Saratoga Hilltop Contemporary

On the right side of this photo, there’s a steel horseshoe around the bi-fold doors that open to allow air to come through the home and provide access to the outdoors. The cabinets are book-matched, meaning all the horizontal grain lines up across the entire room. This entire home has its door jambs and baseboards match, which you can see in this room, because Conrado bought one large oak tree, had it milled into lumber, and used that for all the moldings so the color was consistent throughout the entire home.

The windows are wood-clad steel windows imported from Italy. As the crates of glass were opened after delivery, dozens of panes dominoed to the ground, shattering, and requiring new glass be sent from Italy because, ….glass made in the US is a slightly different shade, and therefore would not match the rest of the in-tact windows. In terms of the this door, this is one of the first houses in the US to have wood clad on the interior (instead of the traditional steel).

This picture looks at the 4-car garage with up-lighting in front of each door, and a large outdoor patio off to the right. There is a roof deck on the very top of the home. There’s a piece of art that doubles as a fire pit on the roof deck, as well as glass rails to keep everyone safe.

When you look at this home, on the right there’s a corner made of butted glass. The original design had a steel post here to help support the home, but partway through the build, the owner decided he wanted to be able to fully enjoy the views this corner offered, so he asked that the post be removed. Now, that corner allows for a seamless view through nothing but glass as steel supports were upsized elsewhere to help hold the weight of the roof.

The house sits at the top of a hill, with very low water pressure, since the house itself is on a private water system Conrado had to be creative with ways of pumping and storing a large amount of water on the property so the homeowners could drink, shower, and wash laundry with purified water of sufficient pressure.

The ceiling is clear white oak, with vertical book-matching. Behind the living area, the kitchen has what appears to be baby-blue paint. However, it is actually back-painted magnetic glass. You can write on it with dry erase markers, hold up anything you need to look at with a magnet, and clean it with ease.

The trim less lights and skylight frame this picture of the kitchen. What makes this so unique is that the skylight is part of the roof deck, and It’s a walkable skylight, meaning anyone on the roof deck above can walk over the area and look down into the kitchen.

There is a small pass-through door on the left side of the counter behind the bowl, which provides access to the pantry. Any ingredients you need to create the perfect meal can come through that door, hiding the rest of the items that are stored in that pantry space.

The kitchen itself has two islands, with the one in the nearest part of the kitchen being a live-edge counter. To the right of this space, there is also one of two outdoor kitchens that are fully equipped.

This powder room is unique for many reasons, but the room was actually designed around the wallpaper. It is unique and does not repeat. There is a motorized skylight above to let in light, plus a window to the left of the mirror. The stone of the sink is Cesar stone, giving it a modern, sleek look. There is open cabinetry to keep up with the contemporary look and feel of this space. You can see in this image the effects of having recessed hinges on the doors. When the doors themselves close, there is no hinge sticking out and the door closes flush.

This room is full of clear white oak. The room has recessed shades for privacy, and windows that open for a fresh breeze as desired. The lower third of the room is full of cabinets that store supplies, while tying in the vertical lines of the grain.

This photograph is an overview of the home on the left, the breezeway in the middle, and the guest home on the right. In the foreground is part of the infinity pool along with an outdoor space with another fire pit. There is an outdoor barbeque for the homeowners to cook with, showing off the second outdoor kitchen for this home.

The patio itself is finished concrete with micro-drains that allows for extra water collection and no water pooling. The guest house is a small living space plus a gym for the homeowner and guests to use.

This picture shows the steel horseshoe mentioned earlier and provides a great view of the bi-fold doors that open to allow the outdoors in. The book-matched look is mirrored on this side, including the pocket door behind the dining room table. Above the dining room table is a custom wooden return air vent. Down the hall to the right is the homeowner’s second office, offering views for the entire valley out the windows.

This picture is the master bedroom, with a TV that pops out of the footboard for when the owners want to relax. The cabinets on the right incorporate the headboard, making it look like the entire wall is part of the bed. This specific room also taught the engineers of Conrado something they had not known before. The room has an outdoor patio that faces East, shown in the left of this photograph. The windows are floor-to-ceiling, which allows for breathtaking views, as well as early morning sun. As it turns out, the sun heating up those windows all morning made the glass so hot, it would heat up that room, to an uncomfortable level that air conditioning could not control during the summertime. Conrado had to install shades on the outside of the window to protect it from absorbing all that early morning sun. Now, those shades drop when the sun comes up, and they remain in place until noon, keeping that morning sunlight off the glass, and the room the perfect temperature.

The master bathroom with a teak false floor. When you get out of the tub or the steam shower, the water can drip and drain through the floor boards instead of puddling up. The look of this bathroom is Japanese-inspired. The shower has a huge shower head, body jets, and a bench to relax on. The redwoods flank the room beyond the corner windows, offering privacy.

The racks in this wine cellar are hung, suspended from the ceiling, and do not touch the floor. Between the rods are walnut to bring in a new layer of color. This room took weeks to put together, and has been copied by many since this home was complete.

With the exception of two large oak trees on this property, all the other trees were purchased and brought in, some by craned, including the two on this end of the home. This picture shows off the limestone veneer on the home, as well as some of the curvature of the outside to balance some of the square edges of the home. Water is also able to pass through the driveway, as the entire drive is pervious, allowing for more water to get caught and stored for for irrigation.

The picture here shows the outdoor barbeque, the pool deck, a small pool house in the back, and a seating area with a table that serves nearly 20 people. This is a fully stocked outdoor kitchen, including refrigeration, stove, prep area, sink, integrated speakers, and more, so it is ready for any type of entertaining the owners may want to do!

This picture shows the city light’s view from the backyard. Two dogwood trees surround that horseshoe entryway, while also being the lightwells coming from the basement, which is huge. It’s approximately 6,500 square feet with 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a movie theater, a bar, and more!

This picture shows the infinity pool, the artistic fire pit and seating area, and the view this part of the home has. Beneath this pool are huge concrete piers to hold up the pool itself. The first 6 months of this build were spent solely taking apart and rebuilding the slide area under the pool so it would be solid once the home was complete. In the foreground of this picture, you can see meadow grasss That is the Living roof of the home.

This final picture shows the living room as a pass through with both sets of bi-fold doors open. The mirrored effect allows this room to open up and feel much more expansive than it originally looked. The other side of this room is the entryway that is seen in the first image of this case study.