EYE ON DESIGN BY DAN GREGORY

Now Debuting on Houseplans.com are two new modern stock plans from our  Exclusive Studio Collection.

Bring Back the Breezeway

Courtyard 1.0, an L-shaped ranch house by architect Ross Anderson, draws inspiration from the Bay Region Tradition and specifically the work of Northern California architects William Wurster, Joseph Esherick, and Willam Turnbull. Wurster and Esherick helped define the early modern ranch house in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, setting the highest standard of regionally inspired modern design. Turnbull expanded on the idiom in the 1970s and 1980s. Ross worked for Turnbull before establishing his own practice. Here’s the entry elevation showing the big clerestory window that brings light into the great room.

The L-shaped design is both classic and contemporary in its use of long breezeway/galleries and simple, abstracted shapes under a standing seam metal roof — like a collection of elegant sheds. The detached garage is at the right, forming the third wall of the central courtyard.

The plan is all about indoor-outdoor living: most of the house opens easily to the long breezeway. There’s an outdoor fireplace beside the living room and an outdoor shower off the master suite.

The Eichler Rides Aagin

Palomino, by architect Robert Nebolon, deftly adapts and updates a mid-century modern (and Western!) classic: the Eichler subdivision house built in Northern and Southern California by developer Joseph Eichler. Robert knows his subject: he lives in an original Eichler with his family.

This stylish single-story home suits a flat to moderately-sloped lot. Large windows and sliding glass doors connect house and garden. All rooms have vaulted paneled ceilings. Grooved exterior plywood siding is specified to match the same used on the original Eichlers. The simple roof structure can be constructed out of SIPs (Stucturally Insulated Panels) or 2×10 framing.

The plan shows how open the interior is, with an easy flow between public rooms. A storage wall separates the living areas from the bedroom wing. The family room opens to a private patio at the rear. Twenty-first century amenities include pantries and a built-in desk in the kitchen and twin closets and double vanities in the master suite.

Look for more additions to our Exclusive Studio Collection in the coming weeks.