Pleasant Street Residence.

Brian, well versed in Mid Century Modern design and living, approached Lucid with their vision for a new residence in Saugatuck. He directed all design aspects of this project to ensure everything (right down to the curtain pleats) truly embodies classic Mid Century Modern style and detail. After abandoning an earlier less purely modern design, the floor plan for the home was drawn by Brian on a rainy Saturday while living in San Francisco in 2015. He located the structure around six 160 year-old white and red oak trees that were preserved on the site, and took advantage of a building location established by a previous existing structure on the site. To continue the in-town living style that Brian and his husband have enjoyed on the porch of their 1908 Arts and Crafts house located a block away, the streetward edge of the home was pushed forward on the site to maintain the built edge of the existing streetscape.

A rigorous 8’ structural grid defined the organization in which the client’s plan took shape. Conceptually, the home is divided into two zones. The public living spaces are open to the street in the south zone, and the private spaces are located in the north zone in the rearward part of the home. Exterior walls are either glass or vertical cedar infilled between the structural framing, carefully chosen based on function within. The cantilevered roof dramatically reaches out to shelter the house as well as outdoor areas and entryways. The skin of the home is clad with solid cedar wall panels, or transparent floor to ceiling glass wall panels inserted between the 8’ structural grid. The informal orientation of the entrance, screened porch, large open kitchen and garage are intended to encourage casual spontaneous interactions with friends and family.