Pacific Modern: Houses of Northern California

Pacific Modern: Houses of Northern California by Carlson, Gustave. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781940743196.

The book is a portfolio of three Northern California architectural projects: Canyon House, Inverness House, and Mocabee House. Each house is very different in style, but the themes that are explored are consistent in the architecture and the interiors. Canyon House is detailed to seamlessly nestle into its steep creek side landscape. The house follows the contours of the landscape, and is built with attention to carving space out of the canyon. Using the expertise of crafts people and design consultants to create the unique wood carved screens and furniture, the soft stone floors, and the interior and exterior flow of the home make Canyon House an exceptional example of craft and beauty. Inverness House is built on a ridge top with views of Tomales Bay. The house explores the intersection between the local vernacular of an older western red cedar wood cabin and a new modern house. The materials used are sourced locally and the home has an organic, simple, cozy well being feeling in its architecture and presentation. Mocabee House is a modern concept of a farmhouse set on a former four-acre walnut orchard. The house has an agrarian feeling, set up as a way to capture light filled spaces all day long with its low horizon and borrowed distant views of the Mayacama Mountains. The house is designed to use the exterior spaces with ease and celebration, and its farm to table lifestyle is clearly explored in the houses material and interior design selection.