A soul soothing beauty spot on the Pacific Palisades foothills of LA has become home to an enviable 17,000 square foot contemporary residence, created by the esteemed architect team at ShubinDonaldson. The single-family Tramonto Residence soaks up views of the surrounding Santa Monica Mountains, the canyon, and the California coastline meeting the Pacific Ocean. A feature staircase and terraces rise from the natural contours of the hillside, smoothly integrating the two acre site into the beauty of the state park. Inside, an open two story void is furnished with the main living spaces and a stunning staircase over a reflecting pool. Vast windows pour in sunlight and breathtaking vistas.
This luxury house exterior is aglow at night. From the illuminated outdoor staircase to the pool lights and terrace, to the golden internal glow of the home through its immense glass walls, the home is a picture of alluring warmth.
The architecture negotiates the steep topography of the two-acre site, following its natural rolls and undulations. Each portion of the modern property is bedded into the surrounding landscape on a sub-grade structure to reinforce the hillside.
The luxury home design is cleanly defined by a material palette of light limestone, contrasting dark ipe wood, and vast expanses of high-performance glazing.
Enormous wood shutters encase the two story facade, emphasizing its vertical height. The extraordinary window shutters screen off glass walled private quarters from the public approach.
When open, the huge shutters resemble great sails cast into the breeze.
The new extremities toy with the orientation of the building, bringing the corner of the structure into sharp focus.
As we move inside the impressive LA home, a modern chandelier draws the eye up to appreciate the double height grandeur of the stylish living room.
The room is blessed with natural light from two stories of windows, whilst the wooden shutters control the glare of California sunshine.
An elegant, natural material palette amasses a tranquil atmosphere inside of the home. Different areas in the open plan layout achieve clear distinction from diversity of tone.
A second floor mezzanine landing overlooks the luxury living room. Glass balustrades welcome daylight through from the upper windows.
leads the eye up the internal staircase, and provides an opportunity for a blast of intense colour.
A heavy pivoting front door makes a lasting first impression. A reflecting pool doubles the effect of a feature staircase overhead, and towering shutters outside the glass.
The dark shutter aesthetic translates horizontally into room dividers inside the home.
Here, the slats break apart and shift to sculpt freeform pattern and light play.
Live edge wooden boards encase the dining end of a huge kitchen island, giving it a unique identity from the rest of the space.
Slender and dark, the silhouette of the main staircase merges easily with the dark slats outside.
Tread to ceiling balustrades engineer the steps into a floating position.
The staircase design, mezzanine and bridge triangulate the journey over the reflecting pool, balancing out the building’s geometry.
Each part of the home offers a new vista to stop and take in.
The bespoke staircase is the backbone to the living room.
A skylight opens up a bright blue skyscape by the head of the stairwell.
The glass sided walkway falls away into insignificance from the spectacular view.
The bedroom has a mood all of its own, with a roaring modern fireplace and lantern style bedroom pendant lights. The furniture is kept simple with a clean cut platform bed, contemporary bedsides, a sleek end of bed bench and matching chair.
The Tramonto Residence boasts two glorious open terraces; one an outward semi-public design and the other inward and private. A glass hallway soaks up the zen private courtyard perspective
A pair of modern outdoor chairs rest in the serene courtyard design.
The inner terrace ensures that all rooms are afforded a blissful view no matter what their orientation.
The build consists of two principal masses, which interlink with the indoor/outdoor living ideal.
The temperate climate, the natural beauty of the landscape and an inviting swimming pool brings daily life consistently to the outdoors. The dipped levels of the terrace fall gently with the topography. An outdoor dining area sits up top just off the main living room, whilst the outdoor lounge and sun lounger deck are defined by a slightly lowered area. The pool is its own sparkling entity, with a submerged lounging platform, shallows for cool relaxation, and a deep swimming lake.
Courtyard treetops peep through the top of the luxury home to visit with the sun.
Contrasting materials split the mass of the modern facade.
The approach to the home cleanly navigates the challenging landscape; the seemingly endless staircase is cut through by a blaze of light that flows like a river of lava. More lights set a stone wall ablaze at the bottom of the feature to expand and dramatise the point of arrival. A horizon of mountains compete with the mesmerising house for dominance.
Wild grasses feather the sharp edges of the arresting concrete staircase design.
A multi-car garage offers plenty of space for the homeowner’s car collection, plus invited guests.
Up on the bedroom balcony, a modern fireplace makes evenings cosy.
Downstairs on the main terrace, a central fireplace draws everyone to gather around the conversation pit.
Tiered terraces claim the remaining hillside.
