Project Type
Custom Ranch residence

Description
Tuscan style home

Stats
2500 sf
3 bed, 2 ½ bath, office, loggia and courtyard
Completed 2011
Contractor - Owner/Builder
Custom Framing and Carpentry - Bob Cooke

The driving concept of the extensive remodel to this Santa Paula ranch house was to meld historical detail and design with the convenience of modern function and structure while capturing views of the Santa Clara River Valley. Our methodology was one of adaptive reuse, celebrating the contrast of century-old construction materials and methods with more modern textures and techniques to illustrate the passage of time. The stone construction of the Entry Tower, Garage, and Courtyard Gate Arbor is massive and simple in detail suggesting a pre-existing ranch structure built by laborers with local materials. The stone continues into the main living space along an interior garage wall uniting the old with the new.

The main portion of the house speaks of more recent construction with a smooth plaster finish, more refined details and larger openings. Shaped plaster and wood profiles, indicative of time-developed precision tools, accentuate the exterior and interior. In order to achieve a sense of openness without an entirely open plan, the Kitchen and Living areas are separated by a custom interior window wall with stained wood and decorative glazing. Expansive door and window openings in the Living, Dining, Kitchen, and Master Suite frame orchard and valley views.

To combat solar heat gain in Santa Paula where summer temperatures can exceed 100 degrees, numerous shading methods were employed. Deep roof overhangs are supported by exposed rafter tails; the covered loggia shades the Dining Room glass and an outdoor patio; a wood-framed trellis provides relief to the Southwest corner of the house; an arbor with climbing flowering vines frames and shades the full arch window on the west façade.