View From The Hills

Architect Mark English first started drafting plans for a remodel of this Los Altos Hills home 10 years ago. "The original house was a small, strange little '50s structure with a prow-shaped living room that happened to sit on a lot with a spectacular view that stretched from Oakland to South San Jose," says English. "You felt like you were on the edge of civilization when you looked out at the view."

Eventually, English and his client decided they would scrap the remodeling plans and start from scratch. "I hate to tear buildings down, but the structure had probably been sliding down the hill since the '60s. It needed major structural work so we decided to just start over." The new home has a free-flowing layout that matches the client's desire to entertain. A central public area was designed as a great room with two private bedroom wings on either side. "I saw this as an entity that might take flight," says English of the stucco and ledge-stone house. "You really get that sensation when you're out on the ipe wood entertainment terrace."

Walking in the sandblasted glass front door, you're struck by two significant design elements - the big windows and the massive fireplace. Because the view through the commercial grade windows is so dramatic, English knew that the fireplace would need to be dramatic to hold its own. "One of my pet peeves is when fireplaces are unattractive and don't fit the space," he says, so he designed a fireplace "wall" made out of the same ledge stone used on the exterior of the house. Then he created a long, low 12 x 2-foot hearth filled with flame emitters that was inspired by a similar fireplace in the W hotels.

English defined the adjacent dining room space through its coffered ceiling. "It separates out the space and cues you that something different is happening here." A circular light fixture by YLighting "pins down" the dining room table and provides a sense of stability in the open space.