On a winding road in Pasadena’s San Rafael Heights, Breland Harper has transformed a two-story, four-bedroom home into a treehouse oasis. The project remains true to the neighborhood’s history as a haven for well-crafted mid-century modernist residences, and to a design tradition that venerates the climate and cultural hybridity of the West Coast.

With its deep eaves and classic post and beam construction, we discerned a common language with postwar contemporaries such as Buff & Hensman and Vladimir Ossipoff, architects who blended Japanese aesthetics, European modernism, and Arts and Crafts influences into a uniquely Californian and Pacific vernacular. The resulting renovation is a contemporary homage to this distinct strand of modernism, with strong indoor-outdoor connections and careful composition of natural light, air, and shadow.

A new, striking entry stair with 20-foot ceiling heights threads the reverse floor plan together, with primary bedrooms on the lower level and the common living spaces above. Each room now opens directly onto the surrounding garden through a network of connected balconies and terraces.

The kitchen now occupies a prime location on the upper floor as the pragmatic and collaborative core of daily life. The three-car garage was converted to light-filled bedrooms and a den. Drop ceilings were peeled away to reveal dramatic volumes and depth; all-new ceiling millwork and trim warms each surface.

Brown umber trim and frieze board frame floor-to-ceiling glass windows—chromatic punctuation—melding into greenery views and eroding the boundary between indoor and outdoor. Signature features like the original wood-burning fireplaces were retained; rough sawn redwood siding was restored and extended throughout the exterior and into the home.

Thoughtfully selected interior furnishings embrace a harmonious blend of 19th-century East Asian antiques and 20th-century modernist furniture, each bearing stories of craftsmanship and generational care. This is a home that will ease into its longevity, interpreting and extending its distinctly Southern California context for the years to come.