I’d happily disappear for a month in this weird double A-frame house
If you’ve ever wanted to live in a giant, wood-paneled playhouse in the middle of the California woods, this is pretty much it.
It’s called the Stebel House, designed by architect Harry Gesner back in the late 1950s, and it’s actually two A-frames joined together.
The sunken living room
The main room is a classic mid-century sunken living space, but it has some strange, clever details you don’t usually see.
First, there’s the massive window that looks straight out into the canyon, making you feel like you’re sitting right in the dirt.
Then you notice the giant metal orb hanging from the center of the wooden ceiling.
The fireplace is built from old brick, and Gesner actually designed an indoor rock garden that runs right along the edge of the glass.
A bar at the center of everything
Right at the junction where the two A-frames meet, there’s a curved wooden bar that acts as the heart of the home.
The back wall of the bar has these massive diamond-patterned wine racks carved right into the wood.
There are even vintage speakers built directly into the wood paneling on the sides of the bar.
The clever staircase and loft
Hidden behind the bar is a staircase that leads up to the second A-frame, which serves as the bedroom and studio.
The guest bedroom upstairs has a reading nook featuring an original hanging rattan chair.
But the real genius here is the bookcase built into the stairs, designed specifically to fit paperbacks on one side and slanted hardcovers on the other.
The creative spaces
On the other side of the upper level is the writing desk, positioned right under a low-set skylight.
The architect purposely kept the skylight low to let light in without creating any distracting views for the writer.
Just down from the desk is the painting studio, which faces north to capture the most consistent, shadow-free light.
And of course, both upstairs spaces open up directly to a massive outdoor deck with no railings to mess with the view.
