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“While interiors should have levels of openness and
interconnectivity between the rooms, they should also
take into account that certain rooms benefit from being
visually obstructed from other spaces,” says Cragnolino,
who led the project’s design process. “Maintaining visual
connections is paramount, but not so that a mess in the
kitchen is on display from the living room.”
Cragnolino finds one of the biggest challenges of design-
ing a midcentury-inspired home has less to do with the cost
of the materials, and more to do with the care that is taken
with framing and overall planning.
Following a modernist sensibility, the firm established a
limited materials palette that’s consistent between both the
interior and exterior. To complement use of cedar outside,
the team fitted out the interior spaces with rift-sawn white
oak floors and cabinets. A mammoth pivoting entry door in
western red cedar contrasts against the neutral brick that
extends from the inside out to establish a cohesive design.
“In every price point and palette, letting the materials
work the way that they want to work and come together

logically is key. Even in smaller-budget projects, allowing

materials such as brick and siding the freedom to turn

corners and make volumes naturally creates organic

masonry planes rather than a series of applied surfaces,”

says Cragnolino.

The house’s dramatic 6 -foot overhangs, brick walls,

plaster ceilings, and oak floors extend from the indoors out.

A cedar soffit that breaks free from a stucco plane extend-

ing from the interior ceiling adds a sense of lightness.

Further midcentury style-inspired details, such as a

wall of sliding glass doors and a wet bar concealed behind

a sliding barn track, animate the space and provide visual

balance by keeping clutter out of sight.

The influences of midcentury modern design through-

out this home are, as in many projects, embraced for their

ability to work as a flexible backdrop with other styles,

trends, and periods. And as husband and wife design

duo—and modernist pioneers—Charles and Ray Eames

put it, its principles simply offer “the best for the most for

the least.” — leah demirjian

Below left:

Widening a

standard 6-inch

wall to 30 inches

made room for a

concealed wet bar

in the living room.

Below right:

Strategically placed

windows flood the

interior with natural

light while still

maintaining privacy.

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