38 DIGS.NET
| 1.28.2022
R E S T O R E D | R O M E R O C A N Y O N
unearthed a vein of Santa Barbara limestone, the original plans
were scrapped in favor of this found material. Similarly, when
the land was cleared of its overgrown vegetation and dense
foliage, it divulged the panorama of mountains that surrounded
it. The home's orientation was shifted to accommodate the
breathtaking view.
The resulting trio of single story structures not only embraces
the view but the landscape, the muted color of their exteriors
blending into the property's surroundings. The low-slung design
nods to the ranch houses that dotted the Central Coast during
its cattle and cowboy days. Hefner's use of expansive steel
window and door frames, which open the house to its inner
courtyard, acknowledge Southern California's modernist bent.
That thread also runs through the interiors, where an open light-
filled great room corrals the kitchen, dining and living rooms into
its embrace, and a series of breezeways link the L-shaped main
house, the pool house, which doubles as the guest quarters,
and a smaller building that proffers the gym.
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"I wanted it to be about using indigenous materials, such as the
stone found at the site, California-sourced wood products and
incorporating the work of local artisans," Hefner shares. Five
wood-burning fireplaces, constructed from the same stone as
the exterior, warm a spare interior that mixes vintage lighting and
furnishings with custom bed frames and upholstered pieces.
The minimal, mostly neutral-toned furnishings — apart from a
bespoke blue linen sofa that echoes the tones of the pool and
the sky — underline Hefner's wish for the property to feel like a
vacation. "The idea was to have furniture and lighting that was
not so much a 'now experience," Hefner explains. "We wanted
to make it hard to date and timeless."
"We were with the construction every step of the way so there
weren't really any surprises when we moved in," says Hefner.
But there was one revelation that they discovered only after they
made the home their full-time residence. "Even though it was
designed as a weekend place, it was very accommodating of
us occupying it full-time."
"Even though it was designed as a weekend place,
it was very accommodating of us occupying it full-time."
