Healdsburg, CA. Excerpts from C&G:
Collin Burry's sense of space and form was always acute. As a child, his favorite playthings were the wooden blocks his grandfather carved for him, and by the age of 10, his stack of hand-drawn house plans filled a manila folder. As a design director at Gensler, his portfolio has grown considerably larger. It features two decades of award-winning, innovative studios and showrooms for iconic clients including Apple, Samsung, Gallo, Dolby, Facebook, Pixar and Nokia. All of Burry’s work reflects how design can influence behavior, and his minimalist weekend retreat is no exception. “Just walking in here relaxes me and clears my head,” he says, “and when I breathe easily, my thinking gets more expansive.”
The site of the two 1950s ranch-style buildings—three acres of evergreen-filled woods—feels rural but is actually within walking distance of Healdsburg’s lively town square. When Burry and his longtime friend and co-investor, Gary Nichols, first saw the main house, its clapboard exterior was hidden beneath a mass of brambles and ivy, but they could still spot its potential. “Inside the layout was a product of California modernism, but its aesthetic hadn’t actually taken root,” says Burry. “We just helped it along by opening everything up.”
In addition to attracting and reflecting light, the white also serves as a background for a spirited collection of contemporary art. In the living room, a seven-by-seven-foot piece Burry commissioned from painter Andrew Schoultz provides an energetic explosion of color; a towering wood carving by Daniel Krivens greets guests in the main hall; and a series of striking portraits by artist Osvaldo Ferrer Miranda lines the main wall in the cottage. An original Eames wood splint, a gift Burry received when he was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame, is also a nod to design as art.
Photographs commissioned by SFC&G
Photographer: Jasper Sanidad
Production Crew: Mark Jayson Quines
Post Production: Jasper Sanidad