Mss. Martha, Violet and Jane White House Pasadena, California 1903 This commission for a residence for Charles Greene’s sisters-in-law provided an opportunity for refining new ideas that would mature as the firm’s work evolved. The house was designed to integrate its natural environment on the Arroyo Seco with Charles’ house next door. The arrangement of brick and stone on the exterior lower floor and wooden shake on the upper level was intended to imply an organic naturalness of materials in the construction. This house whose plan reflects the shape of the lot, is the Greenes first use of the obliquely angled plan that would be used in many subsequent houses. It also initiates their use of the projecting beam. It was this project that also marked the Greenes’ commitment to overall design in the craftsman tradition as they designed furniture to fit the rooms and demonstrated the importance of window light in their designs.