Crafted from plantation-grown, sustainably harvested premium teak, Terra’s outdoor teak furniture has always been an earth-friendly choice. But our new Sea Ranch collection takes that eco-consciousness to a whole new level. Sea Ranch combines clean-lined simplicity with planks of reclaimed teak salvaged from century-old homes from the Java region of Indonesia, letting the rustic beauty of the wood take the spotlight.
With sustainability at the forefront, what better setting to feature the new Sea Ranch collection than the gorgeous, minimalist “iT House” in Pioneertown, California, designed by Linda Taalman and Alan Koch.
A Sustainable Desert Oasis
Finished in 2008, the iT House is the original prefab glass house that started a movement. Taalman went on to build 25 more of these, following the same highly lauded and coveted design concept she used when creating this first one.
The house is created as a system, designed before they’d even found the property. It brings to life a conceptual mode of designing and building homes with lightweight, green materials.
“The original idea was to build a glass house. We used aluminum framing, which is recyclable, steel decking, and an open post and beam frame design that allows us to make the walls from anything we wanted.”
Originally, the plan was to build these homes in Los Angeles, but land was hard to come by. Competing with developers in LA for property is enough to make even seasoned professionals go insane.
Instead, after spending a few hours on a friend’s hammock in Joshua Tree, taking in the beauty and serenity of the desert, Taalman realized that this was the right place for these homes. She found this piece of land in a day and was fascinated by the community out in Pioneertown.
(pictured above) The Sea Ranch dining table and Sea Ranch dining benches
“It’s very rural. This house is on five acres and most of the properties are homestead lots.” She says. “There are people who’ve been living along this road since the ‘30’s. It’s a beautiful eco-system with the mountains and the desert together. But there’s no water. No sewer. So, our challenge was: how do we build this glass house out here in the desert, completely off the grid, and make it comfortable in all the seasons with modern amenities?”
The house features a concrete slab on grade. When you have this much glass, you have to think about the top and bottom layers. Plumbing and electric is embedded in the lower concrete layer while the upper layer overhangs like a hat to insulate from both heat and cold. And the entire thing is powered by solar. One of the biggest questions was: how few solar panels do we actually need? Less is more out here.
Preserving History & Habitat
They also wanted to minimize the disruption to the landscape. They chose the build site without tearing out trees, so it feels almost as if the building landed in its spot. The same terra firma is there, just like when they arrived, and animals still have their same pathways. Bobcats, coyotes, road runners and rabbits come right up to the house and peer in.
Aligning with this theme, the Sea Ranch collection’s manufacturing process minimizes environmental impact. This reclaimed teak furniture uses wood with uncommon character.
Originally cut from sustainably harvested trees, it stood for decades and sheltered generations of Indonesian families. It tells its story through well-developed graining and soft variations of shading that only time and the elements can bestow.
As builders replace these structures with more modern homes, our partners make sure this gorgeous, storied teak doesn’t go to waste. Hand-selected for the perfect balance of patina and strength, each piece is freed of nails, gently cleaned and restored, and cut into planks – leaving all that hard-earned beauty intact.
Old Wood, New Life
Sea Ranch showcases the distinctive character of this expertly recycled teak. Each table, bench and stool features planks of reclaimed teak that highlight unique grain patterns and subtle shifts of shading. Additionally, sleek stainless-steel stretchers offer compelling contrast to the rustic texture of the wood.
The Enduring Allure of the iT House Design
Across the world from Indonesia, clients seek out Linda Taalman because they covet a home like her iT House jewel. They’re looking for three things: overall execution, glass, and views. Taalman starts with a site analysis then consults on where to orient the home for views, privacy, sun and wind exposure.
Each home is built differently, but with the same ideology. And one thing she’s learned in this process is that the more sophisticated you try to get, the more you want to get back to the beauty of simplicity, like in this original design.
So what is Tallman’s favorite feature of the original iT house?
“The tiny courtyard in the front, you sit in there and you feel like you’re still inside when you’re outside. It is protected from the wind. It’s the perfect spot for giving you the feeling of being outside when you’re inside.”