14 DIGS.NET | 1.28.2022
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R E S T O R E D | R O M E R O C A N Y O N
N CONTRAST TO many high-end Los Angeles-based
architects William Hefner isn't beholden to one partic-
ular style. While his homes are distinctly modern, with
their open plan rooms and minimal ornamentation, he's
as adept at washing this serene sheen over French
Provincial, Cape Cod and Georgian structures as he
is at channeling the composure of Case Study-inspired
and post-modern homes. What transforms his projects from
icy to inviting is their spirit of warm livability, the luxury of their
materials and the attention to the small details that can make or
break a project. "Our approach to design really centers on our
clients," he explains, "We listen for their dreams as well as their
practical requirements and how they will actually use a space,
so it's designing from the inside out."
That ethos was amplified when it came time to work on his own
home, a property in Montecito he and his late wife, Kazuko
Hoshino, had purchased as a weekend home. Located on
Romero Canyon Road, its two buildings, a 900 foot bungalow
and a separate stable, were relics of the 1930s, slender and care-
worn, and sat on an acre of land that had long been neglected.
Their original plan had been to do a modest renovation. But,
realizing how important it was to them that the home feel like a
restful retreat from the demands of the outside world, Hefner's
I
vision expanded. With only him and Hoshino to answer to, it was
a rare opportunity for him to explore his own creativity.
With the idea of a getaway firmly in mind, he looked to a
frequent muse for inspiration: the world of resorts, their aura of
calm provided by their clusters of solitary buildings. "I wanted
something that felt like a compound rather than a large, single
house," says Hefner. He decided to push the buildings out
to the far corners of the lot. Doing this not only maximized
the outdoor living space, erasing the classic front yard, but,
with its focus turned inward, it confirmed the home's feeling of
sanctuary, seclusion and privacy. "It deconstructs the idea of
a multi-story family home into a set of easy, linked wood and
stone wings," he explains.
"What everyone is first struck by is the stone," Hefner says,
pointing at the soothing arrangement of rocks that pebbles
the outside of the home "Then the way that the house takes
advantage of the view of the mountains." While neither were
part of the original concept, Hefner has long demonstrated
the agility to revise a home's design, much to the benefit of the
final result. Here, he had originally specified a wood and stucco
exterior. But, when the construction crew excavating the site
unearthed a vein of Santa Barbara limestone, the original plans
were scrapped in favor of this found material. Similarly, when
