Northern California Valley Views with RailFX
With a view across the Carmel Valley and Point Lobos State Natural Reserve in Northern California, this early 1970s ranch-style home built on a slope — one-level design from the front and two-level design from the back — is perched high up in the hills in Carmel. The owners, Lynn and Stevan Berardo, moved from the Lake Tahoe area for warmer seasons.
“We are at a point in our life where we want to live away from the cold winters that Lake Tahoe is well-known for,” said Lynn Berardo.
Their house in Lake Tahoe also had beautiful views. “The view is important to us, and we refer to ourselves as view snobs.”
They debated starting over with the property, as they prefer a more contemporary home design, but in the end, they did an extensive renovation. The result, a contemporary home with butterfly-roof system that takes advantage of solar and rainwater collection. The interior is open and spacious with massive windows.
Chad Berardo, their son, an architectural designer, and owner of Blue Dot Designs in Gunnison, Colorado designed the remodel. “We feel fortunate that we get to live in a space a family member designed, and we benefited from his expertise in environmentally savvy design,” added Lynn. “It’s unique and special to us.”
It was important for the Berardo’s to maintain an unobstructed view of the valley. Chad’s idea was to bring the outdoors in, so there are a lot of windows and an extensive deck off the back that overlooks the valley. “Chad introduced us to cable railing to not interrupt our view and also provide safety, so you’re comfortable,” said Lynn. Beyond the views of the valley, the Berardo’s can see the Pacific Ocean from their deck.
Fussy about colors and finishes, the Berardo’s landed on coastal colors, like gray composite deck boards to resemble driftwood and RailFX aluminum cable railing system in a silver finish to blend in. “Chad designed the decking and railing and said that stainless steel was the perfect solution for our project,” Lynn said.
RailFX’s stainless steel finish is low maintenance and well-suited for the salty ocean air along the coast and worked so well for the Berardo home.
The Berardo’s have also installed RailFX cable railing for their interior staircase, continuing the contemporary design inside the home. “It’s solid but invisible,” said Lynn.
Low maintenance products are important to us, and we love the way that the cable railings just go away from your line of sight. ~ Lynn Berardo
The Berardo’s have also installed RailFX cable railing for their interior staircase, continuing the contemporary design inside the home. “It’s solid but invisible,” said Lynn.