Located on top of a hill in the Sierra Foothills, the six bedroom Ridge House and the two pools were designed to mesh with the contour of the hillside. The 1993 traditional home was designed with Honduran mahogany elements and used brick, creating continuity between the interior and outdoor living spaces. The used brick was recycled and shipped by train from a fish market in San Francisco which fell in the 1991 North Coast earthquake.
The current building code does not allow a traditional brick fireplace attached to a home, so the parlor fireplace was designed to be completely freestanding. Surrounding it with glass brought the exterior elements inside. The tall mahogany-glass entrance door also invites the outside elements into the house. Throughout the home, there are operable skylights which move the cool hillside breeze through the house in the summer without the noise of a whole house fan. Tube steel construction made cornerless windows, and the amazing views they provide, possible.
