Cliff May, native Californian & a self-taught builder of genius, built his entire career on the premise that houses here should all but compel us outdoors into the sunshine every day. Here is May's model home for Bell Canyon, one of his last master-planned horse communities. This meticulously renovated property is in May's "Atomic Ranch" Modern style on a grand scale. The long, low lines of the...

The celebrated California indoor-outdoor residential lifestyle did not start with Modernism in Southern California as some might suppose. The pre-colonial indigenous population lived mostly out of doors, and the Missions were built around a large central courtyard. Occupants went outside to get to the kitchen and other rooms. Cliff May claimed the historic Rancheria he grew up on shared a similar program,...

The romance of Alta California is alive and well at the John Arnholt Smith Hacienda designed by Cliff May in 1936. Here, straddling the boundaries and history of both Los Angeles, & Orange Counties, the estate maintains over 2.3 acres of the high ground of one of Southern California's early pastoral ranches. Hand crafted of masonry and heavy timbers like the California Missions themselves, the classic...

What better location could there be for a classic Cliff May ranch House than Alisal Ranch in the incomparable Santa Ynez Valley? Set high on a hill within the preserved 10,000 acre Alisal Ranch, May's work surrounded by verdant mountain and hillside vistas here seems timeless, but not dated. A meticulous restoration by the current owner-architect, Barry Berkus, FAIA, with careful updating and special...