This custom home is located in the small Tam Valley community in Mill Valley, California. This firm’s principal got the full experience of an owner-builder. Not only was he project architect and contractor, but developer as well. The site required a complicated lot split to create a new parcel at the front of a half acre lot that had an existing home at the rear. Design emphasized a budget-conscious contemporary look with a decided green influence, including lots of windows carefully oriented to reduce lighting requirements throughout the day, radiant floors, which eliminated HVAC in a mild climate, reduced fluorescent lighting and bamboo floors.

The contemporary look serves a dual purpose. While the house hints at a familiar farmhouse vocabulary, with gable roofs and board and batten siding, it also incorporates contemporary features such as awning windows and a flowing floor plan. Its unique look and reduced detailing eliminates typically expensive finish work such as crown molding or wainscoting.