With its driftwood hues and nautical influences, this 1970s California beach house by William Turnbull Jr speaks of its surroundings on Monterey Bay.

Tatum Beach House is part of a small community of homes on Pot Belly Beach that is accessed via a coastal forest near Aptos town. The simple three-storey structure is clad in weathered wood, with an angled, wooden interior full of glazed spaces and interesting nooks.

Turnbull Jr was a Bay Area architect recognised for his site-sensitive designs and use of raw materials. He built the four-bedroom house in 1972 for Frank and Barbara Tatum as a vacation home and won Architectural Record’s House of the Year award.

The beach house has living rooms ‘saddle-bagged’ to the front, private quarters in its main structure, and a wooden deck adjoining the sandy beach. Coastal foliage and tree-covered cliffs stand behind the Santa Cruz County property, which is asking $4.975m via Architecture For Sale.

In its bright double-height reception room, there’s extensive glazing, wide sea views and a cosy dining area, while a library nook – with a sloping, corrugated ceiling that emits diffused lights – is built into the split staircase enclosure.

Read next: Inside a ‘future proof’ Miami Beach home by Rene Gonzalez

Paul Rudolph-designed Connecticut home asks for $2.295m

Marcel Breuer’s Grieco House is for sale in Massachusetts