Salvaged wood wraps Surf Household in Santa Cruz by Feldman Architecture

American firm Feldman Architecture has designed a cypress-clad, beachfront dwelling that is intended to balance “high style and a informal Californian aesthetic”.


Perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Surf Household is situated in the central California town of Santa Cruz. The 417-square-metre dwelling serves as a weekend getaway for a San Francisco Bay Place family members with strong ties to the coastal city.

Feldman Architecture designed the project
The household overlooks the Pacific Ocean in Santa Cruz

The clientele billed San Francisco’s Feldman Architecture with building a residence that embraced the landscape and adhered to a geologic setback requirement.

They also desired the dwelling to be sensitive to the sense and scale of the surrounding neighbourhood, which capabilities unassuming structures.

The house is in Santa Cruz
Salvaged wooden wraps the exterior of Surf Residence

“The clients were very well-versed on the nuances of the web-site and dreamt of a property that in good shape the natural way and sustainably into its beachy, eclectic locale,” said the architects.

For the prolonged home with a ragged ocean-dealing with edge, the workforce conceived 3 constructions.

Surf House has panoramic ocean views
A picket deck delivers ocean views

The key dwelling, which rises two degrees, is set nearest to the coastline. In the rear, a wood deck offers an possibility for indoor-outside living and a possibility to just take in the ocean air.

The front portion of the home has a courtyard with two structures – a garage and a developing for storing surf equipment termed the board area.

The public zone has doors to the outside deck area
The kitchen area also functions largely wooden features

Protected from coastal winds, the courtyard serves as a heat, mild-crammed cloister in the course of the 12 months.

For the home’s exterior cladding, the architects enlisted the help of a California sawyer, Evan Shivley of Arborica, who specialises in domestically sourced, reclaimed timber.

The staff chose to wrap the household in board-and-batten siding built of cypress. The same materials was made use of abundantly indoors.

“Monterey cypress – a robust, resilient, regal wooden – is accustomed to the site’s coastal California local climate and when left unfinished, weathers to a innovative grey,” the group explained. “The wood also, therefore, quickly becomes a focal issue of the home’s structure.”

Wood also dominates interior spaces
Glazed doors separate inside spaces from outside the house

In just the most important dwelling, the floor amount holds the community zone and a visitor bedroom. Glazed, sliding doorways support eliminate the boundary concerning inside of and out.

“Large sweeping doorways open up to connect the living room to the spacious back again deck, which is equipped with an in-floor scorching tub and outdoor kitchen area perfect for entertaining going to family members and close friends,” the group said.

Throughout the dwelling, rooms are adorned with earthy materials and contemporary decor
Commune Design and style oversaw the home’s interiors

Upstairs, just one finds a learn suite, an additional bedroom and an business. Windows are meticulously positioned to present framed sights and to provide shades of blue and inexperienced into the residence, which has a neutral color palette.

“The learn bed room options floor-to-ceiling glass walls facing the waves, opening on to a personal balcony with sights of surfers beneath,” the staff explained.

A bathroom in Surf House
Some rooms have panoramic ocean views

All through the dwelling, rooms are adorned with earthy materials and contemporary decor. LA organization Commune Layout oversaw the interiors.

“Surf House finds the great harmony between substantial style and a casual Californian aesthetic, producing magic on an already magical website,” the team said.

A garage stores surf gear at the front of Surf House
A garage outlets surf equipment at the front of the household

Launched in 2003, Feldman Architecture has intended many residential jobs in California and further than. Other folks consist of a pair of backyard pavilions for a Silicon Valley residence and a San Francisco residence with tiered gardens and a triangular loft.

The pictures is by Joe Fletcher.


Project credits:

Architecture: Feldman Architecture
Landscape architect: Ground Studio Landscape Architecture
Interior design: Commune Style
Contractor: RJL Building Sawyer, Arborica
Artwork consultant: Allison Harding