There is a Californian something about pavilion houses and vice-versa! This holiday home, completed in 2012 by Leslie and Julie Dowling is no exception. All the elements are there: flat roof with shady overhangs, big glass sliding doors and rectangular pool with concrete deck…Built as a holiday retreat for a family with young children, the T-shaped residence consists of two connected pavilions.One of the pavilions, spreading north-south parallel to the pool, is dedicated to the day communal spaces, while the other one consists of the master bedroom, the children’s room and bathrooms. The “living” pavilion is a lofty open-plan space, with living room, dining room and kitchen. The living room is enclosed by floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, which have two main advantages. The first is making the space see-through, flooded by natural light at any time of the day, and the second is that when these doors are open, the living-room becomes infinite, two sofas and a low table in the heart of nature. The glass structures are connected in a U-shape by a concrete wall with a built-in two-sided fireplace. On the outdoor side of the fireplace there is a concrete patio with lounge furnishings that is a special winter spot for the family.
The spacious and luminous living room is furnished with cozy sofas in “childproof” colors and materials, that are oriented around the fireplace. A square pouf transforms into a practical low table by means of a big wooden tray placed on top of it. Transparency is the key word for this space, due to the big glass surfaces that enclose it on two parallel sides and to the transparency of the inside-outside fireplace.
Photographer Matthew Millman shows a great one-point perspective of the living room seen from the kitchen. Integrated to the living pavilion, the open plan kitchen benefits from the same natural light that is reflected by the bright Caesarstone worktops. The brushed and shiny stainless steel appliances and faucets blend in harmoniously with the wood of the furniture and ceiling and the concrete floors.
The advantage of the pavilion house is that all rooms can have access to the garden. The bedrooms form the second pavilion and are of more modest sizes that the living area, but their size increases thanks to the opening to the outside.
