Glass dining room cantilevered over the hillside, its table and chairs suspended above the valley view — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Modern Zen Mountain House / Calabasas, California

The Glass Dinette

Floating over the valley

The highlight of the Modern Zen Mountain House in Calabasas, California is its glass dinette, cantilevered past the edge of the hillside. With glass on three sides, glass underfoot and no mullions in the way, it gives the sensation of floating above the valley while immersing everyone at the table in the view.

Looking up at the glass dining room's steel frame and the slatted timber sunscreen projecting above it — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

An opportunity that announced itself

The idea came early. The dinette was exactly the right size to build entirely of glass, and the hillside fell away beneath it, so it could reach out into the view rather than simply look at it. The owners loved the glass walls immediately. The glass floor took a little more persuasion, since one of them is afraid of heights, but a rug was promised, and the dinette was born.

View from beneath the glass floor of the dining room, chairs visible overhead against blue sky — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Inside the glass dining room: white chairs around a round glass table, hills and valley on three sides — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

The sunset ritual

Capturing the sunsets was non-negotiable. Watching the sun drop behind the receding hills is now a family ritual, and dinner guests are asked to arrive at very specific times so they do not miss the show.

Glass dining room seen from the kitchen, shades lowered on one side and the valley open on the other — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Shades drawn in the glass dining room, softening the hills behind a round table set with flowers — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

The glass dining room at night, its floor reflecting the table and the long view back through the house — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

The details

The table is a miniature of the home’s standard timber-and-steel column. An extended exterior sunscreen shades the room from direct sun, concealed roller shades handle the late-afternoon light, and tableware lives in an adjacent display cabinet that doubles as a small buffet.

The illuminated glass dining room floating over the hillside at night above the city lights — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California

Glass-floored dinette with its timber-and-steel table base above the hillside planting — 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.

Start the conversation →

(561) 600-8788