Written by Chava Gourarie, Mansion Global

Dennis McGuire Idyllwild Cabin — Pierre Galant

Luke and Erica Taylor, a Santa Monica-based couple who work in production and marketing, fell in love with Idyllwild, California, during a visit just before the pandemic and began dreaming of buying a place there during the lockdowns of 2020.

“We were looking for a house that didn’t necessarily need an entire renovation from the ground-up,” Luke Taylor said. “We were looking for something that had really strong bones that we can then put our spin on and make our own.”

Anyone familiar with the idyllic community of Idyllwild in Southern California has likely heard of local architect Dennis McGuire, whose treehouse-like mountain homes are found throughout the town.

McGuire’s design profile matches that of the town, known for its creative community and independent spirit. His cabin-like homes are built with organic materials and fused with their natural surroundings, while angular lines and carefully placed windows highlight the surrounding views of the San Jacinto Mountains and its locally famous focal point, Lily Rock.

So when a McGuire home came onto the market in 2021, the Taylors jumped at the chance to buy it. Within 24 hours, Erica Taylor was on her way to view the house on Pine Crest Drive—a hillside cabin clad in redwood shingles, with a wide deck built around two imposing cedar trees and an angled skylight that floods the house with light.

It went into contract two days later, and closed above the asking price at $830,000 a month later, according to listing records.

The 1979 home spans 2,488 square feet and features three bedrooms, an open floor plan with a vaulted wood-beam ceiling and a matching carport. The deck, which faces the wooded flank of the San Jacinto Mountains, along with the home’s multiple skylights and angled windows capture a perfect view of the outcropping Lily Rock.

“Dennis is a master at window placement,” Luke Taylor said. “When you’re sitting in the dining room, he wanted to make sure that you would be able to see Lily Rock; when you’re lying down in the primary bedroom, he wanted to make sure that from that window you can see Lily Rock.”

“At night, when you’re laying in the primary, you can actually see the moon,” Erica Taylor added.

Luke Taylor is the co-founder of BondIt Media Capital, an independent Hollywood finance company that has financed over 500 films, including Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, Netflix movie “Woman of the Hour.” Erica Taylor is a producer at marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi, working primarily on national campaigns for Toyota North America.

The Taylors took up a yearslong renovation, replacing the dated finishes and stock built-ins for organic and natural materials meant to better reflect the surrounding landscape. They put in new slate flooring, custom wooden cabinetry in the kitchen, all new bathrooms with textured stucco walls and a green tile backsplash to echo the towering pines across from the deck, which glow orange in the alpenglow each night.

“The current owners have taken what was there and turned it into what it needed to be,” said Daniel Miracle of Compass Real Estate, who plans to list the home this week for $1.25 million.

Miracle’s favorite feature is the L-shaped skylight at the apex of the house, he said.

“There’s this natural light that comes through the top of the house and just like—explodes throughout the house,” he said.

The rooms are designed so that the light flows from the living room through to the dining room and kitchen, and even into the primary bedroom via an intentionally placed half-wall.

It’s also one of McGuire’s larger homes and well-located near the center of Idyllwild, he said.

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