In the backyard, the couple added a pergola, greenhouse, and outdoor dining space for $6,000.
The home’s living area now opens wide to the backyard—perfect for SoCal’s indoor/outdoor lifestyle.
Francis and RJ relax at home with their two young children.
Danny fitted the kitchen into an alcove outfitted with Ikea cabinets and Semihandmade fronts. The refrigerator is by LG. On the jute rug from Armadillo, chairs from Threshold join a table from Inside Weather.
Danny envisioned the space between the ADU and the house as an informal place to gather. "It creates a sort of courtyard sensibility, which works for our intergenerational family dynamics."
At the front of the main house, architect Danny Lim framed one of the original windows with new trim to give it a more modern feel and installed limestone on the porch and steps.
New steps on the house's addition pair garapa wood planks atop concrete forms. "I did research and got advice to make it work without warping,
The kitchen underwent the most dramatic change, being relocated to the back of the house adjacent to the living room. White Oak floors and casework and new Kolbe windows warm up the space. The pendant light is from Design Within Reach, and the bar stools are custom from Sean Woolsey.
Adding storage under the new stair maximizes the kitchen's footprint. Hemlock wood on the stair was stained to complement the casework. The faucet is from Brizo and the green backsplash tile is Heath.
The glass walls frame large expanses of greenery.
In the dining room, enlarging the window opening brings more light and connections to the exterior, while a new wet bar creates opportunities for entertaining. The table is custom, and chairs and rug are from CB2. The pendant lights are Design Within Reach.
Extra-wide concrete pillars help to support the studio at its core.
The house on the corner in the tiny town of Castellet in Catalonia, that Kirsten Dirksen and Nicolás Boullosa bought in 2018.
Moss-covered rocks and twisted tree trunks give the landscape a fairyland-like quality.
Sharon and Mike Matas work at large wood table in the studio while their daughter plays.
Three vertical pillars run through the structure, from top to bottom. On each floor, there are three portals that provide all the services, like water and electric outlets.
Each family member received a batch of modular pine-wood furniture elements to distribute around the house.
“I love to sit on the top floor with the big windows and see the day change, from the early morning when the fog hits the mountaintops, to the afternoon when the birds fly by right outside,” says Kirsten Dirksen.
In leafy northwest Washington, D.C., a two-story addition expands a 1936 home without overwhelming it.
With walls of glass on two sides, being in the breakfast nook feels almost like being outside.
The new upstairs bathroom, inspired by a 1992 Robin Williams movie, juxtaposes hexagonal and rectangular white tiles, as well as blue grout with four pops of yellow metal (matching the color of the original house's front door).