Backyard

Natalie and Lauren wanted to replicate the feel of a Zen garden with their home’s central courtyard. The garden features a Japanese maple that pops against the charred timber cladding, while structurally, the U-shape design ushers light right through to the back of the house.

On the outskirts of Grândola—a small Alentejan town in the Setúbal district of Portugal—a dramatic architectural form sits in the vast, arid landscape amidst cork trees and herds of cows. The whitewashed guesthouse is known as Casa da Volta, which translates as "Home of the Return,

Multiple glazed French doors open out to the courtyard to create a connection between interior and exterior spaces.

Residents or developers will generally only need to apply for approval to install the foundation and connect the utilities. The on-site construction then takes place in seven days or less.

The in-ground pool is placed between the primary bedroom and the casita.

New living spaces now provide enclosure to create a 400-square-foot, open-air atrium at the center of the home.

The reading nook corridor has a sizeable sliding glass door that pockets into more glass, with thresholds flush between the cork floors on the interior and the large format porcelain tile on the exterior. The center of the atrium is filled with raked 1/8” Desert Gold crushed granite.

The independent studio also has large picture windows looking into the atrium, and shields sightlines from the street, to create privacy in the rest of the home.

The same large format porcelain was used for the exterior patio, which is flush with the thresholds on the sliding glass doors. Blaine added a small bumpout at the end to accommodate a larger primary suite shower.

A refreshing soaking tub sits sandwiched between the main residence and guest suite.

The walls of the home are intentionally bare, meant to draw the eye out of the windows and onto the natural art a few steps away.

The pergola outside, which frames a wood-burning stove, was originally intended to be canvas, until Magdalena learned metal would be much more forgiving in the desert winds.

One of Mandy’s many Pandemic home-improvement projects was learning to plumb via the new mini hot tub in the backyard.

In the dining area, a bench from CB2 sits alongside a former display table from a local boutique. Sliders open to a patio with a 12-foot-long fireplace designed by Kim.

The 3,000-square foot home is nestled at the heart of Ahwatukee Foothills and is surrounded by drought-tolerant landscaping. Venea is a photographer and designed the pool house to also operate as her at home studio.

The family’s backyard features a grape arbor and a vegetable garden. “I began gardening so our son could understand where his food comes from,” says Onna.

The new cabana offers a place to lounge out of the sun.