Text by MYD Studio
An addition and complete renovation to an existing mid-century home embraces its unique coastal hillside location, celebrating views and new exterior living spaces with an open floor plan that maximizes indoor-outdoor relationships.
Updates by MYD Studio provide for increased functionality and performance, with a cohesive aesthetic that utilizes contemporary materials and systems while maintaining the authentic modernist massing of the original 1964 design.
Downsizing from a larger traditional residence in Orange County, the new owners of this three-bedroom, two-bath mid-century home in Laguna Niguel sought to maintain the authenticity of the original architectural intent, while updating and adding square footage to make the home comfortable and efficient for a contemporary coastal lifestyle.
Designed by architect George Bissell in 1964, the home is one of under eighty properties in the Niguel West neighborhood, a small community located a mile from the ocean, bordering Dana Point and South Laguna Beach.
Within the secluded modernist enclave, the elevated project site sits adjacent to open land on one side and coastal hills to the rear- at this orientation and topographic elevation, the two-story concept accommodates the slope of the terrain while providing for privacy as well as views of the surrounding landscape.
With prior renovations having altered original elements, including the kitchen, key materials and architectural details throughout, it was critical to restore the integrity of the mid-century design with consideration for enhanced spatial adjacencies and functional relationships, particularly between interior and exterior spaces.
Similarly, design updates, details and finishes were to be consistent with modernist principles
and compatible with community aesthetics. Finally, for a comprehensive overall design, a site-specific conceptual landscape and hardscape plan was required to ensure thoughtful visual and physical connections between indoor and outdoor spaces and uses, including an outdoor kitchen, dining
area, pool, spa and fire pit with integrated seating.
To achieve these goals and address the needs of the project, Lauren Moss and Jason Yaw of MYD studio architects utilized the original concept as a starting point, preserving the mid-century massing at the street-facing elevation and adding 400 square feet at the rear and side yard, for a total area of just under 2,200 SF.
The carefully located addition enables a more livable and effective floor plan without encroaching into the main outdoor living zone. The new plan relocates the primary bedroom to the back of the home, allowing for corner sliding doors that open to the hillside, backyard and private sitting area, while the new bathroom brings in natural light via a skylight and clerestory windows.
The expansion at the side yard accommodates a full laundry room, AV closet and walk-in pantry, accessed from the skylit hallway leading to the primary suite. For the renovation to the existing spaces, the redesign restores a minimalist streamlined aesthetic while maintaining and celebrating the elements that contribute to the mid-century character, including the post and beam construction accentuated by
the vaulted ceiling at the entry, living and kitchen.
The new interior layout incorporates this gable-roofed volume, highlighted by clerestory windows and framed by exposed structural beams and columns.
Centrally located between the dining and living zones, the kitchen is reconfigured with a more user-friendly layout, linear island and extended peninsula that helps to define the space within the context of the open plan.
Adjacent to the kitchen, a bifolding door system connects interior and exterior gathering spaces, providing direct access to outdoor entertaining areas. Nearby, a masonry fireplace newly clad in stacked manganese brick atop an asymmetrical basalt stone hearth visually anchors the main living space.
While the rear orientation provides for ridgeline views, privacy and outdoor programmatic requirements, the street facing orientation takes advantage of vistas of the mid-century neighborhood to the southeast. The addition of large windows and another set of bifolding doors that open to the front deck ensures that abundant natural light brightens the space throughout the day.
To create a sense of entry at the front door, cedar siding was introduced at a new partition wall, creating continuity between the exterior and interior finishes, as well as establishing a meaningful progression of spaces. A small gap between the drywall and siding allows for a practical means to appropriately wrap the material, as well as to offer a glimpse of the interior as one enters the home.
Additional materials include white oak flooring, caesarstone counters and white cabinetry with contrasting black hardware. Glazed Japanese ceramic tile provides texture and scale to the open kitchen and offsets the clean lines and flat planes of the modernist interior. The same mosaic tile is also utilized at the raised spa outside, as well as in a vertical application in white at the new primary bathroom.
Other finishes reference mid-century aesthetics, such as large format terrazzo flooring at the bathrooms and natural wood details at the custom walnut cabinetry and open shelving locations. This blend of materials creates a balance of organic and natural elements alongside minimalist architectural and geometric forms.
At the exterior, new finishes, carefully located site walls and native landscaping give the home an updated facade, with cedar cladding at the upper level adding warmth to the board-formed concrete walls that enclose the entry stair and storage space at the ground level.
At the deck, a custom metal railing design extends the length of the front elevation, establishing a sense of scale and pattern that visually complements the overall palette with vertical elements and contrasting tones. Completed in 2020, the project maintains the spirit of its mid-century origins with thoughtful updates that bring the home into the 21st century.
The addition and renovation serve to create an efficient family home that reflects a cohesive architectural identity without compromising the intent of the 1964 design- a key feature that further enhances the character of the residence and contributes positively to its context and
community.
Photos by Jimmy Cheng Photography
