Earl Anderson is a steel maker in the company of creating gear for harvesting almonds. He loves the cold, raw material so much that he chose to use an abundance of it for his new entertaining pavilion and garage in the rear of his own 1920s bungalow home in downtown Modesto, California.

Architect Ben Miller assisted design the trendy inclusion, which includes custom everything: fire rod, laser-cut steel panels, stainless steel spa, lightbulbs and an innovative cylindrical dumbwaiter that carries firewood in the bottom floor straight through the ceiling to the fireplace over.

at a Glance
Who resides: Earl Anderson, a steel producer
Location: Modesto, California
Size: 1,635 square feet; 1 bedroom, 1 bath
Budget: About $300,000, or $200 per square foot

miller design

The entertaining pavilion lies over the new garage. A powder-coated-steel cone functions as a fireplace flue, while sliding pocket doors have been left open all summer long.

Interior designer Sonja Knutsen chose the fire-engine-red sofa.

miller design

The space below the fire pan is linked to a steel tube, where a dumbwaiter can ferry wood from beneath. The custom flue was designed so that Anderson can heat teakettles on either side and roast nuts and warm bread onto a slide-out interior pan.

miller design

Homeowner Earl Anderson stands alongside the dumbwaiter door on the first floor.

miller design

Layout that serves multiple purposes is a theme throughout the pavilion. A brass tube functions as a fun fire rod in the stairwell but also hides a drain for the roofing.

miller design

Anderson’s kitty, Hannibal, watches the flame in the kitchen, where elm wood cabinets lighten the area. The oversize Edison-style bulbs were custom created.

miller design

A frosted-glass sliding door opens to the bedroom.

miller design

Anderson’s girlfriend, artist Michelle Tucker, lounges in the sack, where more elm cabinets warm up the area. The subtle manifestation on the floor comes from a moderate sealer over the concrete.

miller design

Anderson came up with the idea to run the shower’s copper water piping out through the wall to create a towel rack that, whenever someone is carrying a hot shower, then heats the towel.

miller design

A virtually 8-foot-wide steel door connects the pavilion to a courtyard and the main bungalow.

miller design

The sofa can be flipped to extend out to the spa area. Anderson sits with friend Signe Darpinian under a painting of the two completed by Tucker.

Because Miller did not need one wide groove in the ground for the sliding doors, he custom cut several thin slits instead, making an extra design element. The curved patterns onto the concrete floor mimic those made from the courtyard below.

miller design

The stainless steel spa is custom, with a negative edge that spills water on the side.

Anderson said he always wanted to sit in a hot tub and look at the stars. So Miller, with help from the project’s builder and contractor, Moore Construction and Doug Balsbaugh, respectively, cut a hole in the ceiling so he could do just that.

miller design

The garage exterior is stucco combined with crushed stone for a heavier texture. The pavilion above has redwood lap siding painted grayish blue to match the primary bungalow. Rust-red Cor-Ten steel, made by Dakota Ag welding, has been utilized for the garage door and the staircase leading up to the pavilion.

The yellow road signal inspired Anderson and Miller to integrate the color into their design. A yellow watering can on top of the garage performs off the color …

miller design

… as do the powder-coated-steel door handles.

miller design

Landscape designer Ken Westfall played off the circles of the spa and dumbwaiter to create a design from the courtyard.

miller design

The homeowner attracted plumbing up for a sink close to the tree and then poked the pipe through its trunk for a showerhead on the other side. The tree then grew around the plumbing, causing the showerhead to look like it is coming right from the tree.

Miller, right, and his wife, Tami, stand in the courtyard looking around Tucker and Darpinian.

miller design

At night inside lighting make the stripe patterns onto the steel garage door and staircase stand out.

See related