To understand the Ladera Project, it helps to get to know a little about the area in which the modern home sits. The small town of Ojai, in California’s Ventura County, is upscale and breeds a sort of fierce independence, not allowing chain retailers and encouraging boutiques and the kind of small businesses that give a city its character. In other words, Ojai is the perfect site for such a boldly conceived home as Droney & Associates’ Ladera Project, a ranch-style home as unique as Ojai itself, 15 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. The monolithic structure, with its sleek, smooth steel finishes, takes any preconceived notions about stereotypical Southern California architecture and turns them upside down. Western Window Systems’ contemporary windows and giant moving glass walls helped architect/designers Tim and Maraya Droney make the kind of statement Ojai-area homebuyers have come to expect from them.

A giant Series 600 Multi-Slide Door connects the Ladera Project’s magnificent backyard to the living room.

“For this project, Maraya and I were looking for doors and windows that could be used to create the illusion of exterior elements coming indoors,” Tim Droney says. “The monolith walls and large overhangs needed to have no interruption visually, and Western Window Systems had the sizes and profiles that allowed us to preserve those critical elements and sightlines.” A Series 980 Pivot Door at the entrance to the right of a monolith wall creates an eye-popping first impression. Once inside, floor-to-ceiling Series 600 Multi-Slide Doors in the living and dining areas grab one’s attention and never really let go of it. “These doors would have to be my favorite part of the house because they accentuate the indoor-outdoor dynamic,” Droney says of the Series 600 multi-slides. “When entering through the pivot door, there is an immediate connection to the pool and cabana area because of the multi-slides, which stack to make two eight-foot openings and create the illusion of an unbroken ceiling from interior to exterior.”

“We were looking for doors and windows that could be used to create the illusion of exterior elements coming indoors.”

- Tim Droney, principal
Droney & Associates

Indoor-outdoor living at its most elegant.

Elsewhere in the home, high ceilings and an open floor plan create a calm, expansive feel, alongside the sensible and straightforward finishes of Western Window Systems’ products. “We like that Western Window Systems works with the same kind of modern design concepts that we like to explore,” Droney says.

Stunning views of the mountains surrounding Ojai Valley can also be enjoyed in the contemporary kitchen, which features three floor-to-ceiling windows that fully integrate with Series 670 Hinged Windows positioned near the floor.

In the master bedroom, which also features pristine views of the valley, a floor-to-ceiling Series 600 Window Wall provides a modern feel and lets in loads of natural light. And the dual-paned, low-E glass is manufactured for better performance and energy efficiency.

“Western Window Systems also provides a thermal-break design that allows us to comply with California’s stringent energy codes,” Droney says.

When all the doors are open, the ranch-style home in Ojai benefits from the cool Southern California evening air.

A giant Western Window Systems pivot door greets visitors to the Ladera Project home.

Desert landscaping and a long, narrow backyard swimming pool connect the main house and a cabana outfitted with a built-in fireplace toward the rear of the property. From just about anywhere in the house, the pool and cabana remain visible through the banks of Western Window Systems doors and windows.
“One of the features we like most about Western Window Systems products is their ability to fit our design requirements, instead of making us fit the design to the product,” Droney says.