Contemporary Home in La Jolla, CA
Most people think of me as doing mostly carved entry doors and other people think of me as doing glass work or metal work. But besides all the ornamental work that we do we often do contemporary entryways and furniture and other types of architectural mill work.
This particular project in La Jolla was a very contemporary house with floor to ceiling glass throughout, and a gorgeous ocean view. The people wanted a very contemporary door and next to it a louvered screen that would shield the downstairs bedroom and the upstairs bedroom when people walked up to the entryway.
The door is contemporary, and as usual, we gave it the same attention to detail as we do everything. Made in solid mahogany, it's three inches thick, 60 inches wide and 10 feet tall. It was a stone floor to ceiling entry door that made the installation pretty difficult with only about an eighth inch in clearance at the top and bottom. It has an electric lock. The handles inside and outside are made of aluminum and recessed into the face of the door so they become part of the design and no hardware is visible. The door is on a top and bottom pivot with self closure and hold open built in. To the left and right of the door are floor-to-ceiling glass three-quarter inch thick panels that the door stops up and seals against, and there is no jamb. The finish is our usual marine multi-coat satin sheen finish.
The screen next to the door is made of a metal frame with the same finish as the metal work in the detailing of the entry door, with the same mahogany wood louvers recessed into it. The screen is about six inches wide, 66 inches long, and about 22 feet tall, and is extremely heavy. The screen allows for some ventilation but completely blocks the view of people walking up to the entry door. The screen has blind attachments so it has a feeling of being built into the structure. The mahogany screen has the same marine finish as the entry door. We used a crane to set it in place during the installation. If you look closely at the screen you’ll see a kind of wave that runs across the face of the screen that gives movement to the design. Again, a very contemporary architectural piece but very detailed at the same time.
