Bridging the gap

The bedroom wing of this house is like a rocky outcrop on the hillside it was built on a cantilevered slab above a pedestal base and is reached via a steel and glass bridge

View of the guest suite with dining furnishings, architecture, daylighting, house, interior design, real estate, gray — View of the guest suite with dining furnishings, dark-stained timber floors, shelving, storage, windows.

View of bathroom which features a cantilevered limestone architecture, bathroom, estate, home, house, interior design, real estate, room, gray

View of bathroom which features a cantilevered limestone architecture, bathroom, estate, floor, home, interior design, real estate, room, brown

View of master bedroom featuring bed with dark architecture, bed frame, bedroom, ceiling, estate, floor, home, house, interior design, living room, property, real estate, room, wall, window, gray, black

Exterior view of home which features a glass architecture, estate, facade, home, house, property, real estate, reflection, swimming pool, villa, water, window, teal

Master suites are often removed from living spaces and children's quarters, but the designer of this house took the idea of a master retreat one step further.

Architect Jay Hargrave of Cottam Hargrave created a completely separate building accessed via a long glass and steel bridge 10ft above the hillside. This bedroom wing sits on a cantilevered slab on top of a concrete pedestal.

The master suite occupies the first floor of the building, while the second floor accommodates a guest suite with a kitchenette, and a large home office.

In keeping with the relatively austere material palette and minimalist design of the rest of the house, the master suite presents a simple mix of raw materials mainly concrete, wood and glass.

The bedroom incorporates wall panels of rift-sawn white oak. Similar wood was used for cabinetry in the closet immediately behind the bedroom it also features on one wall and cabinets in the bathroom.

Raw concrete is used for the external wall of the bathroom, which backs onto the hillside. There is also concrete flooring in wet areas, and a custom concrete tub, specified by interior designer Joy Kling of Spazio Interiors.

"The tub, which was poured on site, is sympathetic to the raw materials in the suite," she says. "It sits within a natural draining bed of river rocks that give the bathroom a very Zen-like feel."

To contrast the concrete's austere look, the rest of the flooring features watery-blue glass tiles that wrap up the lower half of the wall beneath the long vanity.

"Lining the entire room in concrete could have been overwhelming," says Hargrave. "The glass tiles introduce a cool, refreshing, reflective material to the palette. Similar tiles form a band across the wall in the shower room."

The other key material in the bathroom is Lueders limestone. Large slabs of this Texan stone are cantilevered to form the double vanity top, and a bench seat in the double shower.

With its strip of high windows on two sides, the shower feels like an outside room. The windows allow glimpses of the surrounding tree canopy, enhancing the idea of a retreat. The shower room also has a glass door opening to a deck.

The furniture in the suite respects both the sense of sanctuary, and the home's architectural integrity. Kling specified Italian designer pieces in soft warm neutrals, which complement the clean-lined simplicity of the bedroom.