Pacific Palace

to and how do you like to use them?’ It’s a very
personal thing, and it’s their sacred space at the
end of the day.”
Increasingly more, the kitchen is becoming the
domestic center point, and Budd sees it fitting in
with an increased desire for kid-centric design.
Clients with children often ask for a balance between
togetherness and solitude; a family room
with easy access to the kitchen or an adult “playroom”
that feels private but isn’t cut off. Gone
are the days when a teenager could hole up in the
basement and play on the computer. “You’ve got
workstations in the kitchen,” she says, adding that
there’s so much demand for rooms adjacent to
the kitchen that it by necessity becomes the hub
of the household.
Fluidity plays into almost all aspects of nicholas/
budd designs. In the California House, which
overlooks the coast, the bathroom’s SPD Systems
glass windows switch from milky opaque to clear.
“At every turn, the client wanted to capture the
view and feel, as though you’re at one with the
landscape,” Budd says. “Especially in California,
that’s how people live. The outdoor dining, the
outdoor fire pit. All of those become critical
components in your everyday life, if you’re
outside half the time.”
Next up, she and Nicholas are designing a home
for wine connoisseurs in Healdsburg, CA., about
120 miles west of Sacramento. It’s not near the
ocean, but once again, the home showcases the
view instead of itself. Throughout the living spaces,
the residents and their visitors will be able to gaze
directly out onto the surrounding vineyards, and
not hear street traffic.
California House
aRchitects
nicholas/budd designed the 5,000-square-foot california house for a client who is passionate about
surfing, and is reflected throughout this coastal home in los Angeles. the client told the architects
his favorite materials were beach glass and driftwood. “the palate is all derivative of the landscape
there,” says budd. the design materials are soft and white in color and include bleached oak, glass
and limestone, so the walls reflect changing colors throughout the day. “there’s a lot of light-play
going on with the nature outside. Quality of light is incredibly important to us, as well as the tactility
of the materials,” says budd. the team’s cabinetmaker ian Walmsley supplied oak for the casework,
while Walker Zanger, inc. (walkerzanger.com) supplied the limestone. in the client’s studio, William
Nicholas – who took the lead on the design of the california house – carved a tiny window from one
room to the next framing a view to the outdoors through which the client could check the surf. in a
home filled with opportunities to bask in widescreen panoramas of the ocean and surrounding landscape,
budd calls this the “little sneaky view.”
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