Column capital of bolted timber and dark steel plates meeting a steel beam — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Modern Zen Mountain House / Calabasas, California

The Details

Architectural and structural jewelry

Is it God or the devil that is in the details? Either way, the details make or break a home. They give the eye somewhere to rest and nurture the soul, which matters most in a modern house that could otherwise feel cold. At the Modern Zen Mountain House in Calabasas, California, they run from the macro to the micro.

Front entry at night: a wood double door with horizontal bands, set in stone beneath a timber trellis — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Structural jewelry

The largest details are the structure itself: timber-and-steel columns with crafted capitals, roof trusses and connections left exposed and refined until they read as jewelry for the house.

Steel-framed glass double doors in a bolted timber surround set into a stone wall — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Dinette table base of tapered wood and steel, a mini version of the house's columns, under a round glass top — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Architectural jewelry

The smallest are the things the hand touches: door frames, the profile of the stair, cabinet knobs, a study credenza, the glass dinette table built as a miniature of the home’s column, the powder room vanities and a steam-room shower lounge. Each was designed rather than chosen from a catalog.

Close detail of fir drawers with round recessed bar pulls beside a professional cooktop — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Wood credenza with a dark top, stacked drawers and a perforated metal panel above — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Powder room with a white vessel sink on a sculpted wood pedestal against concrete walls — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Complete before furnishing

The goal was a home that is beautiful, complete and lovely before a single piece of furniture arrives, so that whatever the owners bring in only adds to it.

Powder room of concrete panels with a wall-hung toilet and a wood column holding paper rolls — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Steam shower with a curving green glass-mosaic bench, niches and soft low lighting — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Wet footprints lead from the outdoor table to the glowing infinity pool above the city lights — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Your hilltop is out there.

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