Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture

Rugged Farm Life Meets Cool California Vibes at This Stylish Ranch

Kelsey Machado
By

A luxurious gabled farmhouse, a horse stable, and a tranquil sprawling meadow on two-and-a-half private acres. It’s any cowboy’s dream homestead. But we aren’t in Texas. This little bit of paradise is in Porto Valley, California. Combining rugged farm life with cool West Coast vibes, Pinon Ranch offers the perfect retreat for a musical family and their horses.

Matthew Millman

Designed by Palo Alto-based firm Field Architecture, Pinon Ranch came together thanks to a respect for the land and a desire to maintain the natural beauty of the site. A steep slope and an old-growth oak grove presented challenges that architect Jess Field met head-on. By building the concrete foundation of the ranch up to the line of the tree roots (but not disturbing them in any way), the home took on various “volumes” that thoughtfully began to mimic the land itself. 

Matthew Millman

The built-up oak grove was balanced by a wide-open meadow and this was the shape the ranch took on. Built in two volumes, the main home is separated into private and public spaces. The two sections were connected through the incorporation of a glass-box foyer which represents the openness of the meadow. The family also needed a music studio that was cleverly connected to the main home through the patio and pool area, again recalling the relationship between the cluster of tall trees and the flat open meadow. It’s these thoughtful details throughout Pinon Ranch that make it so much more than a typical farmhouse.

Recommended Videos

 

At first glance, this does seem to be a typical farmhouse. But Pinon Ranch demands a closer look. The “typical” gabled roof gets special treatment in the hands of Field. Built from exposed steel rafters and reclaimed Douglas-fir paneling, a monitor was added to the gable, creating a striking visual element while allowing natural light to flood the main living space. The “typical” farmhouse table in the dining room is a slab of live-edge wood surrounded by contemporary leather chairs. Cool gray concrete floors balance the reclaimed wood used throughout the home. And walls of glazing strike a contemporary tone not usually found in a typical farmhouse.

Matthew Millman

The design of the home speaks to the ruggedness of ranch life with the blending of steel, concrete, and wood, but there is an elevated luxury that reflects the need to unwind after a long day of mucking stables. To balance the rugged materials, Field incorporated elements like white marble counters in the kitchen, an indulgent wooden soaking tub, and a double-sided fireplace in the family room.

Matthew Millman

Far from typical, Pinon Ranch is rugged yet luxurious, masculine, and welcoming, and firmly shoves farmhouse chic aside to declare that this is the new look of rustic.

Editors' Recommendations

Kelsey Machado
Kelsey Machado
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kelsey is a professional interior designer with over a decade of experience in the design field. With a passion for…
This Minimalist Desert Retreat Creates Views Where None Existed
bridge view residence kendle design collaborative 2

The desert is a challenging place to build a home. Materials need to be able to handle any condition Mother Nature can throw at them. Scorching heat during the day turns into frigid temperatures at night. While the desert may be arid for most of the year, the rainy season brings flash floods that could devastate any structure unfortunate enough to be in the water’s path. To build here takes unique vision and determination. Luckily for us, the folks at Kendle Design Collaborative gladly meet the challenge head-on and have been turning out desert minimalist homes that are both stunning and strong.

The latest project, Bridge View Residence, faced all of the typical obstacles of a desert build along with a difficult build site. Abutting a desert wash and steep drop-off in the land, the plot didn’t offer many options for creating a beautiful sprawling home. The location also had limited views, and the clients wished to be able to see both the wash and the mountains. The solution that lead architect Brent Kendle came up with was to elevate the main living space and master suite, bridging it over the first floor. Placing the public spaces like the living room and kitchen on the upper floor instantly created the landscape views the clients wanted.

Read more
Check Out This Dramatically Angular Glass Cabin in Norway
efjord cabin glass house norway snorre stinessen architecture 3

Imagine your ideal hideaway. Is it a lodge surrounded by mountains or a waterfront cabin? What if you didn’t have to choose? One island abode lets you take in every kind of landscape, in any season. Efjord Cabin is a year-round retreat that soaks up all of the stunning scenery Norway has to offer.

Located on the small island of Halvarøy, Efjord Cabin is the brainchild of Snorre Stinessen Architecture. With few other inhabitants and stunning vistas all around, Stinessen was able to create a one-of-a-kind, year-round glass cabin for his clients. A natural ledge provided the perfect spot to position the home, taking in two of Norway’s best climbing peaks to the south and a view of a fjord to the west. A ridge in the terrain to the east helps protect the cabin from harsh weather. This spot also lets the home take advantage of the sun throughout the day - warming rooms and filling them with natural light. Using a design that visually alternates between opening up or closing off the outside, Stinessen provided his clients with panoramic views while also offering privacy and the feeling of seclusion that they wanted.

Read more
A Renovation Turned This Dreary Space Into a Stylish Urban Abode
olivier nelson residence nature humaine architecture design 7

If you’ve ever strolled the streets of Montreal, you know it’s a city of contradictions. While the downtown business district is packed with modern skyscrapers lining the St. Lawrence River, stepping into the surrounding historic neighborhoods is like traveling back in time to 1800s France. Narrow streets are lined with little shops, quaint cafes, and traditional European-style row houses. In this old-meets-new city, one rundown duplex received a thoroughly contemporary makeover that makes it stand out from its neighbors yet perfectly match the vibe of Montreal.

Renovated in 2019 by the team at Nature Humaine Architecture and Design, the Olivier Nelson Residence was originally a duplex row house. Sandwiched between two other homes, the interior was dark, almost cave-like, the layout wasn’t functional, and the design was dated. The team at Nature Humaine turned the structure into a brightly lit single-family home.

Read more