Chasing Paper’s Cleo Stripe Vertical wallpaper.
An oak beam spans the room, and a custom fireplace was created by Noor El-Mohandes.
The renovated parlor-level is a completely open space from front to back, with a door to a balcony that steps down to the garden.
The exterior of the home showcases its measured simplicity. "It looks like it lands lightly on the ground,
The new flooring throughout is white oak, which warms the high contrast, black-and-white palette.
Garcia says people often comment that the ADU just needs a refrigerator and dishwasher, not realizing that both are seamlessly concealed in the cabinetry. “It’s actually a fully-functioning kitchen,” says Garcia, including a 15-inch WOLF cooktop, a TK dishwasher drawer, and TK refrigerator drawer. The counter is Caesarstone.
Now, a picture window frames the views into the garden, and a tall glass and steel door accesses the backyard.
Before: The newest owners of this 1885 Prospect Heights brownstone wanted to convert it into a duplex in a remodel that finished in 2020. “This neighborhood has extra deep lots that allow you to do amazing things with extensions,” says Kaplan.
Architect Daniel Kaplan of Bowerbird Architects added onto the rear façade to expand the floorspace for the lower apartment, and accommodate a three bedroom, three bath plan, plus a study and finished cellar. By creating a stepped addition, Kaplan made it possible for three floors to have outdoor access. Note how the top right deck is angled to prevent the new structure from blocking sunlight into the neighbors’ windows.
A poured concrete patio sits between the two buildings. “I wanted to include those expressed 'joint' lines as part of the design, so our very clever landscaper put a shallow cut along the concrete once it had cured,” says Murphy.
A second building serves as Murphy’s office, and it’s connected to the main residence by a custom metal trellis.
The shelving in the laundry echoes the living room and kitchen, and being open, doesn’t block light from the window.
The pantry is to the left of the door.
Custom storage wraps the entry to the laundry room.
The rear curtain wall system opens to an outdoor patio raised above the tree-covered landscape.
In Australia, a manufacturer and an architecture firm create an off-grid home that can be broken down and shipped across the world.
Kim Moellenberndt and Ryan Tyner found their future home at a corner store built in the 1940s. The deal started with a handshake deal between the couple of the store's owner.
The existing Ikea cabinet boxes received new Semihandmade fronts: the DIY Flat Slab painted Benjamin Moore's “Revere Pewter.” The butcher block was replaced with a Ceaserstone Empira White slab, and the wood shelves were preserved, though received new brass brackets. The brass hardware is from Rejuvenation and the pendant is the Pirlo from Tech Lighting. The new zellige tile is from Riad, in the Natural White color.
In the living room, Myers combined the client’s existing camel leather from Room & Board with a vintage WC Gerard van den Berg-style loveseat, found at the L.A.-based store Amsterdam Modern. The rug is the Joelle from Lulu and Georgia, and the overhead light a Petite Friture Vertigo Pendant. “The living room is really special, especially in the early evening when the room is filled with the light coming in from the sunset,” says Alexandra. “Nothing beats a Texas sunset.” The artwork is by Alexandra’s friend.
The Living Vehicle 2022 is topped with solar panels and packed with flexible spaces that live larger than its 232 square feet.
Storage had to be dialed in within the narrow footprint of the brownstone. The black core holds the pantry, while on the right, a bank of custom cabinetry hosts the command station, mop closet, and a concealed bar.-
Rich black soapstone counters wrap black-matte IKEA cabinets, and appliances are hidden behind cabinet fronts so the room recedes. Storage now extends under the windows and lines the dining area, where the table and chairs were both Craigslist finds.
One of the selling points of the cottage was the meadow surrounding it, which the windows in the addition seek to capture.
The cabin’s exterior, originally pastel yellow, was modernized with fresh paint from Benjamin Moore in Blackforest Green – a rich and earthy hue perfect for the wooded context.
After: By knocking down a wall, they opened up the kitchen to the living room to create one great room, ideal for entertaining.
A maple tree grows through an ipe deck in this garden that Mary Barensfeld designed for a family in Berkeley, California. A reflecting pool separates it from a granite patio, which is furnished with a Petal dining table by Richard Schultz and chairs by Mario Bellini. The 1,150-square-foot garden serves as an elegant transition from the couple’s 1964 Japanese-style town house to a small, elevated terrace with views of San Francisco Bay. Filigreed Cor-Ten steel fence screens—perforated with a water-jet cutter to cast dappled shadows on a bench and the ground below—and zigzagging board-formed concrete retaining walls are examples.
The kitchen layout was reconfigured so that the focus is on the view—the wall of windows, which look out on the ocean, is now underscored by one long, uncluttered counter. There, the faucet is Delta and the dishwasher is Bosch. The range stayed in nearly the same spot, and the opposite wall has been thickened with storage and the refrigerator column. Both the refrigerator and range are by Bertazzoni.
Architect Erick Mikiten helped Melanie and David Maher build a house in Livermore, California.
View looking from the new deck along the central axis towards the new pool and existing living room (with new concrete deck). The new design built-up the sloping site around the pool so its surface could be raised to allow more of a connection between the existing indoor spaces and the water.
One of the key challenges was developing a scheme that would allow flexibility in its current use and also for the future. "The setup is currently perfect for my lifestyle," says owner-designer Uli Wagner. "In retrospect, it was also a solution during the pandemic and various lockdown levels—and I’m sure the setup would be favorable for other small businesses and their owners."
Top 9 Gardens of 2020: The verdant spaces nominated for the Dwell Design Awards help enliven their biophilic homes.
Builders, developers, designers, and architects have developed a range of homes that are composed of prefabricated, modular, or kit-of-parts pieces that can allow for lower costs, faster and easier on-site construction, and even higher quality spaces. Here, we delve into the differences—and similarities—among these manufactured residences.
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