See a Party Barn Shaped Like a Game Piece on the California Coast
With an existing permit for a barn on their 16-acre property, Stuart Gasner and Kate Ditzler of California's Monterey Bay Area decided to create something that would complement their compound-style retreat and provide additional play space for their family and friends. The couple worked with architect Cass Calder Smith of CCS Architecture to create what Gasner calls "the Monopoly-style house."
"We wanted to do a simple prefab structure to save on construction costs, because the only reason we built a barn was the existing permit," says Gasner. "The initial design was too expensive — there were too many roof angles — so we opted for something extremely simple and easy to build."
Barn at a Glance
Location: Aptos, California
Size: 1,600 square feet
Designer: CCS Architecture
The existing permit was for a barn with a bathroom. Calder Smith got creative and worked around the permit, still using the permitted site, to design the building in a way that was better suited to the couple's aesthetics. The exterior of the barn is Cor-Ten steel. Most of the interior is plywood.
The family has used the space for their past three Thanksgiving celebrations. "We used it to host 48 family members to turkey," says Ditzler. Paper lanterns from their last Thanksgiving feast remain, adding a fun splash of color.
Gasner has been going to Santa Cruz to surf for 20 years, and needed a space to display and store his collection of surfboards. The downstairs seating area was designed around the colors of one of his most prized possessions, a longboard by a legendary board shaper and surfer.
A wood-burning stove from Rais and a shag rug create a cozy hangout.
There is a lime-green billiards table in the center of the barn's upstairs loft; it can be converted to a Ping-Pong table.
Colorful cushions line the entire uloft, meant for overflow sleeping accommodations. The cushions are the size of twin beds and are covered in fabric from Pindler & Pindler.
The biggest design challenge the couple faced was creating a space that could serve all of their needs. They wanted a workspace, a playspace, a sleeping space and storage space, with everything flexible enough to allow for huge gatherings. They got a little of everything.
