Design Confidently, Live Comfortably
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| From the ashes rises a Mediterranean-style home with eclectic details, commanding views, and comfortable rooms by John Connell  Even before it was leveled by the infamous Oakland, Calif., wildfire of 1992, Will and Julia Mies's house was hardly the perfect home. Built in 1929 on speculation, the Tudor house was designed for a flat site, but there it had sat, perched on a hillside, two floors above street level, even as the land descended an equal distance to the backyard. While the views were sweeping, the traditional floor plan and smallish windows didn't take full advantage of them. New house on an old site Will and Julia Mies's 1929 Tudor-style house, which burned in 1992, sat high on the lot. Their new house sits low and has a direct connection to the land, while taking advantage of the views to the rear. PHOTO AT RIGHT: ROB KAROSIS The fire brought loss, but it also opened the way for a house that met Will and Julia's needs and at the same time complemented its remarkable site NEXT: Starting with a Blank Canvas |
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PHOTOS EXCEPT WHERE
NOTED: KAREN TANAKA ILLUSTRATION: MALCOLM WELLS |
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