Floor Plan of Perrier Residence by Cicada
The house's interior includes custom millwork in nearly every room, courtesy of general contractor Green Compass Builders.
The redesign lifted the roof plane to increase the height of what had been merely seven-foot-high ceilings.
Custom built-in storage was a splurge Michelle and Haden were willing to spend on. In the laundry room, Fireclay tiles were another high-spend choice. "It was out of our budget," Michelle says, "but it was so dramatic, and we saved so much by using inexpensive white tile in the bathroom.
Olive-green Fireclay tile creates a spa-like experience in the bathroom and fluctuates in tone throughout the day.
A wall of built-in storage cubbies, shelving, and a bench anchors the bright white-painted bedroom, which features a walk-in closet.
After: "We don't believe in the hierarchy of materials,
Updates to the backyard included areas for lounge and play.
A dip of grey paint on the stair hints at the updated spaces above.
The couple took advantage of numerous municipal programs when landscaping the backyard. Mandy recently completed a free course through LADWP, who also promotes resources for the SoCal Turf Replacement Program, to become a certified California Native Plant Landscape: “There is an amazing amount of knowledge and resources for transitioning yards with more native/drought-tolerant plants through LADWP and the Theodore Payne Foundation,” says Mandy.
A healthy budget for landscaping allowed Leah to achieve a natural, wild look with plants. “I wanted to look out and see just lush plants growing wild,” she says. The collage of native vegetation was also used to soften the transitions between surface materials and backyard zones.
Wood adirondack chairs surrounding a stone firepit.
The simple wood deck features innovative cutouts that allow full-grown Yucca trees to peek through.
In another bathroom, a polka dot wallpaper print creates a playful atmosphere while the dark-toned vanity adds a more serious contrast.
Relocating the front door helped create more usable rooms on the home's lower level. A new custom door was designed to match the original, with colored glass salvaged and reinstalled in the new door. An antique Indian credenza sits aside the main entrance.
A new second-floor deck was wrapped in 2020, and at $25,000, a sizeable chunk of the budget. But worth it, considering it makes for a serene spot to sit and soak up the river and forest views. “The sound of the river rushing can’t be beat,” says Devlin.
The downstairs bathroom was also dramatically redone for a total of $18,121.
The sophisticated white motif of this bathroom capitalizes on its natural light.
The new kitchen features ceiling-to-countertop tiles in a grid pattern, which reappears throughout the home. The globe flush mount overhead is from Anthropologie, while the hardware is from Altas Homewares and Alno Hardware.
Brit painted the dark grout lines of the tile backsplash to soften the overall look. The couple also encased the range hood with closet dowels, with the materials for that project totaling $124.
The bathrooms were modeled after Japanese ryokans. Here in the main bathroom, muted Fireclay tiles clad the shower, which features a built-in bench and Purist fixtures from Kohler.
Florençon closed one of the doorways into the bedroom and turned the space into a closet and built-in bookcase.
The apartment had potential with windows looking over the city’s biggest green space, so a young couple traded out its old rugs, wallpaper, and tight floor plan.
When the owners of this 850-square-foot apartment in Stockholm’s Södermalm neighborhood called upon local architect David Lookofsky to revive their 1920s apartment, they tasked the founder of the eponymous firm with incorporating more storage into the compact space. So, Lookofsky created a seven-meter-long kitchen wall with built-in cabinetry and a seating nook, all painted with a bright, egg-yolk yellow. “In smaller apartments, kitchens often become a kind of social hub, both in everyday life or when you have people visiting,” says Lookofsky. “You want these spaces to reflect the people who use them and support interactions and everyday life.”
Homeowners Izabel and Paul made a large open kitchen a top priority, insisting on counters at double the standard width.
A Dutch door at the entrance, with the grain of the exterior facade's darkened cedar visible just outside
The bedroom features a feature wall, built-in bookshelf, and bed made from pine. All of the furniture is custom made except for the vintage French folding beach chair.
Architect Merritt Amanti Palminteri reinvented her family home to add volume, flow, and infinite charm without changing the footprint.
In the bathroom, white subway tile was inspired by a 1905 ceramic shelf Elena found at a nearby antique shop and put in the shower as well as a desire to keep the overall design simple, says Cobb.
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