As seen from the sea, E-1027 resembles an Art Deco yacht moored upon a ledge. Eileen Gray used many nautical elements in the house — the band of horizontal windows, the mast-like flagpole on top, the balconies with white rails, the sailcloth awnings and softening curves that kept the white plaster exterior from being too harshly angular.
Cecilia Yuan, principal at Blank Canvas Architects, and her husband bought this Victorian-style abode in Port Melbourne, Australia, for its heritage charm. So, during a renovation that re-configured wasted space, like moving the bathroom to create a larger dining area that mingles a Muuto Split table with Phoenix chairs and a marble-wrapped island, she also saw an opportunity to replace such features as deteriorating iron lacework.
At midcentury-style Pavilion Haus in Houston, the home of StudioMET Architects principal and partner Shawn Gottschalk, Gottschalk ensured that kids could play freely in the contained courtyard while parents kept watch through the sleek glass panels. A large pedestrian gate doubling as the front door establishes a dialogue with nature found throughout the pavilion.
Clinton Cole, architect, builder, and director at CPlusC Architectural Workshop, gave Welcome to the Jungle House, his family's home in suburban Sydney, the eco-friendly treatment, what with a solar-panel facade, rainwater harvesting, and a rooftop full of fruits and vegetables and a fish pond. Visitors are first ushered into the imposing steel "shroud" entry, facing the timber-clad staircase.
Set on a family cattle farm in a Western Australia coastal town on the Margaret River, Bush House, by Archterra founder Paul O'Reilly, marries a single-plane roof with a prefabricated steel frame support structure. A rammed-earth wall carries through O'Reilly's house into the outdoors, melding with oiled plywood, anodized aluminum, and recycled furniture.
It took less than five months for architect David Hovey Jr. to build this prefab home in Arizona's Paradise Valley, a rectangular pavilion with a shell of laminated glass, a perforated Cor-Ten steel roof, and an indoor courtyard where Hovey Jr.'s family take dips in the Olympic-size swimming pool. Polished concrete floors, Nakashima furniture, and a large black walnut bar are all found indoors.
In the 1950s, Ramat HaSharon, close to Tel Aviv, was home to numerous brutalist structures. There, architect Pitsou Kedem, craving the same style for his own family house, built it as two squares of concrete stacked atop each other. Materials like iron, wood, and silicate brick, along with a skylight that runs along the length of the stairwell, imbue it with a welcoming sense of earthiness.
A vintage article in Good Housekeeping magazine illuminated the 1953 Benit House in Houston. When Steve Curry, principal at Curry Boudreaux Architects, and his wife Martha bought it they spent 11 years painstakingly renovating it to resemble its original form in the article, including a red front door, matching planter boxes divided by a glass wall, and sliding doors separating the dining room from the walled garden. But after Hurricane Harvey struck in 2017, the couple were forced to restore it yet again, replacing flooring, woodwork, and rusted metal to bring it back to its midcentury pink brick and terrazzo glory.
A stainless steel chimney painted red pierces through this two-story chestnut-clad holiday pad facing the sea, the handiwork of ECE Architecture's Nick Evans. Built into a sandstone hill in East Sussex, England, the highlights include the kitchen—Evans's wife is a chef—a room enlivened by a shiny 16-foot steel countertop and cabinetry in custom hues of green. For a breezy beach feel, reclaimed roof beams, sawed and painted white, were converted into floorboards.
The partially covered backyard patio offers cozy spots to gather, including an outdoor eating area for casual al fresco dining.
The second bedroom also features direct outdoor access.
In total, the residence provides one and a half bathrooms, both of which received a full remodel.
ESCAPE Tampa Bay Village is currently comprised of ten tiny homes situated on individual lots. Due to popular demand, the village will soon expand with an additional 30 units.
In this apartment, Kesha Franklin of Halden Interiors employs a palette of off-whites paired with a dark floor; moments of red in both the artwork and accent furniture enliven the space.