A Luxury Lifestyle: 3 Architectural Mainstays of California

Last updated on October 29th, 2024

Toll Brothers architects spur the imagination as their development of new luxury homes continues to elevate lifestyle and set architectural trends. We sat down with Isaac Boyd, Toll Brothers Vice President to discuss three mainstays of California living that are emerging in different regions and expanding across the nation.

Alta Vista at Orchard Hills may be the perfect spot for your castle in the sky and it is a shining example of these trends. Although still in production, winner of Home of the Year at the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) Southern California Builder Awards and Community of the Year from the 44th annual SoCal Awards has stood out across the state as a leader of luxury homes.

“The goal was to find a balanced mix by improving our award-winning designs from communities past and developing new design concepts inspired by the surrounding hillside and orchards,” Boyd said.

Indoor-to-Outdoor Living

Set among the beautiful rolling hills and avocado groves in northwest Irvine, Alta Vista at Orchard Hills has plenty of stunning views of the sunset and city lights below. It’s an ideal setting for the indoor-outdoor living that Southern Californians have come to expect with luxury home designs.

Each Toll Brothers home design, ranging in size from 4,500 square feet to 6,700 square feet, includes a California room, a luxury outdoor living space that has become a design hallmark for the company in the region. These rooms are where the indoors and outdoors become seamlessly integrated, opening up the spacious floor plans to even bigger living-space footprints.

“We aim to incorporate covered outdoor living in everything we design in Southern California,” Boyd said. “Once our customers experience this covered outdoor living space and enjoy the freedom to move from indoors to outdoors, regardless of the weather, without leaving the comforts of their home, there is no going back. It is truly something both inspired and special. It’s become the norm for Toll Brothers in the west.”

Alta Vista, California

Bright Natural Light and City Views

Each home features a Western Windows Series 600 Pocketing Multi-Slide Door leading from the indoor living space to the California room, allowing fresh Southern California air to flow through the home when the door is opened.

The standard size of the door is 12 feet wide, but it can be upgraded to as much as 20 feet wide. In some cases, the home could even include a 20-foot-by-15-foot Series 600 90-Degree Multi-Door, in which the connecting post is eliminated, further expanding the living space. “You may not even realize you have stepped outside your home,” Boyd said.

In the 6,200-square-foot, five-bedroom Oceano model, Toll Brothers has integrated for the first time Western Window Systems’ Series 600 Window Wall, an eye-catching array of glass panels that frame amazing views of the landscape. 

Alta Vista, California

Glass Features and Modern Feels

 “In the Oceano, from the front to the back of the house, we have a 20-foot volume ceiling with a walkway bridge across the middle,” Boyd said. “There’s a 10-foot glass door in the front, and in the back, four panels of glass 5 feet wide and 10 feet tall on the first floor, and right above it, the same thing on the second floor. It’s jaw-dropping.”

In homes of this size, with so much glass in them, the challenge for homebuilders is to meet California’s strict Title 24 energy codes. “Title 24 restrictions is a reason many builders have avoided what Toll Brothers has embraced, and Western Window Systems has played a crucial role in Toll Brothers ability to overcome this challenge and continue to lead new home design throughout the nation,” Boyd said.

Final Thoughts

Other features of Alta Vista at Orchard Hills models include Toll Brothers design staples such as dual staircases, wood-wrapped risers, see-through staircases with steel stair columns, spacious state-of-the-art chef’s kitchens, and luxurious master amenities.

To learn more about the exquisite features and amenities available at the Alta Vista at Orchard Hills community or other luxury homes in that area, visit our website or call our Online Sales Team at 866-232-1631. Peruse through our Pinterest boards for a photo gallery featuring our latest communities or check out our Southern California Facebook page for upcoming community events.

Toll Brothers’ vendor partner Western Window Systems, contributed to this story.