The sliding doors open to the marble-paved terrace.
Multiple seating areas extend the livable area of the home outside, providing space for dining, socializing, and play.
A view of the new kitchen wing. “We weren’t trying to mimic Russell’s architecture, but we were trying to be sympathetic to the structure and the materiality in our additions and renovations,” says Brillhart.
Another view from the same courtyard.
Garden
Garden with mature landscaping growing fruit, vegetables and flowers
Rear garden
The side walls have been treated as vertical extension of the horizontal surface of the garden, and are used for growing climbers such as jasmine, grapes, honeysuckle, raspberries, beans, peas, and even a climbing fig. Colorful bird’s houses and bug hotels are also mounted on the walls.
A vast terrace overlooks a nearby park, while the ground floor patio (connected to Vanbesien’s office) opens up to a garden.
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.
Chickens foraging in an enclosed garden with vertical planters.
Courtyard featuring the Live Oak Tree. The neutral tones on the homes exterior act as a canvas to nature showing a play of light on the exterior of the home throughout the day
The yard is at the lowest elevation on the property, and was carved out to have a place for the family to play and relax. The turf is by Heavenly Greens. The space features clear heart cedar boards with a reactive stain by Weatherwood Stains. The 30 foot green wall in implemented in segments and features built in drip irrigation. The mirrored solar reflector, which appears to have just dropped out of planetary orbit, grabs southern light and reflects it into the home and exterior spaces.
Underneath the raised deck, a play structure was formed out of vertical grain cedar slats. Punched openings reveal the playfulness, and is topped by a glass guard with button clips and large starphire glass panels. The modeled, integral color stucco carries the industrial feel from the inside to the outside, and the Weatherwood Stain on the cedar finishes this look.
Backyard
In the back, ivy climbs across the garage’s raw cedar cladding next to a gate that allows access to the laneway—but the boys prefer to climb the fence.
McLean chose artificial turf for the front yard, where Hana Bea and her sister, Pilar, 9, play as Sharen looks on.
There is even a private meditation garden off the master with a zen pond, waterfall feature, and a hot tub.
The façade received fresh paint, as well as new impact resistant windows. The two-story addition rises behind it. “Given that the two-story wing was larger than the existing structure, it was critical for the new building to appear as lightweight as possible,” says the firm. “The reading of concrete, which is an almost universal residential structural system in South Florida, would have been too heavy against the reading of the low-slung wood roof of the original house.”
Beach days, park picnics, and backyard barbecues—wherever your Fourth of July weekend takes you, these products will elevate your event with ease.
The garden is by landscape designer Tom Massey. The paving is similar to the bricks used in the extension.
Sheer, lightweight curtains can be closed to separate the studio from the garden. “It’s a very quiet space where you can retreat into your own thoughts, read, write, and think,” says architect Cristian Stefanescu.
"Jill and MIke enjoy entertaining at their new house, and are avid chefs and connoisseurs of food, wine, art, and vintage furniture,
Ali Fraenkel and Mentor Dida prepare for one of the many gatherings they host in their penthouse in Prishtina, Kosovo. Self-described “changemakers,” they regularly open their home to 20 or more people for get-togethers with live music from local artists or guest speakers like Uta Ibrahimi, the first Albanian woman to climb Mount Everest. The couple worked with designers Fitore Syla and Njomza Havolli of local firm Muza to create a balance of open and intimate spaces. “Gathering people is our shared calling,” says Ali.
SF Historic Renovation
The interior contrasts the dark exterior with white plaster, allowing natural light to disperse throughout the home.
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.
In the dining area, a 96-inch Run table from Emeco is lined with 611 chairs from Artek. Cielo pendants by Pablo Designs hang overhead while a piano from Steinway & Sons sits in the background.
For the renovation of the East Fremantle House in the suburbs of Perth, architect Nic Brunsdon added a rear extension that playfully mixes white stucco and warm timber. Within the 3,229-square-foot residence, an airy common space, which Brunsdon refers to as “the garden room,” features a giant sliding door that connects the indoor living areas with a sunny green courtyard.
Albert Mo, cofounder of Australian firm Architects EAT, designed the long, low-slung Bellows House to be built top-to-bottom with concrete masonry blocks. The south end of the residence is U-shaped and encircles a private courtyard. The communal living spaces open to a north-facing garden where the family gathers and entertains.
The dining area features a trio of PH5 pendants by Louis Poulsen, a Cross oak table by Matthew Hilton, and Wishbone CH24 chairs by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen & Søn.
The playful, color-blocked Kardiel sideboard separates the dining and living areas.
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