Monte Vista House

The new house is located in an early 20th-century suburban neighborhood of diverse period houses. The contemporary Mediterranean arts and crafts house, based on the early residential work of Irving Gill in San Diego, blends seamlessly with the adjacent 1920s houses.

A wide, heavy front door penetrates the severe facade, and one enters a low wood ceiling portico supported by primitive Doric columns, overlooking an inner courtyard anchored by a fireplace and a small pool. Salvaged stone and brick paving grounds the entrance and continues in the courtyard beyond. The portico has been enclosed with three pairs of glass doors to accommodate an intimate library.

In the tradition of the neighborhood, bedrooms face east with the living, dining, and kitchen on the west. A half-round bay or Stibadium within the kitchen engages the courtyard space.