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Updating a Classic Midcentury Home

A hillside midcentury modern house gets renovated for today with earth-friendly ideas that improve (discreetly) on the past

article by Nan Sterman
1 /9 Sunset

Before: Midcentury living room

Featured in Sunset's May 1966 issue, this award-winning La Mesa hillside home near San Diego was considered a model of indoor-outdoor living.

From the downstairs office and family room, glass doors led to an outdoor patio and beautiful gardens.

A photo taken soon after the house was built shows the living room’s double-sided fireplace.

2 /9 Photography by Thomas J. Story

After: living room

The living room now glows with new wood floors and a lighter, less-obtrusive shade of paint on the ceiling beams and trim.

3 /9 Sunset

Indoor-outdoor living

A glazed breezeway and sliding glass doors opened onto shady decks that abutted the hillside of granite boulders and meandering pathways.

4 /9 Photography by Thomas J. Story

An updated classic

A sensitive 2007 update by local architect Carmen Pauli and owners Jora and Bryan Vess kept the essential character of the 3,178-square-foot residence while incorporating modern eco-friendly materials, including Brazilian teak floors and ipe wood decking.

5 /9 Photography by Thomas J. Story

Free flow

Steel post-and-beam construction eliminates the need for thick supporting walls in the living areas.

6 /9 Photography by Thomas J. Story

View master

With the main living areas on the second floor, dining in the treetops is a daily treat.

7 /9 Photography by Thomas J. Story

Kitchen in Plain Sight

Featured in Sunset's May 1966 issue, this award-winning La Mesa hillside home near San Diego was considered a model of indoor-outdoor living.

The renovated kitchen retains the original footprint minus the overhead cabinets that isolated it from the dining area.

See more of this updated classic home

8 /9 Photography by Thomas J. Story

Sense of place

Floor to ceiling windows in the living and dining areas offer a broad view of the surrounding landscape and valley below.

9 /9 Photography by Thomas J. Story

Inspired by the outdoors

Natural tones of pottery complement the Southern California landscape.