To say that this Sonoma County house draws heavily on its context would be an understatement. Designed by San Francisco-based studio Schwartz and Architecture, led by founder Neal Schwartz, the home may be small in size, but is big in personality. Created for a private client in dark hues and low lines, it blends nods to the natural landscape, hints of modernist and minimalist architecture and supreme, 21st-century functionality. Leit House, as the dwelling is titled, was conceived to express its surroundings in architectural form.
Leit House: a bijou Sonoma County house
In designing Leit House, Schwartz and his team studied the local topography, to make sure the new house sits in harmony with its setting. In this, colour was critical. ‘Millions of years ago, the volcanoes of Sonoma Valley, California, spewed hot magma across the landscape. As the lava quickly cooled, the eruption’s gases became trapped, forming porous cavities instead of crystallising into dense stone,’ the team writes. ‘These blackened rocks – rhyolite, basalt, andesite, and pumice – still dot the valley landscape today, surprising in their lightness despite all appearances.’
The house, at less than 80 sq m, is certainly boutique, in the context of its genre in the country, but clever layout and openings ensure it makes up for its bijou size in smart design solutions. Simplicity is the name of the game, with the home internally composed of a long service core, and a single, open, multifunction living space. Clean surfaces and slim volumes underline a feeling of lightness and an uncluttered approach – despite the blackened volcanic rock references in its sculptural overall form.
Charred oak cladding hints at the fires that have devastated the region in the recent past. ‘[It] remains a symbol of this resilient landscape,’ the architects write, referring to the blackened Shou Sugi Ban siding of the home.
At the same time, the wide openings that instantly take in the Californian landscape, are balanced by large roof overhangs that protect from the hot sun and navigate any climate challenges. The home's restricted material palette also works towards that, allowing the views of nature and the experience of being in the wild to take centre stage.
-
Manchester United and Foster + Partners to build a new stadium: ‘Arguably the largest public space in the world’The football club will spend £2 billion on the ambitious project, which co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has described as the ‘world's greatest football stadium’
-
Marta Pan and André Wogenscky's legacy is alive through their modernist home in FranceFondation Marta Pan – André Wogenscky: how a creative couple’s sculptural masterpiece in France keeps its authors’ legacy alive
-
A Dubai ‘sky palace’ debuts developer Omniyat’s new Bespoke categoryOmniyat Bespoke, the developer’s new ultra-luxury arm, launches with the Luna Sky Palace penthouse at Orla, Dorchester Collection
-
The Architecture of Seduction: how Horace Gifford built a modernist, queer paradiseFire Island is explored through a new edition of Christopher Rawlins’ seminal architectural and social history book on the life and work of Horace Gifford
-
Step inside this furniture gallerist's live-work space by Steven Holl in upstate New YorkDesigned by Steven Holl for modern furniture gallerists Mark McDonald and Dwayne Resnick, this live-work space in upstate New York is a midcentury collector’s paradise
-
Remembering architect Ricardo Scofidio (1935 – 2025)Ricardo Scofidio, seminal architect and co-founder of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, has died, aged 89; we honour his passing and celebrate his life
-
Is the U.S. about to sell dozens of architecturally-significant government buildings?It depends, the Trump administration says
-
10 emerging Californian practices rethink architecture in the Golden StateWe highlight ten emerging Californian practices that are redrawing the borders of traditional architecture with their unique creative explorations
-
Rosewood Residences Beverly Hills launches: we take the tourRosewood Residences Beverly Hills launches to a design by Thomas Juul-Hansen, marking the brand's first standalone home project in the swanky Los Angeles neighbourhood
-
Rebuilding LA: Altadena architects talk after the fireA discussion with Altadena’s architects about bringing a devastated Los Angeles back to life after the January 2025 fires launches our ‘Rebuilding LA’ series
-
This narrow home in San Francisco is a modern take on treehouse livingIn San Francisco, a narrow home by Dumican Mosey Architects, Dolores Heights House, is a demonstration of how to make the most of an awkward plot, creating an expansive home overlooking the trees
