The Phoenix - Healdsburg, CA
After losing their mountain home to a fire in 2017, our clients were eager to start fresh and improve upon the shortcomings of the original structure. Draped at the top of a ridge in Healdsburg, with views stretching across the valley as far as Mount Saint Helena, the diverse and picturesque site served as a starting place for an imaginative retreat for a forward-thinking family. The Phoenix is a modern home that intimately connects its occupants to the dramatic landscape, thoughtfully framing and prioritizing views.
The house and landscape plans are defined by a series of elongated, stacked, rectilinear forms stretching from east to west. The original layout situated the pool significantly downslope of the house, resulting in a disconnect between indoor and outdoor living spaces. Due to the complexities of the steep site, our design team faced the challenging task of relocating the pool to improve its relationship with both the home and the pool house; the resulting design crafts a series of intimate indoor-outdoor spaces for hosting and entertaining, as well as calm moments of immersion in the surrounding landscape.
The home’s entry greets guests with a peak of both forested hills and the infinity pool, which runs parallel to lower-level public spaces. Looking southeast towards sprawling mountain views, an open kitchen and living room are accented by walls of sliding windowed doors and custom casework. A bespoke lighting sculpture artfully crafted alongside studio DRIFT floats delicately between the dining and living spaces, interjecting a sense of lighthearted movement into clean and modern finishes. A trellised outdoor living area between the main house and pool house creates a protected dining and lounging space, providing adjustable levels of shade throughout hot Healdsburg days. An adjacent graveled back patio accommodates an outdoor kitchen with a woodfired pizza oven, as well access to raised vegetable beds lining the northern façade, encouraging a true farm to table lifestyle.
On the upper level, the windowed primary suite dramatically floats over valleyed views, sitting lightly above the rolling coastal fog that blankets the Healdsburg hills. Connecting hallways open onto green roofs and a western deck designed to capture colorful mountain sunsets, as well as additional bedrooms perch over tailored lower-level landscape moments. With turnkey interiors by Gaile Guevara Studio, the retreat is fit with products, finishes, and furnishings all sourced from healthy, sustainably-minded brands and suppliers.
The design integrates green roofs and solar panels to fully embrace the green living lifestyle. Designed for a family that prioritizes being in nature and has a passion for sustainable living, the new home sits surrounded by olive and fruit orchards, maximizing all the sprawling site has to offer.
PROJECT TEAM:
Architect: Feldman Architecture
Interior Furnishings & Styling: Gaile Guevara Studio
Builder: Cello & Maudru Construction
FELDMAN ARCHITECTURE TEAM:
Steven Stept, AIA, Project Principal
Matt Lindsay, LEED AP BD+C, Project Architect
Lighting Designer: Anna Kondolf Lighting DesignStructural Engineer: GFDS EngineeringGeotechnical Consultant: RGH ConsultantsPhotography: Ema Peter