What’s Your Redwood?
Versatile, beautiful, sustainable, and fire-resistant, California-grown redwood from Humboldt Sawmill takes on unexpected colors, forms, and functions at Camille Styles’ Idea House Malibu, and gives architects and designers a remarkably broad palette to realize your vision.
Thomas J. Story
In the West, beautiful materials increasingly have to do more. Redwood is one of those materials. Naturally durable and resistant to decay and termites, redwood also meets a Class B flame-spread rating. This, in combination with California State Fire Marshal (SFM) test standard requirements, means redwood can be used without restriction throughout all areas of California, including in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). That performance comes without giving up the character that makes wood so appealing in the first place. Humboldt Sawmill redwood is sourced from company-owned, Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC® C031337) certified Northern California timberlands, where harvest levels are below annual forest growth. The result is a material connected to both the landscapes and architecture of the West.
True Colors
Thomas J. Story
Redwood doesn’t have to be red. The Idea House makes the point beautifully with dark-stained redwood siding and cladding that feels dramatic, sophisticated, and thoroughly contemporary. In changing Malibu light, the finish can read nearly black from a distance, then reveal the grain, texture, and tonal variation of the wood up close. That ability to transform is part of redwood’s appeal: Stain it dark, let its natural color take center stage, or allow it to weather over time.
Made in the Shade
Thomas J. Story
Over the outdoor dining area, redwood becomes architecture in its own right. Substantial timbers form an open trellis that gives the terrace a sense of enclosure without separating it from the surrounding landscape. The beams provide shade and rhythm overhead while bringing the warmth of wood into an otherwise streamlined space. It’s also a demonstration of redwood’s range: The same species used as refined exterior cladding can become a bold structural and decorative gesture.
