After renting in San Francisco for a decade, DIY couple Molly Fiffer and Jeff Waldman bought 10 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the pair and their friends built a cabin compound complete with sheds, tree decks, a pavilion, a wood-fired hot tub, an outhouse, and an outdoor shower. The cabin is made from locally sourced, rough-sawn redwood, which the couple stained with nontoxic Eco Wood Treatment to give the panels an aged appearance and a dark patina.
Extra-wide concrete pillars help to support the studio at its core.
Homeowner Hallie Ferguson chose a variety of vintage furniture for the home, including this mohair Theo Ruth chair by Artifort.
“Economy was always at the forefront of all of our decision making due to the high cost of building in California,” explains Kille. But that did not stop her and the design team from selecting strong color choices, like green kitchen cabinets and a bold orange-red front door.
The use of the stone as a foundation allowed the budget to be reduced as it minimized the amount of work and materials.
The Perch at sunset.
The living room extends into the great outdoors with a spruce deck.
Antwerp Apartment by Anouk Taeymans is a Best Renovation nominee.
The Mono structure's single-engineered truss frame makes it capable of withstanding harsh weather—from heavy snow, to downpours, to heat. It also comes in three variations.
First built in 1959 as acclaimed architect Jim Olson's first project, this modest bunkhouse in the woods grew into an extraordinary family retreat.
Mirrored glass allows this holiday home in Mexico to blend in with it's woodland site.
Off-Grid Guesthouse by Anacapa Architecture
Inspired by the surrounding landscape of chestnut trees, rocky hillside, and bubbling stream, Portuguese architecture firm 3r Ernesto Pereira chose to blend into, and take advantage of, the local geography rather than fight against it at this sleek, modern home near the coastal city of Porto. At a cost of €100,000 (approximately $125,000) and measuring about 140 square meters, this stunning, wood-and-glass retreat took about four months to construct.
When Marlene and E. Dale Adkins’s home of 22 years, a 1960s ranch house in Greenspring Valley, Maryland, was lost in a fire in 2013, the couple vowed to rebuild. Finished last year, their new home is covered in dark slate shingles for the sides and roof, Cor-Ten steel accents, and charred cedar for the gable fronts.
Villa Engels, the home of the esteemed Belgian modernist Lucien Engels (1928–2016), was falling apart when its second owners bought it in 2013. Yet due to its heritage status, any changes they planned would have to be approved by the provincial preservation office. Engels completed the elongated, cantilevered residence in 1958, the same year he finalized the master plan for Expo ’58, the Brussels World’s Fair that famously featured the Atomium.
The master bedroom's sliding glass doors open up to an outdoor terrace, garden, and the pool.
Conceived as an escape from city living, this 2,580-square-foot prefab comprises two primary and 11 secondary modules, while the 290-square-foot guest cabins consist of single modules craned into place atop concrete piers.
The main room opens to the quad through a large pivoting garage door.
An architect and construction engineer couple build a sustainable, 624-square-foot abode for $221,580 in their Southeast Portland backyard.
Concrete pavers line the new hardscape, which steps up to a deck built of ipe wood. Ipe wood has also been used for the built-in benches and fencing.
The main house was given a contemporary look by way of a metal roof and a black exterior.
On a site adjacent to a greenbelt, architects Yen Ong and Paul Merrill of 5G Studio envisioned “a solid black mass within an enclosed garden,” says Ong. A geothermal heat pump, solar panels, and rainwater harvesting helped the project achieve LEED Platinum status.
"The family are very close-knit with a lot of nostalgia for a cottage that their grandparents once owned. Things like cedar shakes, painted pine paneling, handmade bed quilts, and ceramic tiles reminiscent of quilt patterns bring those memories back. The clients' children are now young parents with contemporary taste and needs, so the design had to feel youthful," says Hope.
The sleek black kitchen is fitted with oak timber floors and brass accents to infuse additional sophistication into the space.
Designed by Ayako Aratani—one half of the practice Aratani Fay—the porcelain Click-Clock has no digits, only sculpted lines for reading the time.
A wood-burning stove creates a welcoming, cafe-inspired atmosphere. A little bit further down the street is the hotel restaurant, Glorietta Trattoria—so named for nearby Mount Glory—boasting a seasonal menu with an emphasis on handmade pasta and wood-fired cooking. The establishment features craft cocktails from the folks behind New York City’s highly-influential Death & Company.
The entrance to the house is marked by a triangular awning. “It’s just enough to protect the front door,” says Merrill, “and then it sheds water into a small garden between the garage and the house.”
Carved into the home’s mass are what Ong calls “exterior voids”: transition zones between the built and the natural that are painted white. The sectional and club chairs are from Kingsley Bate; the sliding glass door is by Western Window Systems.
A neighbor harvests bell peppers in the garden.
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