls of pristine disappearing glass seem to erase the manmade boundaries, with trees and bands of metal conjuring unique combinations of shadows and light. Automatic full-length remote-controllable shades can be lowered with ease to create privacy—not that discretion is a going concern, given the location, tucked amid evergreen copses at the end of a gently winding gravel drive in the area’s fabled rolling hills.

An aesthetic continuity and immersive quality unites the spaces, creating effortless transitions among them, while precise lines, angles, and cantilevers produce an eye-catching interplay of the vertical and the horizontal. Cast-in-place concrete, metal, and wood conjure a quality of natural strength, while textures and color—as in the kitchen cabinets and the vibrantly tiled powder room, with their pops of sunny yellow—add a sense of whimsy. Highlights include a dining alcove wrapped in windows on three sides, a living area with a fireplace and a dazzling constellation of globe-like pendant lights, an expertly equipped kitchen with counter seating, an underlit upper-level walkway, and bedrooms with en suite baths and balconies. A dramatic stair tower with floating treads links the three levels.

Extensive alfresco spaces—including a wraparound deck and a lower-level covered concrete patio with a gas fire feature—encourage passing as much time outdoors as in. Lounging on the sundeck that surrounds the alluring swimming pool affords opportunities to revel in meditative glimpses of mirrored foliage and vistas that stretch across the Dry Creek Valley.

Visitors will appreciate the luxurious one-bedroom guesthouse—which can also serve as staff or caretaker’s quarters and is equally as stylish as the main residence. The roof’s cantilevers project above the three-car garage, creating an additional terrace. Both the main residence and guesthouse are outfitted with state-of-the-art technological systems and are offered furnished.

This blog originally appeared on SIR.com, read it here>

Beckey Anderson