Property of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Wilkinson, Orinda, California | architect: Roger Lee

Like a marquee, the solidest looking part of this house is its roof, seeming al- most airborne and making a strong case for post and beam construction. The big living-dining room-kitchen is walled in glass right to the central entryway. The break you see in the roof is over a court outside the parents' bedroom, giving them a choice of sun or shade. Open though the house is, it has a feeling of containment and of warmth so the Wilkinsons love it as much in the winter as in summer. "We even enjoy the storms," they say. Their comfort is magnified by a radiantly heated floor and seamless carpeting, which all ages like sitting on, and by the raised fireplace, which suffuses the room with geniality. Sun on the glass does the rest.

The exciting thing about this little house is its generosity. It has a big look from its gently pitched. beautifully scaled roof to its floors which refuse to stop at the walls but keep right on to form outdoor decks. In the living area there is only one interruption and this, the fireplace wall backed by the kitchen, is so serviceable that it is entirely pleasant. A lot of people can and do gather here without falling over each other. A lot of people tend to drift outdoors barely knowing they have left the house. This is no accident. It was planned that way and proves that an able architect is also something of a magician even on a budget.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | September 1958