The clients envisioned a new home in Big Sur where they could actively pioneer their wellness and well-being. Visualizing a comforting, warm, and welcoming space, this new home would be infused with a sense of futuristic optimism reminiscent of 1965 California. Sixties California architecture evoked a sense of a new frontier: material science mixed with bold geometry combined with concern for the welfare of the inhabitants and a sense of the future. Picturing a visionary, confident home designed initially as a vacation home, they asked that the interior architecture have an air of wabi-sabi mixed with Mid-Century modern, working natural elements in as much as possible. They would like it to feel light, with large windows all around. The program would also include an art studio to paint, a garage, a small tree, and a wraparound sunny deck to drink tea.

A 100% passive solar design with long facades optimal for sun exposure, Silver Lining’s unique, curvilinear entry draws light into the main living and dining areas. The Kalwall skylight system stretches from detached garage through entry into great room, illuminating work and living spaces with museum quality light. Panoramic views are captured by siting the home above neighboring properties, away from light pollution and potential noise. Exterior fire shades and roof sprinklers provide defense from wildfires. The living space is extended by the wraparound deck. Privacy and seclusion; this home creates a sense of permanence and connection to the land. A healthy environment of natural light and airflow enhances indoor environmental quality and reduces the building’s carbon footprint.

Within the home, the shoji-like skylight softens shadows and highlights. Look out at the panoramic view of the Big Sur coastline. Peer up from your bed through a circular skylight framing the night stars. Pause a moment encircled in water in a copper soaking tub in a room with cedar walls. Enter the eye of a wave in a curving shower. Record these moments in the art studio while weather changes and ocean fog rolls in. Pen a poem to Nature seated in a living room as the golden hour light paints the south coast.

The circle within a square motif is time encapsulated. End grain oak flooring is made by continuously cross-cutting logs with the annual growth rings exposed on every piece. Step onto this natural surface and appreciate the incomplete, imperfect, and impermanent nature of everything. Recognition of the gifts of simple living and the tranquil beauty that emerge with the passage of time, these are the gifts of the Silver Linings house in Big Sur, California, where the wabi heart recognizes sabi beauty.