It’s hard to believe that this spacious California home, set in the wine-making town of Sonoma, sits on a plot just half an acre in size. When owners Eric and Carmen Hanson first saw it, it was a dated pink building bordered by soulless expanses of concrete, with no sense of shelter from the busy streets all around. It was hardly what they were looking for – a peaceful weekend retreat – but they had the imagination to see how it could be transformed.
The couple’s creative clout – Carmen trained as an architect, while Eric has a degree in urban design – helped them find the right designer for the job. They hired George Bevan, principal of local firm Bevan & Associates, for the immediate connection they felt with him.
The Hansons wanted their home to have a secluded, resort-like feel, but privacy was lacking on the site. Bevan’s solution was to raze the old house and replace it with a series of simple, Japandi-inspired spaces that flow together seamlessly. These take advantage of height and vineyard views, and draw in the newly landscaped outdoor space. Bevan echoed the old house’s roofline, so that his design would blend into the neighbourhood, but incredibly, it has almost twice the square footage on virtually the same footprint.
The existing layout was cleverly reinvented: a garage became a home office and exercise studio; the new main living space, built on what was once empty concrete, houses two guest bedrooms facing the front courtyard and a huge lounge.
Upstairs, a box-like master suite bridges the main house and the office/gym. “The interiors are carefully organised – there are ‘spaces within spaces’, subtly divided by changes of material,” says Bevan. “It’s a house of minimal finishes – plaster, glass and wood. The white oak cladding indoors and the Accoya wood decking outside tie the house together.”
The lounge is a versatile space, used for both relaxing and entertaining. A sculptural oak staircase, illuminated by concealed lighting and skylights overhead, has a drinks bar built in underneath, while a sliding glass wall opens to embrace the garden and vineyard views beyond.
Here is the place to sit and enjoy the trickling sound of water from a concrete fountain, accompanied by the rustling of a 200-year-old olive tree in the California breeze. Eric made a 300-mile round trip to select the tree from a heritage grove, and it’s now the centrepiece of the garden.
The interiors were masterminded by Carmen, who chose furniture in understated shades to complement the refined material palette. “It was chosen to be texturally interesting, but never loud,” says Bevan. “The house is a warm, modern backdrop for art and natural light.” Much of the couple’s vibrant art collection was created by Carmen’s father. It’s flattered by the occasional dramatic flourish in an otherwise subtle space, notably the Calacatta Verde marble on the bar, kitchen and bathroom surfaces.
Hidden from the street behind a wall of Carolina cherry laurels and a huge, pivoting wood and steel door, this is every bit the tranquil retreat the Hansons hoped it would be. “They love the calmness of the house,” says Bevan. “It transports you from the crazy world outside into a zen-like quietness.”
