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| The last remaining lot in north San Diego near the city limits with Del Mar is now boasts a gorgeous new home designed by builder/designer Art Harris. Photo: Martin Mann, San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles. |
SETTING A RHYTHM IN STONE AND WOOD—By Thomas Shess, San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine.
Set near the top of a steep bluff on a narrow lot
with spectacular views of the ever-changing color palette of sky and sea, a San
Diego home is a testament to function over form.
Because of the slope,
there’s little to view from the street — only a sturdy driveway leading to this
modern aerie. But nearer the entry of the three-level home, a peaceful
waterfall emerges. Trickling over individually cut Apache Cloud flagstones, the
water feature visually speaks volumes, especially when lit at night.
Surprises abound in this nearly
7,000-square-foot contemporary that is custom designed down to the cantilevered
legs of an 850-pound dining room table.
Homeowners Stephen and
Suzanne gave Art Harris, the project’s architect and builder, free reign to
embellish their ideas. “Right from our first meeting, I knew this was going to
be a special ride. They both had done a lot of research work prior to our
meeting,” says Art, who bases his AJH Construction firm in La Mesa. “Usually I
ask the client to start a photo album of pictures that might express their
dreams for their new home. But they had already started one — what a great
surprise.”
A world-class scientist,
Stephen had delineated in specific detail the architecture and natural feel he
wanted on one of the last coastal empty lots in San Diego. Suzanne downplayed
her creative role, insisting she’d be happy with two things: a laundry chute
and a gift-wrapping station. She got more — a lot more.
During two years of
designing and acquiring building permits, Art gained an understanding for what
Stephen and Suzanne liked and disliked about places where they had lived before
and what they wanted from their home on a daily basis.
The couple’s detailed
criteria included no boxy spaces, ocean views from every room, smooth traffic
flow that would be the envy of any flight controller and meeting LEED
specifications for all energy usage.
The trio collaboratively
chose structural elements of the house, such as the bluish stacked flagstone
throughout and thick planks of imported bubinga, a non-endangered,
rosewood-like hardwood common to equatorial Africa. The planks were hand tooled
into a show-stopping collection that encompasses the kitchen bar, dining room
table and breakfast nook — and two electric guitars. The bubinga, which was
special ordered from Africa, measured 6 feet wide by 26 feet long.
For choosing interior
furnishings, Art suggested bringing in interior designer Janine Thierry Brown.
“Janine did a fantastic consulting
job that saved us count- less hours in choosing the right materials,
furnishings and colors for the home, as well as having furniture made,” Suzanne
says. “Since both she and Art had raised families, they brought endless insight
into the subtleties that make a house a home that’s functional to live in.”
Janine was tasked with complementing
the modern architecture with furnishings. She chose fabrics mostly from companies
under the Kravet label.
“I worked the lines and
curves of the house to repeat in the furniture,” she says. “Also, the large use
of rich red-browns in the cabinetry and kitchen countertop warmed up the
interior.”
Art, Janine, Stephen and
Suzanne met three to four times a week for several months before construction
began. “From these brainstorming sessions, I learned that Suzanne really wanted
a laundry chute, which turned out to be the most difficult item to design
because it had to be invisible and have access to all three floors,” Art says.
The discussions produced
creative surprises, like having the front door made of Torrey pine acquired
from a licensed broker who deals in naturally fallen trees, a large video
screen that lowers from a hidden niche in the ceiling and radiant heating
beneath the sapele flooring.
The planning sessions also
produced seven fireplaces (four inside and one on each terrace); four bedrooms
with ocean views; seven bathrooms with different stone-tile flooring and
granite countertops; two laundry rooms, including one off the master suite;
cantilevered stairs; and an entry waterfall designed by Art with green,
hand-cut crystalline from New Mexico.
The 4,400-square-foot
middle level is a triumph of Art’s free- form contemporary design.
“This area, especially the
kitchen area, went through many conceptual designs,” he says. “We had to make
it pretty and extremely functional for both entertaining and daily living.”
The expansive space
connects with a powder room and a bed- room — designed to serve as a
self-contained guest suite with a private entrance, mini kitchenette and
balcony.
Windows dominate the south
and west sides of the great room. When the couple wishes to enjoy sea breezes,
they can electronically open 18-foot sliders. “That is our air conditioning!”
Stephen says.
Next to the large custom
dining room table, sapele cabinet doors open to reveal storage for 10 table
leaves. Tall cabinetry throughout also hides electronic components and the
entry to the 400-bottle wine room. A
massive backlit wall of onyx creates a dramatic backdrop for viewing the iron
wine racks behind a wall of glass. Another large slab of onyx is installed over
the fireplace in lieu of the traditional painting.
An accomplished chef,
Stephen enjoys his own cooking zone, which allows him easy access to the stove,
refrigerators, sink and a large granite-topped island for preparing meals. The
area on the other side of the island is for guests.
“They have their own space
that does not encroach while I’m getting dinner ready,” he says. “The third
zone is a combination of the bar area, where guests can sit and talk to me
while others can be working around the center island. This keeps everyone
together.”
The kitchen design includes
a separate area where Suzanne can show off her pastry-baking talent, so they
can work simul- taneously without getting in each other’s way.Making the
kitchen a chef’s delight are Thermador appliances and Miele built-in coffee
maker, microwave and warming drawer.
“The sheer number of cabinets throughout the
home was a big design issue for them,” Art says. “They wanted every inch
usable.” As a result, kitchen cabinets soar to 11 feet. To reach upper shelves,
Art designed a library ladder that can be pulled
from a hidden space in the kitchen. But it’s
the lighting that catches the eye.
“In every home I get to
design and build, I try to give the client something special and unique,” Art
says. “Because I have been blowing art glass for 15 years, I made all the drop
lighting for the kitchen and the chandelier for the main powder room.”
The 2,500-square-foot lower
level includes the garage, an exercise room, a laundry room, a walk-in cedar
closet and a bonus room with a full bath. The bonus room has a wall bed for
guests and a craft and sewing area.Upstairs are three bedrooms, each with its
own bathroom. The southwest corner became the master suite.
“As a child I used to lie
on the carpet by the windows where the sun came in to nap in the afternoon, and
I wanted a more comfortable version of that,” Suzanne says. “As it turned out,
Stephen used to do the same thing as a child.”
Taking that cue, Art and
Janine fashioned a large chaise in a corner nook, where the couple can read or
nap or lazily take in the sky, the sun and the sea.
Editor’s note: This feature first appeared in the
February, 2014 edition of San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine. Posted with
permission of the publisher.
Photography by Martin Mann,
San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles
Director of Photography
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