543 Rialto Ave

Inventive geometric planes fill architect Steven Shortridge's modernist houses with natural light, open communal spaces, and private wings, merging all the restorative possibilities of beach life with bold design.

A calming courtyard entrance beside a Stan Bitters fountain shares a radiant heated concrete floor with the kitchen and bar while floor-to-ceiling glass doors allow the two spaces to flow as one. Teak seating rings the courtyard and firepit while inside a stainless Sub-Zero, Miele range, vent hood, and cabinets blend into an extended wall of teak that hides a pantry, ovens, and a coffee maker. A stainless custom outdoor grill echoes the aesthetic. Shortridge's precise designs elegantly underplay the kitchen and private patios' functional side. A ground floor half bath is neatly tucked down a half flight of stairs near an out-of-sight ground floor garage with a roll-up door. Up a few steps from the entry and kitchen, an open dining room sits below a large living room, yet each remains a distinct space in Shortridge's design. The dining area, illuminated by a custom-crafted David Weeks Torroja Mobile, is surrounded by windows and skylights letting in natural light. A dramatic concrete wall rises from the bottom of the stairs to the primary bedroom. Custom teak cabinets in the living room hide a full electronics bank with a CAT 5 audio system (the house is also equipped with automated lighting, alarms, and a linear diffuser venting system plus HEPA air filters). Vertical grain floors brighten the connected rooms. Airy steps lead to the primary bedroom at the front of the house where a custom leather headboard sits opposite a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows with integrated blinds. The sun-drenched master bath with radiant heated floors contains a Zuma tub and walk-in shower plus Corian counters, neatly mirroring the kitchen below. At the house's rear, perched amid the treetops one level up, sit the office and private guest suite with its adjacent full bathroom. Designed in white oak with pocket doors to close it off from the rest of the house, the hotel-like space is an independent enclave. Just above the foliage, the rooftop terrace enclosed in Australian brushwood fencing and glass has the feel of a treehouse. The secluded retreat with views of Venice's technicolor sunsets includes a wooden soaking tub and outdoor shower. The house's two outdoor rooms off the kitchen and on the roof increase the living space by hundreds of square feet and the tranquil open-air sections add a calming, escapist element to the house.

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