Architectural Bauhaus/Girard Inspired Ojai Ranch

About the Space

This 1956 Ojai ranch house was lovingly renovated by owner/architectural designer & ceramic artist Ren von Hasseln in 2019/2020. von Hasseln preserved the original mid-century footprint and massing but opened up the floorplan, adding steel structure to allow for lofted ceilings throughout and a north elevation of floor to ceiling glass. The latter includes a 5-panel bifold door that spans nearly the entire facade, opening onto a deck overhung by a cantilevered roof and views of the Los Padres National Forest foothills. A bulbous hanging Fireorb woodstove is suspended from one eave. Influenced by the Bauhaus palette, and by the architectural work of graphic artist Alexander Girard, von Hasseln used a bold primary color scheme grounded by black porcelain tile and overhead beams, as well as by lots of warm wood tones. Prominent masonry features in vibrant red, yellow and cobalt, were a main design driver for von Hasseln, acting to pull an occupant through the spaces of the house, inviting or in some cases obscuring, and staking out the unique color scheme. Before entering the home, as you stand outside the front door, a vibrant red masonry feature extends through a large plate glass window into the interior space. Once inside, the red brick wall screens the entire north facade from view until you take several steps into the interior, when all at once the glass and light and outdoor space is revealed, as well as the yellow brick feature adjacent. Stepping out onto the deck, this yellow brick feature becomes the backdrop against which the hanging Fireorb is centered. Re-entering the house from the deck, your sight line is through the wood clad mass of the primary bedroom nested within the lofted space, into the primary bath with its deep cobalt masonry. Here again, this feature traverses plate glass to enclose an outdoor shower that mirrors the primary shower, protected by swooping mexican weeping bamboo. The interior design is characterized by an abundance of texture, pattern & color. The home is also, as you might imagine, full of ceramic art - both von Hasseln's own and pieces by other artists. The ceramic tile of the range backsplash and the hanging woodstove hearth are also handmade by the owner, as well as a pendant light that hangs in the entry to the home. It all makes for a very individual, colorful, textural space.