art Box

This unique remodel and addition is for a one-of-a-kind client. Coco is a prolific artist with an eclectic, exuberant, rebellious and decidedly quirky approach to life, art and architecture. Perhaps more than any project we’ve ever done, this house truly embodies our client’s personality and mission. The home is comprised of three sections: a 100 year old historic cottage which we renovated and preserved; the middle structure, which was a grim and generic 1990’s ranch; and a new two story “Art Box.” The house is a jungle gym for Coco to make her art in, on and around. The Art Box is a tall, sunny, versatile loft, with funky windows punched in seemingly random patterns to create surprising and delightful views. The Art Box houses Coco’s paper-making equipment, art display areas and a guest loft above. It’s fronted by an open air heavy-timber carport, complete with an solar-panel covered electric car  charging station. We gutted and opened up the existing ranch house, added a new “western storefront” to the front and back, and punched windows to look like artwork when viewed from inside. We re-insulated and added a new high-performance mechanical system, complete with an evacuated tube solar hot water system placed front and center like a piece of functional art. Lastly, we clad the ranch house and the Art box with a rain-screen of beetle kill pine. Coco is a passionate gardener and she is sculpting the landscape around the house with found objects, flagstone, Permaculture and an abundance of imagination and humor. Be careful if you visit: as the sign in the garden says, “Trespassers will be composted.”

Built by Skycastle Construction.