Before: The beige carpeting, track lighting, and skimpy baseboard were removed.
Set on the shores of Puerto Escondido, Casona Sforza is a restorative escape inspired by ancient traditions.
David and Mayuko Lai’s Japanese-inspired home hides technology, doors, and storage space with smart solutions.
The outdoor space spans two levels and includes wood decks, a flagstone terrace, and a kitchen garden.
Interior designer Ginger Lunt revives a 1954 residence that she fell in love with as a young girl growing up in the tropical forests of Mount Tantalus.
With regards to the woodwork, "all of the new stuff that we added all have modern profiles," says Rausch, but their application recalls the home’s traditional roots. White paint marries new and old.
The labyrinthine interior has few dividing walls and doors to allow rooms to merge together.
In Chicago’s Buena Park, dSPACE Studio transformed a disorganized 1978 home into a bright retreat that revolves around an expanded atrium. SoCo pendant lights by Tech Lighting draw the eye up to the double-height light well.
Architect Kevin Toukoumidis and his team at dSPACE Studio reworked an unusual layout of a Chicago home to fit its new owners: a family with two children and a dog. The result was a radical change without dramatic intervention, particularly of the home's large central atrium space.
At the entryway, two massive panes of frosted glass shimmer with light and shadow from the atrium inside.
A pathway winds between a pair of Japanese maples and a myrtle tree that dates to the home’s original construction. The floor-to-ceiling windows and sliders are by Fleetwood.
“The atrium is the first place you enter,” says Leidner. “Traditionally, it’s a hardscaped area with some potted plants, but we wanted it to be more like a full garden, right in the middle of the house.”
The team kept the skylights, and the third-floor space is primarily used as a playroom.
Herringbone floor tile is consistent with the wood floors throughout the home, while a wall of mosaic tile makes an eye-catching backdrop to the vanity.
The fireplace was relocated to this bedroom so as to preserve it and make it a feature.
When the team found keyhole wood paneling in the basement, they reinstalled it here to amp up the cozy factor and give the room some historic character.
The historic doors were preserved and converted to pocket doors. Now, occupants can watch television inside without disturbing family in other rooms.
The project team discovered brick under the drywall in the room and left it exposed. The brick is indicative of the room once being a "summer kitchen," or a kitchen set up on the exterior of the home to be used during warm weather, which allowed for the heat to escape easily.
The rear exterior was also transformed—it now has a designated outdoor kitchen, dining terrace, and lounge area. Folding doors connect the breakfast room to the new exterior spaces for easy flow between.
Drake Woodworking fabricated the dining table from old-growth maple wood, and it can comfortably seat 10 people.
The view back into the kitchen frames the inset wood shelves, and allows one component of the work triangle, the stove, to stay tucked out of sight.
The view from the kitchen is layered, first glimpsing a partial view of the dining room and the stained glass at the front exterior in the distance.
The stained glass windows "bring that little bit of sprinkling of color into the space, and then everything else is just super high-contrast white," says Rausch.
The colors in the furniture highlight the rich tones of the preserved stained glass.
The team installed a more appropriately scaled staircase so that the foyer is a proper entry point to the house. The radial ceiling trim accents a new chandelier.
On the first site visit, Rausch was relieved to see that despite a disastrous ’60s remodel, some original details, like the stained-glass windows, had persevered.
In a recent remodel, the exterior received a full paint job and new landscaping.
Like many modernist houses in Southern California, the courtyard was one of the most cherished locations and helped bring together both sections of the house with a pocket garden. Even after being cut 15 years ago, ivy plants continue to spread and shield the house from intense Southern sun exposure.
Traditional isleño tiles (at the top) were augmented with a new pattern by Nataniel Fúster.
The living room is further lit by three protruding skylights angled to catch morning and afternoon light.
Windows have been pushed out with deep concrete wells.