Pins Sur Mer is a 1500 SF vacation house on the bluffs overlooking Schooner Gulch and Bowling Ball Beach in Mendocino County. The house is set amongst a grove of Bishop Pines and the owners requested covered sitting porches on at least two sides. This raised concerns about the amount and quality of interior natural light in this often foggy and overcast environment. To achieve a compact footprint to minimize tree removal the interior spaces are arranged around a high, centrally skylit entry surrounded by clerestory interior openings allowing backlighting for every room.

The entry is demarked by four huge pine columns and is also the cultural center, containing an upright piano and a wall of bookshelves, including a rolling library ladder. The floors are recycled antique oak and cut limestone, walls are painted gypsum board, ceilings are Douglas fir beams and decking, cabinets are VGDF, Rumford fireplaces are natural colored plaster, and windows are pine with factory painted aluminum cladding.

Exterior materials are rough 1×12 redwood board vertical siding and painted corrugated metal roofing. A separate garage/shop/utility structure helps to form a parking courtyard and acts as a screen between Highway 1 and the house.