Style : Architecture : AIRY AERIE

Versatility is one of the Craftsman bungalow’s many virtues. Consider this Santa Monica studio/guest house. Though it has shady porches, board and batten walls, exposed eaves outside and exposed wooden trusses inside, it is more than an imitation of a classic. Rising two stories on a 20-by-20-foot foundation, it’s a quirky tree house that revives the bohemian spirit of the true California bungalow.

The limited site--the rear of a lot occupied by an older bungalow--normally would discourage a style that needs room to ramble. But architects John Chase and Claudia Carol, working with owner-contractor David Henry Jacobs of Still Life Construction, were undaunted. To fit the site, they kept the house to a small square marked by steel columns. The exterior features different scales and textures. A window bay, which makes the house appear bigger than it is, makes a cozy loft/sleeping porch (in a small house, everything does double duty).

Bungalows usually hug the ground, but the need for a carport eliminated that option. Lifted 10 feet into the treetops, the house reaches out to nature. The roof is jacked up above the walls, creating a ribbon of clerestory windows, and the view of greenery serves as a living ornamental molding. Doors to the front porch on one side and the dining deck on the other draw the outdoors in so that the house has the spaciousness of a much larger bungalow. Shocking liberties were taken with a classic style, but they’ve paid off handsomely.