The guest bathroom features bright turquoise Arcilla Field tiles by Ann Sacks and brass fixtures and fittings that will develop a patina over time. A skylight above the shower provides natural light and brightens the room.
Monkman’s house has a quiet presence, its front half hidden behind a fence of cedar two-by-sixes.
The cypresses beyond the ipe fence afford the family privacy.
The 3,000-square-foot house sits partially on stilts to tread as lightly as possible on its natural island site.
Stone walls, a pine tree exploding out of a deep overhang, iroko decking, outdoor rooms, a glassy swimming pool, and endless views of the sea make this home a paragon of indoor-outdoor living.
A pair of Icelandic prefab pioneers deliver an efficient family home in Culver City.
Building smarter is at the heart of everything designers Tryggvi Thorsteinsson and Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir do. Whether they’re testing the limits of indoor/outdoor living or developing a prefabricated wall system that they hope will make traditional wood framing a thing of the past, the founders of the Santa Monica design studio Minarc are consumed with making structures stronger, lighter, and more efficient.
In seaside Tuscany, Italian architecture firm FABBRICANOVE realized a villa that embraces modern lines and the mild climate.
An existing non-descript structure, perched above the crest of the dune between the ocean and bay, was thoroughly transformed. We utilized clearly defined volumes, simple, durable, yet elegant materials and details instilling a strong connection between the indoors and out.
Douglas fir walls and beams extend to the exterior of a weekend house near Golden, British Columbia. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and Bohlin Grauman Miller Architects, it was designed for an active family that likes to hit the slopes. A chalet-like pitched roof emphasizes its cabin feel.
On a sandy cul-de-sac in Stinson Beach, California, architects Matthew Peek and Renata Ancona built an elevated modern structure beside a modest 1940s bungalow.
The appliances are by Miele, and the sink and faucet are by Blanco. In the dining area, a Link Suspension lamp by LZF hangs above the Minotti table and chairs. The artwork is by Nathan Coley.
Its timber shiplap cladding tops a concrete blockwork base. Kate uses the main floor as an art studio, where light through a custom skylight illuminates her work space (l
The house that Fleetwood Fernandez Architects designed for contractor Mehran Taslimi and his wife, Laila, embraces its surroundings. “They wanted doors that they could just throw open,” designer Hunter Fleetwood says of the retractable wall system from Vitrocsa.
The studio occupies the corner of a backyard filled with carefully-tended plants. They positioned the studio at the yard’s far corner, diagonal from the main house’s back door, to create a path through the garden that would engage visitors in landscape.
Designed in 1972 by local architect Edgar Waehrer, this home was renovated by creative director Ben Watson and his partner, painter Claudio Tschopp. As a later example of Northwest modernism, the home combined the clean lines and open plans of mid-century modernism with an emphasis on natural local materials and natural light. However, while the 16-foot ceilings in the home gave a sense of airiness, the plentiful wood paneling on the walls kept it dark and feeling damp, and so the couple bleached the walls to better reflect natural light.
“My favorite spot is the kitchen,” says Kaja Taft of the prefab home she shares with her family in Portland. “I can stand in it and cook and converse with everyone.” The space overlooks the back yard. The white-oak cabinetry is by HOMB and the countertops are Caesarstone. A hood by Faber is above a Dacor range.
The dining room is delineated from the kitchen by a long kitchen island with a higher partition between the two spaces. The island provides storage along its length, with exposed shelving at the ends. The drum lighting pendants by Axiom were also made using local timber.
The kitchen features Ikea Sektion cabinets and Whirlpool appliances. The dining area contains a table from CB2, a George Nelson pendant, and Eames molded fiberglass chairs that were picked up at the Alameda Flea Market.
The architects knocked out the kitchen’s back wall, where a single window had formerly let in a miniscule amount of light, and installed sliding glass doors instead. A soothing charcoal accent wall anchors the bright white cabinetry and Corian countertops, while pendant lights by Alvar Aalto hang above an oak island. The fixtures are from KWC, Dornbracht, and Catalano.
The narrow kitchen is brightened by a soft material palette. A burnished concrete countertop flows like a waterfall into the Blackbutt timber flooring. The translucent blue Poly Pop pendant is by Tokenlights.
With the help of Sarah Zames of General Assembly Design, Brian Crano and David Craig merged two apartments into one while preserving their general layout. One apartment serves as a space for entertaining while the other, housing a bedroom and home office, retains a more intimate character.
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