Project Data:

Completion Date:     7/28/2020

Square Footage:      2604

Building Use:           Single Family Dwelling

Project Description:

Saltbox Residence

The Saltbox Residence was designed to cultivate joy and create lasting memories for a growing family. By harnessing natural light and fresh air, we crafted warm and tactile spaces filled with soul. Today, this home beautifully unites the family.

The story began in 2003, with my client’s fond memories of remodeling his childhood home with his father. When the house was passed down, his young family of five quickly outgrew it. They dreamed of preserving their family legacy without relocating.

We started by analyzing the original home’s key characteristics to preserve. Three central elements formed the framework for the expansion. First, the existing bedroom wing maintained visual and auditory privacy from the family gathering spaces. Second, a casual secondary entrance facilitated daily movement between the kitchen and parking areas. Third, and most important, the existing exterior breezeway unified the bedrooms, kitchen, dining, mudroom, and garage, encouraging a cross-flow breeze throughout the home. With these elements, our plans took shape.

We elevated the wrap-around breezeway with a deck. Pass-through windows connected the kitchen to the adjacent barbecue area, while a cozy fire pit transformed the breezeway into a family gathering haven. Inside, we added new kids’ bedrooms, bathrooms, a mudroom, pantry, and powder room. The final piece was a pool and hot tub for relaxation and refuge.

A corner lot and large setbacks inspired a sheltered front yard pool. Large sliding doors welcomed breezes that cooled over the water and soothed the home. High ceilings and windows framed neighborhood views, connecting the family to nature.

We also revitalized the dining area, incorporating a stained glass chandelier from the family’s hotel business. It now glows above an upcycled hotel conference table and chairs, symbols of family values and the home’s story.

The “saltbox” style roof, chosen for its aesthetic simplicity and as a nod to mid-century modern California ranch-style homes, added volume to the main living spaces. Wrap-around clerestory windows flooded the interior with natural light, facilitated cross ventilation, and maintained a more intimate scale in the bedroom wing. The existing fireplace, clad in precast white bricks with a clean stacked bond pattern, guarded a cozy conversation pit. This nook invites you to step down from warm oak flooring to ornate terrazzo tiles adjacent to the pool.

Nothing says welcome quite like home. A decorative breeze block wall defines the entryway, with diffused light creating intriguing shadows that draw you in.

Architecture is the soul of a space, expressed when form, nature, and light harmonize to cultivate joy and memories. The Saltbox Residence truly delivers.

Design for Integration, Design for Equitable Communities, Design for Water , Design for Economy, Design for Energy, Design for Well-being, Design for Resources, Design for Change, Design for Discovery 

Design for Integration:

The Saltbox Residence is a testament to the power of integrated design, harmoniously bringing together the family while warmly welcoming friends and neighbors into a soul-filled home. The strategic use of natural light, fresh air, and tactile materials seamlessly work together to create a vibrant living environment that fosters connection and community. By prioritizing these elements, the design promotes well-being and enhances the overall living experience.

Design for Equitable Communities:

The Saltbox Residence contributes to the pattern of community development by integrating traditional-style homes with pitched roofs. To honor the client’s affinity for mid-century modern California ranch style and to reflect the area’s architectural heritage, we selected a saltbox-style roof with a shallow pitch. This design choice maintains the neighborhood’s aesthetic continuity and allows the home’s rear to scale appropriately next to a single-story neighbor while harmonizing with the two-story homes towards the front. By thoughtfully blending with the surrounding structures, the Saltbox Residence fosters a cohesive and equitable community fabric.

Design for Water:

To promote water efficiency and sustainability, we selected a variety of drought-tolerant and native California plants, which have reduced water needs. Artificial turf complements the softscape, requiring no water and minimal maintenance, while increasing the permeable area on-site. This design allows for natural groundwater replenishment during rainy periods. The new exterior deck at the breezeway, built over natural grade and a layer of gravel instead of concrete, enhances on-site permeability, reducing runoff and pollutants draining to the ocean. Additionally, all existing interior plumbing fixtures were replaced with low-flow fixtures to significantly reduce water demand.

Design for Economy:

The Saltbox Residence was designed to efficiently provide only the space needed to meet the client's current and future lifestyle. By keeping the home as a single story with modest square footage, we ensured economic and sustainable use of resources. We maintained the existing raised foundation, fireplace, and re-used floor joists and wall studs from the original structure. This approach minimized construction costs and reduced material waste, demonstrating a commitment to economical and sustainable design.

Design for Energy:

The Saltbox Residence leverages passive solar daylighting to naturally illuminate the home during daytime hours, significantly reducing the need for artificial lighting. Roof overhangs were meticulously designed to shield the home from overheating in the summer by blocking the high southern sun, thus reducing the demand on the air conditioning system. Conversely, in the winter, when the sun is low, daylight and warmth penetrate deeply into the home, providing natural heating and decreasing reliance on the heating system.

The brick cladding at the fireplace adds thermal mass, a passive strategy that absorbs heat during the day and radiates it back into the home at night, further reducing the heating system's energy demand. The home also features a solar-ready roof, and following project completion, solar panels were installed, providing renewable energy today. The existing tank water heater was replaced with a more efficient tankless water heater, reducing natural gas consumption.

High-efficiency glazing in doors and windows, with low U-factors and low Solar Heat Gain Coefficients (SHGC), insulates the home, reduces unwanted solar heat gain, and reflects harmful UV rays. High R-value insulation and a tight building envelope protect the home from heat gain and loss during extreme weather months. An 8-foot diameter ceiling fan was installed in the living room, which can be used on hot days to cool the space and in reverse during winter to circulate warm air, minimizing unnecessary HVAC use.

The breezeway plays a crucial role in facilitating cross-flow ventilation for passive cooling. By aligning the home’s design with prevailing wind patterns, the breezeway allows fresh air to circulate throughout the living spaces, reducing the need for mechanical cooling. This design feature not only enhances indoor air quality but also ensures a comfortable living environment with minimal energy consumption.

A new smart home lighting control system was also installed, allowing for efficient management of the home’s lighting from the convenience of a smartphone app. This comprehensive approach to energy efficiency ensures that the Saltbox Residence is both sustainable and economical in its energy use.

Design for Well-being:

The Saltbox Residence connects people with natural light and fresh air, infusing happiness and vitality into the home. While the home can be tightly sealed during poor air conditions, such as the prevalent California fires in the fall, it is more often opened up to welcome natural air and biophilia, nourishing the occupants.

The design celebrates an outdoor lifestyle, offering amenities such as a pool and hot tub for play and relaxation, a putting green, and an artificial turf area for family activities. In the evening, the cozy outdoor fire pit and deck create a welcoming haven for family gatherings, fostering connection and well-being.

Design for Resources:

The Saltbox Residence integrates form and materials thoughtfully, connecting the client with natural, tactile, and timeless elements. This careful selection reduces the need for future remodels and minimizes waste. Warm oak wood floors were chosen for their durability, while ornate terrazzo tiles offer beauty and a cooling effect near the pool. Thermally treated fast-growing clear radiata pine was used for the deck surface and roof eaves due to its durability against termites and rot, providing the natural look and feel of real wood. For the painted horizontal cladding, cementitious siding was selected for its low maintenance and durability.

The home celebrates its structure by exposing the primary roof elements, including the large wide flange steel ridge beam and perpendicular wood rafters, reducing the need for additional finishing materials and highlighting their honest beauty. A stained glass chandelier, a legacy from four generations of the family hotel business, now illuminates the upcycled hotel conference table and chairs in the dining room.

The use of decorative breeze blocks (cement masonry) in the site walls provides privacy and pool security while allowing natural breezes to pass through. This concept extends to the entryway, where diffused light through the breeze blocks creates an intriguing play of shadows, drawing visitors in. By embracing these materials and design choices, the Saltbox Residence ensures resource efficiency and enduring beauty.

Design for Change:

The Saltbox Residence was renovated to adapt to the evolving needs of today's world, while preserving the family's legacy without the need to relocate. By integrating new technologies with timeless passive sustainability techniques, the design ensures the home can continue to provide joy and create lasting memories. This thoughtful approach allows the family to comfortably age in place, ensuring the residence remains functional and relevant for generations to come.

Design for Discovery:

We regularly visit the Saltbox Residence and share a lasting friendship with the family. The most impactful feedback from the client, which has become a guiding principle for us, is, "We never have to turn on the lights or the AC." We see smiling kids playing and a beautiful display of food and drinks being enjoyed, affirming that the home transcends its physical form. It embodies a soul that cultivates joy and creates lasting memories. This ongoing discovery of how the home enhances life underscores the true essence of thoughtful design.

Completion Date:     7/28/2020

Square Footage:      2604

Building Use:           Single Family Dwelling

Location:                 Costa Mesa

Christopher Meddock/ Meddock Architects

Thomas Zaby

Thomas Burke

NA

David Gill

NA

Christopher Dyer