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Agate Pass Cabin

Agate Pass Cabin

Agate Pass Cabin

The original owners of the 1969 glass house had converted an existing barn on site into an art studio. The new homeowners wanted to update it to function as a guest house and at-home work studio.

The holiday home is nestled into a narrow site in Buffalo Bay, a small beachside town near Buffelsbaai, with a Milkwood forest to the rear and the ocean to the front. The two living levels sit above a large garage/storage area on the lower ground floor and open completely out to the views.

Red zellige tiling and double sconce combo with a stoneland sink

Wood from the property’s felled trees was incorporated into every room in the 3,000-square-foot house.

A cantilevered cabin designed by R D Gentzler blends into the forest, even as it hovers above a 20-foot drop-off. Its south face is almost entirely glass, but a roof canopy limits solar gain. “We sit on the deck all afternoon watching the trees, and the time just flies by,” says resident Maricela Salas.

Olson Kundig Architects' Delta Shelter, in Mazama, Washington, is a 1,000 square-foot steel box home with a 200 square-foot footprint. Photo by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects/TASCHEN.

The 510 Cabin is one of Leggitt's designs, executed with the help of student apprentices.

Project Name: Seafoam 2010

Project Name: Split View Mountain Lodge

The renovation introduced a new deck, and opened up the living and kitchen areas. “The home is ‘so Warrandyte,’” says builder Hamish White. “It has a great connection with the outdoors, views of trees from most windows, and a homely and familiar feel which makes it really comfortable to be in.”

The floor-to-ceiling sliding doors and windows were the most expensive line item in the renovation. “The house would simply not be the same without them,” says architect Miguel Rivera. “When you are in the living area with the doors open, it creates one large indoor/outdoor space that is simply stunning.” Just beyond the kitchen, a bookcase in the hallway is painted to appear red from one side and gray from the other.

These projects cleverly address issues ranging from affordable housing to building sustainably in the face of climate change.

To turn a home into a permanent residence for a family of four, Rama Estudio attached a prefab glass-and-steel box that extends into the surrounding wilderness.

More than 60 plant species were used in the layered design.

A new living fence was built to hide a rental unit's fence next to this home. When filled in, the living fence provided additional privacy to the homeowner and tenants. Landscape lighting was incorporated into the new fence to aid in security and to provide a peaceful ambiance at night.

“The things we splurged on still look raw, which is what we wanted,” adds Nick.

The island and cabinets, fashioned from remilled Douglas-fir beams salvaged from upstate New York, sport inexpensive drawers from Ikea. The Carrara marble for the sink surround also came from the firm’s warehouse, from a section of slab orphaned from an earlier commission. A Viking chimney wall hood tops a free-standing range by Bluestar.

While the home’s amenities feel wholly residential, different rooms are specific to the couple’s various projects. This space is outfitted as an analogue synthesizer studio, where Mel, who is also a film composer, records and edits music.