A Wood-Clad Beach Pad Flourishes on a Narrow Lot in Santa Monica

An architect makes the most of a narrow lot by prioritizing natural light and outdoor space over square footage.

A Wood-Clad Beach Pad Flourishes on a Narrow Lot in Santa Monica

An architect makes the most of a narrow lot by prioritizing natural light and outdoor space over square footage.

Built-in window seats and library shelving provide storage and a place to sit.

When architect Juan Saez Pedraja first met with new clients to build a home in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica, each half of the couple leaned in a different aesthetic direction. "He wanted an industrial look, but she wanted something super traditional—very cottagey and beachy," says Saez Pedraja. "Sometimes that is a red flag for architects, but for me it seemed like an interesting challenge because of the character of the area."

Saez Pedraja Architecture designed a two-bedroom, 1,600-square-foot home on a narrow city lot in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica.

Saez Pedraja Architecture designed a two-bedroom, 1,600-square-foot home on a narrow city lot in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica.

Ignacio Espigares Enriquez

The front courtyard extends the living space off the kitchen, and connects the home to the neighborhood.

The front courtyard extends the living space off the kitchen, and connects the home to the neighborhood.

Ignacio Espigares Enriquez

The design team treated the cedar siding with a product to give it a silvery patina that suited the neighborhood context, and anodized aluminum windows and doors match the standing-seam roof.

The design team treated the cedar siding with a product to give it a silvery patina that suited the neighborhood context, and anodized aluminum windows and doors match the standing-seam roof. "The design captures the spirit of this eclectic and evolving neighborhood, exhibiting both contemporary clean and straight lines but also a gable roof and cedar siding reminiscent of a traditional cottage feeling and material—something to reclaim the beachy character of the neighborhood," says Saez Pedraja.  

Ignacio Espigares Enriquez

See the full story on Dwell.com: A Wood-Clad Beach Pad Flourishes on a Narrow Lot in Santa Monica
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