Maestri Studio was selected to design the architectural framework for Veranda’s inaugural 2026 Virtual Show House, featured in the March/April issue. The project, titled California Dreaming, brought together a select group of designers to reinterpret iconic films through architecture and interiors, set within a shared residence.
With the architectural framework in place, Veranda invited Mary McDonald, Jaime Rummerfield, Madeline Stuart, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, and Patricia Benner to shape the interiors and landscape. Maestri Studio’s architecture set the stage for each designer’s vision, establishing a Spanish Revival framework for layered cinematic narratives.
At the center is a custom Spanish Revival plan by Eddie Maestri, conceived as both a study in heritage and a proposition for how these homes can be built today. The design draws from the work of early California architects such as Gordon Kaufmann and Stiles O. Clements, grounding the architecture in the proportion, materiality, and restraint that defined the period.
Rather than replicate the past, the intent was to translate it. Traditional stucco, a clay tile roof, and a sequence of courtyards and loggias establish a familiar language, while the planning reflects a more contemporary way of living, where interior and exterior spaces are fully integrated.
Developed in collaboration with landscape architect Patricia Benner, the outdoor rooms were treated as essential architecture. Courtyards, gardens, and circulation spaces are structured to feel intentional and immersive, reinforcing the experience of the home from arrival to interior.
As described in the feature, the house carries the spirit of the 1920s and 30s, yet is designed to be built today. That balance between preservation and progression defines Maestri Studio’s approach, using show houses as a platform to test ideas, explore precedent, and extend beyond the constraints of a typical client project.
