One Modern Home, Made to Order

Two architects imagine the house of their dreams in sunny Southern California.

When Ruth Hasell and her husband Gary set out to build their dream home from scratch, they had a wide frame of reference to draw from. The two are both architects in Southern California -- a place with a rich history in residential design; the area has been a base for modern pioneers such as Frank Gehry, Richard Neutra and Donald Wexler.

With Ruth's background in designing homes and offices for clients in California, and Gary's career as a planner, designer and builder for Disney's hotels in Asia, what did the Hasells want when it was time to build a home for themselves?

"We wanted a modern house that was contextual, but not something that looked like all the neighbors' places," says Ruth. "Something 'California' that's appropriate to our climate and latitude."



After five years of planning, obtaining permits, sourcing and building, the end-result is a stunning hillside ranch house -- but not a typical one-story bungalow. The Hasells were careful to make sure the home fits to the natural contours of the hill on which it is built, which meant they had to be "less concerned with symmetry and how it looks, and more concerned with how it feels; making it more experiential."

Below are gallery and a guided tour by Ruth, so you can experience their modern homestead, too.

"Here, you're looking at the entry from the garage. That bit of roof, which was made with standing seam metal is what adjoins the house to the garage."

(Left) "We installed a 56-foot skylight here, which is one of two in the house. It illuminates the center of the house, and we get to watch the clouds pass throughout the day. Once, we saw a double rainbow that stretched across the entire house." (Right) "The whole roof is separated from the walls by windows around the edge of the house, so there is a patch of light in every space. The counter here serves as a natural gathering place for guests."

"The sun moving across the skylights always puts a different pattern on the wall. At night, when it's really bright and clear, the moon casts shadows, as well."

(Left) "This a view the of outdoor patio from the living room. There's an outdoor fireplace there, and my daughter, Ariel, says it's the best place for coyote watching." (Right) "We're not alone on this, but we like to use our things as part of the décor -- our books, our dishes. It adds color to a house and gives it dimension."

"This is the master bedroom. We positioned the bed facing east, so we wake up to spectacular sunrises."

"We used different species of wood for different parts of the house. The floors are in what's colloquially known as 'tiger bamboo,' an eco-friendly, sustainable material with a lively pattern, which is a nice contrast to the concrete walls."

The cabinets are made of walnut, and the structural beams throughout the house are made of Douglas Fir.

The master bathroom was constructed with all-natural material like stone, concrete and glass.

"All the main rooms have large pocket doors that extend the space to the surrounding outdoor decks," says Ruth, who wanted to incorporate the outdoor spaces into the living spaces.

Top: A view of the house with the pool, day and night. Bottom: A view of the house from the green space behind it.

From left: Laundry room, staircase leading to Ruth's office and a meeting area for Ruth's clients, which also has a great view of the pool.

In a borrowed Japanese style, the Hasells had most of the storage, "...built in. Less need for Ikea," Ruth says, "and [it] leaves space for a few featured pieces."

The Hasell family's inaugural Thanksgiving in their new home, with a few guests -- wish we'd been there ourselves!

Still smitten over this house tour? Come check out another top notch home from our design crush (and Martha Stewart's protogé) Kevin Sharkey! And scroll to the bottom for an amazing opportunity to win a personal color consultation with Kevin!