Additional photos by Adam Rouse
We are dreaming of the soft warm light of California. This week, the gorgeous update of a Henry Hill house by Framestudio bringing us cinematic visions of optimistic light.
We checked in with Chad DeWitt of Frame Studio for his quick take on this gorgeous spot:
The best part of this house is the way light and shadow play across the various surfaces and textures. The mornings start with Mount Diablo being backlit by the sun, getting brighter and brighter until it peeks out from behind the mountain. Throughout the day, the changes in the light highlight various textures.
The house was originally designed by local architect Henry Hill and built in 1959. Hill was known for his theatrical take on modernism, and no doubt spent time on the site understanding how the natural light will illuminate the home. Framestudio started our two-year reinvention and restoration in 2016. The home is located on a hillside looking over the San Ramon Valley and the town of Alamo below. Alamo is a commuter suburb just south of Walnut Creek, east of Oakland.
The part that makes me dream of being there are the feelings of disconnection and connection you get when you’re up there. With its location at the end of a long driveway that snakes its way through golden hillsides and live oak trees, your vantage point overlooking Alamo, and the lights along the 680 highway, the house puts you at ease —making you feel relaxed, disconnected from the stresses that come with life at the bottom of the valley.
At the same time, you feel more connected. A deer or coyote crosses the garden while you’re cooking dinner. With all the glass, you feel more connected to the changes in season, the weather, and the natural surroundings. The passage of time is clearly marked by the shadows that play across the interiors.
This house is really quite special and, in a nutshell, all we did was make sure we stayed as close as possible to the original intent.
Chad has us dreaming of a chilled glass of crisp white by the pool, which sounds pretty good right about now.
