Breezeway House

Davis, California

Sited on a quarter acre lot in a new subdivision, the Breezeway House is a breath of fresh air amid nondescript spec homes. Our clients desired a home that was restful and private. We designed a home that transports the residents from the restrictions of suburbanism into a realm of their own. One unusual requirement of the home was that it address the needs of an intergenerational family with a separate but attached dwelling space for a grandmother to live. We created an "H" shaped plan that provides courtyards front and back allowing lots of glass while maintaining privacy and protecting the glass from solar heat gain. In some ways, this is a modern interpretation of ancient Roman courtyard homes surrounded by activity on all sides but providing a private outdoor space of one's own.

The material palette for the home was warm and neutral, featuring creamy white plaster walls on the exterior juxtaposed to cedar siding and clear anodized aluminum windows. The interior continues with the neutral theme with highly polished ground natural colored concrete floors, lyptus wood cabinetry throughout, and cedar tongue and groove ceilings. The spaces are tranquil to the eye with the muted colors and ample natural light.

The design contrasts the notion of a protected screened front with a transparent feeling once inside the home. The entry sequence takes visitors past a front garden screen wall into a trellis covered entry space looking into a secluded courtyard garden that separates the main living space from the apartment. Walking throughout the house, views are continually opening to the back garden and front courtyard. The breezeway itself is almost completely glass and incorporates a stair that is light and airy, and that literally floats off the ground floor.

While others in the neighborhood built their houses to fit the maximum allowable footprint on their respective lots, we opted for a smaller footprint for the house, carving out shady protected outdoor courtyard gathering spaces and garden areas. This allows for a house with a more controlled square footage to feel like a larger house and establishes a much stronger indoor/outdoor connection. The house is essentially larger than its square footage. By creating our "H" shaped plan for the house, a series of indoor-outdoor realms are created continually blurring the separation of the two. Spaces flow naturally. This home illustrates the advantages of selecting quality of spaces as opposed to quantity. The Breezeway House offers special places throughout to relax, or to be together as a family, and truly does translate directly to quality of life for the homeowners.

Contractor: River City Builders, Inc.
Photographer: Dave Adams Photography