London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 20, 2025

A Prefab in Santa Ynez Provides a Retired Couple With the Perfect California Retreat

A Prefab in Santa Ynez Provides a Retired Couple With the Perfect California Retreat

On a remote hillside in wine country, a Los Angeles couple build an energy-efficient prefab with stunning views.

It was almost two decades ago when photo agent Michele Karpé and her husband, John Andrews, purchased a property in the rolling hills of Santa Ynez, California. While living in Los Angeles, they spent years visiting the remote land on weekends, taking in breathtaking views and dreaming of the day they’d be able to build a little getaway. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as they’d hoped.



Michele Karpé and her husband, John Andrews, spent years dreaming about building a retreat on their remote Santa Ynez property.

When they finally felt ready to build, they prepped the site, investing in a driveway to make it easier to traverse the quarter mile uphill from the nearest access road. They then drafted plans for a home and had them engineered, permitted, and even approved -processes that took a significant amount of time and financial investment-before learning that the costs to build would be more than double the estimate. Creating a home, they felt, was once again out of reach.



By constructing parts off-site on an assembly line, Connect Homes is able to dramatically cut down on construction waste.



The wide porch and pathway are designed to accommodate wheelchair access for Michele’s sister.



Connect’s decks-a design add-on-are made of the same steel frames as the interior modules. "Connect Homes’s steel frames mean that clients can put floor-to-ceiling glass anywhere around the perimeter of the house to connect to a view or outdoor space," explains company cofounder and architect Gordon Stott.

Instead of giving up, however, the couple began exploring other options; while at a Dwell on Design show at the Los Angeles Convention Center, they discovered prefab homebuilders Connect Homes. For Michele and John, Connect made total sense: They knew exactly how much the home would cost from their very first meeting.

For their Santa Ynez property, the couple chose the Connect 4, a 1280-square-foot, two-bed, two-bath model they customized with the addition of two covered decks. They also made the home wheelchair accessible to accommodate Michele’s sister, who has multiple sclerosis. "She can walk with a walker, but given the uneven ground in the country, I was projecting that wheelchair access would be better," says Michele. "It only takes two steps to get down to the house after grading and landscaping."



The full-height glass sliders open the home a panoramic view. With the sliders open, a wood-burning stove centers an indoor/outdoor living area.



"We also can shrink this model down slightly to hit California’s 1200-square-foot accessory dwelling unit maximums and make this house an ADU," shares Stott of the Connect 4 model.



Connect Homes designed and installed all the built-in cabinetry in the kitchen.

Floor-to-ceiling glass sliders open the home onto the wide, covered decks, providing panoramic views of the stunning property. "The client made so many good design choices," says architect Gordon Stott, who cofounded Connect with fellow architect Jared Levy in 2013. "From the black finishes to just the right amount of glass, and the daring placement of the stove."

In the living area is a Morsø wood-burning stove positioned up against the glass sliders. When the sliders are open to the deck, the stove anchors one huge indoor/outdoor lounge space. "I was worried that it would be weird, but it’s absolutely perfect," Michele says. "That stove kept us warm all through the cold winter. It heats up the whole house."



With two beds and two baths, the Connect 4 model is a perfect retreat for Michele and Andrew. "For such a small house it has very good closet space," says Karpé.



The home is topped with a white roof that deflects heat, keeping temperatures cooler inside.

The home, says Michele, regulates temperature with a white roof, and is well insulated thanks to triple-glazed sliding doors. "We have arrived in the middle of 100-degree weather when the house has been closed up for days, and inside it would be 20 to 25 degrees cooler."

Along with energy-efficient designs and up-front pricing, Connect prides itself on an assembly-line process that enables the company to build quickly, and more sustainably. Stott estimates that by building in a factory, they’re able to cut down on construction waste by 60 percent when compared with more traditional building methods.



"We’ve realized the only essential customization we need to offer in our standard home plans is the ability to put glass anywhere, connecting to the outdoors anywhere on the perimeter of the house that the client or site dictates," says Stott.

After the offsite construction of Michele and Andrew’s home was complete, Connect installed the design on the Santa Ynez property in just three hours. In a stroke of perfect timing, the home was completed just before the pandemic, making it the perfect refuge for the now-retired couple.

"Living with a view from almost every room in the house is my favorite," says Michele. "Connect Homes did a great job of positioning the house and the windows. We have a lot of wildlife in the area and there is always something to see."



Santa Ynez Connect 4 Floor Plan

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
×