After chasing various creative pursuits in New York City and London, Emily and Gui Borchert were ready to settle down and start a family. The marketing professional and the filmmaker dreamed of a quiet, perpetually sunny neighborhood, which brought them to Venice Beach, California, in 2013.

Initially, they rented a “small and sweet” Spanish bungalow that had a converted garage in the back and a mature avocado tree to the side. “We had both boys in that house,” Emily says, referring to their sons who are now seven and ten. “But as our family started to grow, 900 square feet and one functional closet started to feel very small.”

The couple bought the place from their landlord in 2016, and by 2020, they had saved up enough to expand. During these intervening years, they noticed that the neighborhood was changing, with small bungalows like theirs being replaced by uninspired estates. “We wanted to make sure ours looked bespoke and carefully considered,” Emily says. “We hoped it could fit in, but also stand out.”

They discovered the work of general contractor Robert Sweet, principal of Ras-a Studio, who had been cleverly renovating properties along the Pacific coast for about as long as they’d been in L.A. “His eye and aesthetic is what drew us to him, and we really let him lead,” Emily says. “Robert had this beautiful way of bringing our brief together, which we called ‘Scandinavian farmhouse meets Venice modern.’”

Once Sweet was on board, the trio agreed that the property’s existing layout should remain: There would still be a main home in the front and a small ADU in the back, with their beloved avocado tree in the middle. “We loved having two distinct spaces in the old house—not only was it useful to have when guests were staying with us, but we also used it ourselves,” she says. “It was a den, a theater, an arcade, an office. As we envisioned our future home, we wanted a layout that could blend outside and in—and if we put pocket doors on the ADU and living room, then it would become one big living area.”

The timing wasn’t ideal, even if the vision was. The pandemic lockdowns began three days after the family moved out of their bungalow, but construction later resumed and plans stayed on schedule. “We’ve heard so many horror stories, and we feel so lucky to have had the experience we did,” Emily says.

The team leveled the original house and built a larger main dwelling in its place, with airy common areas leading to an oversized patio where the avocado tree still stands. The three bedrooms are upstairs, and the ADU across the courtyard has a living area, kitchenette, office, and ladder-accessible playroom of its own. And since this is L.A., the main home and the ADU each have their own parking spots.

“The downstairs really is just one big room that we all flow in and out of,” Emily says. “We love the little things: The wet bar area in the dining room, the scalloped wood on the islands, the hidden appliances, the skylights and windows. Robert helped us create many integrated storage solutions so everything has a place. We want our house to look like we don’t have kids—but be kid-friendly at the same time!”

Both structures have asymmetrical gable roofs that create drama (and square footage) on a corner lot condensed by zoning setbacks. Sweet used a handful of hardy yet unfussy materials throughout—concrete for the floors, white oak for the millwork, ceramic tile, and white-painted grooved paneling—to ensure consistency within a California-cool setting. That’s why its all-black exterior seems like such an unexpected twist.

“We played with a lot of finishes, and it was the last thing we nailed down,” Emily says. “It was a bit nerve wracking to commit to, but it creates a great contrast between the modern shape and the interior.”

After about a year of construction, the family of four moved into their new 2,300-square-foot home and its 730-square-foot ADU in 2022. The kids love having sleepovers in the ADU’s loft, while Gui enjoys projecting movies on a concealed screen below. Emily loves the kitchen’s range, and the fact that the entire property is hard-wired for WiFi. In other words, they’re not going anywhere anytime soon.

“It’s a pleasure and such a privilege to really love being at home, whether it’s with friends, family or just us,” she says.

More projects by Ras-a:

It Took a Neighborhood to Build This Beachside Bungalow

This Crisp California Residence Is All About the Courtyard

This L.A. Home Hides a Second Story Beneath Its Steeply Pitched Roof

Project Details:

Designer: Robert Sweet, ras-a studio / @ras_a.studio

Builder: ras-a BUILD

Structural Engineer: Eric McCullum, McCullum Engineering

Landscape Design: Rosewood Landscape

Interior Design: Platform Home/ @theplatformexperiment

Appears In

Black Gables Give a Filmmaker’s Venice Beach Home a Dramatic Edge