A substantial brick chimney rises through the center of Carl Maston’s Ventura beach house, giving the oceanfront home a surprisingly grounded heart. Completed in 1984, the Susman House sits above a sandy cove at Faria Beach, with views toward the Channel Islands. Its original brief was appealingly specific: preserve the spirit of a traditional California cabin within a contemporary home.
That request came from Tracy “Babs” Susman, who commissioned the house with her partner on land previously owned by her sister and brother-in-law. Maston answered with cedar siding, brick floors, generous glazing, and a roofline that creates a distinctive silhouette. The materials carry the cabin connection without making the house feel like an exercise in rustic nostalgia.
Design: Carl Maston
Across 2,640 square feet, the layout gives shared spaces a clear relationship to both the fireplace and the coastline. An informal lounge connects with the dining area and kitchen, while a double-sided fireplace also serves a den. A full bathroom sits behind a cedar wall. These divisions give the lower floor distinct places to settle without separating every activity into an enclosed room.
The living-room photographs reveal how much work the material palette does. Exposed timber beams establish a steady rhythm overhead, while brick flooring extends around the broad hearth. Wood paneling and shelving reinforce the sense of enclosure. Against that textured interior, the glazed openings become especially legible: they frame the coast while leaving plenty of solid, tactile surfaces around the seating area.
Floor-to-ceiling sliding doors open toward the ocean, and the brick paving continues onto the patio. Carrying the floor material outside gives the terrace a direct visual relationship with the rooms behind it. The kitchen keeps its own character through an original wood-slat ceiling, with a view of the bay available from the sink. Even the more ordinary household tasks have a place along the waterfront.
Upstairs, three bedrooms and a separate sitting area occupy the spaces beneath the sloping roof. A central atrium and landing wrap around the brick chimney, with internal glazing allowing light to reach deeper into the house. Rather than treating circulation as leftover space, Maston makes the route between rooms part of the architectural experience, linking the upper level visually with the living area below.
Photographs show timber-framed internal windows beside the chimney, their angular tops following the roof. That arrangement makes the building’s geometry readable from within. The house is currently listed for $5.1 million, and its selling appeal extends beyond the waterfront address. Maston gave the interior enough substance to hold attention even when the ocean is outside the frame.
