Pinon Ranch’s site is steeply sloped and densely layered with oak trees. It’s a site that requires a kind of bravery and a bold approach— an approach which led us to the restoration of a sloping, open meadow sheltered amidst the big oak groves. Tapping into the ranching heritage of Portola Valley, gabled forms lift out over the hillside, with the main house opening up to a music hall across the long pool courtyard and horse stables further down the hill. The home is as much about each of these structures as it is about the space between them, and the story of the home is as much about the architecture we designed as it is about the people who live in it. Thank you to Ed and Julie DiVita for embracing the challenge and possibilities of the site with us; to the New York Times and Tim McKeough for letting us share the home’s story with you, and Matthew Millman for capturing the home so beautifully.