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"View Slideshow\n\nThere are houses that say California, and then there are houses that articulate nothing less than the California dream. Palm trees and Mediterranean architecture? Check. Ocean views? Check. Swimming pool, screening room, tennis court? Check, check, check.\n\nNot that the dream comes easy. The tennis court and the views are all that survive from the time, several years ago, that Peter and Erin Bartlett first laid eyes on this clifftop property in Palos Verdes Estates. Back then a ranch house occupied the site, the sort of low-slung rambler once ubiquitous in the coastal community. Tastes in dream houses have evolved\u2014you might even say that Tuscan-style villas are the new ranch houses. But the Bartletts didn't have in mind just any Tuscan-style villa. \"We had Italian thoughts, with the heavy stone and a rustic look,\" says Peter Bartlett, a bond trader. \"But we wanted it more updated, especially the interior. We asked Richard whether that would be consistent, and he said that in fact many homes in Italy have been converted, with the insides much more modern.\"\n\nRichard would be Los Angeles-based architect Richard Landry, who had designed several other houses in the area that convinced the couple he was the man for the job. The primary challenge facing Landry and Brian Pinkett, his associate, was how to reconcile the Bartletts' desire for space, light and expansive views with a Mediterranean vocabulary and the tough dictates of the local architectural review board. \"They have severe height restrictions there,\" explains Landry. \"But because the lot slopes, we were able to have two stories in back, while in the front it's a one-story house.\" That's a diplomatic way of saying: one year for permits, one year to sink caissons into the slope and two years to build. The two-story rear elevation makes the most of the views and descends dramatically to terraced lawns and the tennis court. In front, the Bartletts' request for a pool sheltered from the coastal winds inspired an entrance courtyard bordered by a stone wall, the house and a loggia.\n\nBlending old and new elements was critical. \"I didn't want someone to see the exterior and walk in and say, What happened?' \"\n\n\"It's contemporary Mediterranean,\" says Landry. \"To go with this kind of hybrid architecture is a risky thing, but the architectural review board jury just loved it.\" From the tranquil courtyard, one proceeds to a stone-clad entrance with a glass door that looks straight through the house to the Pacific Ocean below. The one-and-a-half-story great room is a soaring space saturated with western light. On one side it opens onto a spacious kitchen. The master bedroom sits on the other side\u2014at a comfortable remove from the children's bedrooms. In all of these rooms, floor-to-ceiling windows exploit the jaw-dropping views. (A family room and screening room take up the rest of the lower floor.)\n\nThroughout, the architects maintained a delicate balance between Old World and New. Exterior elements like Santa Barbara rubble stone, acid-washed concrete columns and distressed-wood beams would look equally at home on a Medici castle. But, Landry points out, \"if you look at the detailing both inside and out, it's very pared down. There's a cleanness, a purity to the spaces.\" Inside, rooms flow easily into each other. Lines are straight; ornamentation is minimal. The copious windows are metal-framed and unadorned, fitted with concealed electric shades instead of draperies.\n\nFor all its purity, this is an eminently comfortable home. \"It had to be a family house,\" says Erin Bartlett. \"We have three children, and I wanted something we could all enjoy.\" The kitchen, which seats 10, and the loggia, which easily accommodates 16, take the place of a formal dining room. And the lower floor, with its entertainment areas and bedrooms opening onto the backyard, is a teenager's fantasy. \"We wanted to make sure our kids had enough space where they could be with their friends and have fun,\" says Peter Bartlett.\n\nGeGe Pender, an interior designer who had worked with them on their previous residence, handled the comfort factor. For Pender, integrating the house's old and new elements was critical. \"I didn't want someone to see the exterior and walk in and say, What happened?' \" she explains. To that end, she introduced 18th-century French limestone mantels, decorative iron fixtures and lots of soft fabrics. When it came to furnishing the rooms, Pender says, \"they wanted something completely different from their old house, which was red brick with traditional furniture. They wanted a quiet palette and no clutter.\"\n\nThis wasn't \"one of those projects where the clients say, Here, take the keys, and we'll see you at the end,' \" Pender says. She spent months shopping with Erin Bartlett for everything from antiques to contemporary furniture. \"Their tastes were varied,\" says the designer, \"so I really focused on texture and scale to make sure it would all look great together.\" Peter Bartlett fleshed out these acquisitions with a selection of Ushak rugs and works by artists like Marion Wachtel and Richard MacDonald.\n\nThe project may not have been speedy, but it was smooth, thanks largely to the seamless collaboration between Landry, Pender and landscape architect Scott Zucker. \"People freak out over building a home,\" says Peter Bartlett. \"You hear about couples divorcing in the process, but my wife and I really enjoyed it. It took a long time, but most good things do.\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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