Enchanted Garden Forest House

Set back from the road in a clearing of second-growth redwoods, the house wraps around a reflecting pond. The ground floor is almost entirely glass, so the forest becomes the wall of the living room.

Upstairs are four bedrooms, each with a deep window seat. A separate studio across the garden works as an office, a painting studio or a guest room, and has its own bathroom.

The village of Mendocino, with its shops and headland trails, is a five-minute drive. The owners have kept the planting simple and low-maintenance, and the pond is fed by rainwater from the roof.