Our clients, a pair of creative and talented designers, asked us to provide a small private enclave overlooking the site’s dunes, facing the sea. The house creates a series of courtyards that shape the exterior space; a long dark cedar wall edges the driving court and separates cars from the entry court at the front door; a bamboo hedge screens the pool, contained on its long sides by house and pavilion, from the road; a covered porch creates an intimate, sheltered outdoor space from which to contemplate the ocean. The courtyards and interior spaces step gently down with the grade, modulating the experience of arriving, entering and encountering the vista beyond; the small changes in level also separate private and public space within a compact plan. The owners’ artistic interior design enhances the material and spatial richness of the architecture, while maintaining a clear sense of rustic modernism.