Calmly Balanced – Sonoma House by Bevan & Associates

A navigation of a busy location and the desire for a resort-like home, Sonoma House is brought to life through a layered and internally focused approach. Bevan & Associates balances open and closed elements to encourage flow and instil a feeling of disconnect from urban life.

Set within the popular wine country along the west coast of California, Sonoma House sits hidden from view in the downtown area. Its presence has been deliberately screened and its placement within the existing streetscape is turned inward to create a home that feels transportive and meditative. Being so centrally sited ensures great connections to the urban surrounds, yet the focus within is emphasising the feeling of calm. The site was previously home to an existing house that sat disengaged with the available orientation and natural aspects. Bevan & Associates were approached by the design-focused clients to help bring their vision to life.

Drawing from a Japanese-like influence, the home’s series of forms and courtyards traverse and intersect across the site, creating opportunities for compression and release.

With the owners having studied both architecture and urban design between them, they had been on their own journey, leading them to Sonoma for their next chapter. As they previously lived within the dense urban landscape of San Francisco, this next chapter represents a significant lifestyle shift. Presented with the site in its original form, their ability to see the potential of the property motivated the owners to acquire and commence the transformation with efficiency. Drawing from a Japanese-like influence, the home’s series of forms and courtyards traverse and intersect across the site, creating opportunities for compression and release.

Driven by privacy and the feeling of being within a resort, connecting with the natural elements was formative. Together with Fortini Landscapes, the client drove the process in both selections and design. The combination of extensive greenery, the inclusion of water and the framing of natural light allows the landscape and natural elements to play a vital role in the architecture. Limestone walls ground the home within a series of connected gable-roofed forms, linking to the various outdoor destinations. Through the insertion of timber and linear masonry planes, a curation of select furniture, artwork and lighting then animate and give the interior its own personality.

The combination of extensive greenery, the inclusion of water and the framing of natural light allows the landscape and natural elements to play a vital role in the architecture.

With a restrained palette of finishes and textures, Sonoma House comes together with a mostly muted base, which is enriched through texture, contrasting furnishings and a lush landscape. Bevan & Associates extends the vision of the clients to propose a nuanced home that feels removed yet deeply connected to place.