Dal Tile “Keystones” in Arctic White and Emerald cover the guest bathroom.
Hexagonal penny tile ascends from floor to ceiling in the skylit primary bathroom.
“Parker was dipping brass faucets into his magic solution and Jan was like ‘what are you doing, it was so shiny and beautiful!” laughs Duwayne.
The new upstairs bathroom, inspired by a 1992 Robin Williams movie, juxtaposes hexagonal and rectangular white tiles, as well as blue grout with four pops of yellow metal (matching the color of the original house's front door).
Walls are covered in Fireclay tile in Navy Blue. The vanity has a custom concrete basin by Newbold Stone Architectural Concrete and steel base from Metal Works Austin. The custom steel shelf and steel-edged mirror are paired with a perforated pendant by Allied Maker.
After finding paradise on a Hawaiian papaya farm, filmmaker Jess Bianchi and jewelry designer Malia Grace Mau tapped San Francisco artist Jay Nelson to design and build their dream home in just five weeks. Located just one block from the beach, the home takes inspiration from laid-back surf shacks and is mainly built with reclaimed wood.
Built to go off the grid, this remote beachside cottage can open up completely to the outdoors with its series of movable wall-sized glass panels and screens. Designed by Herbst Architects, the modest New Zealand bach comprises two rectangular pavilions built with mostly natural materials chosen for their durability, texture, and weathering characteristics.
A pop of red distinguishes the front door, paired with vertical cedar siding with an ebony stain, and Richlite panels and detailing.
Wood panelling brings a warmth to the concrete-and-white space.
Although Wakebayashi is not a professional Noh actor, he performs in front of an audience once or twice a year. For these performances, his preparation goes beyond memorizing lyrics and choreography—he sometimes even visits temples and locations where the story is set. “I need to understand the contents of the Noh play, which is how the main character feels, and the background of the story including history,” says Wakebayashi.
A kitchen shelf Nick picked up secondhand on Kleinanzeigen. It was very damaged when he acquired it, so he applied spackle to resurface it and painted it red.
Thanks to the California weather, the couple can make use of the outdoor dining and living area for much of the year.
The four-bedroom home features a front elevation with offset windows of different sizes that create a dynamic facade. The windows emphasize the verticality of the home, and their size is based on the program and function of the space behind.
For a bathroom in the new addition, the architects utilized the former addition's rocky foundation, complemented by zellige tile.
The wet bar was given a custom cherry top, and the couple added wall molding for texture.
An arched opening was added to connect the kitchen and breakfast nook, and gain sightlines to the yard. Seamus refinished the fireplace mantle and added square zellige Zia tile in ‘Nana’s Lipstick’ to the surround. Gubi Semi Pendants hang over the island, and the sink has a Devol Ionian Bridge Tap.
Another money-saving choice was changing the driveway from a stone paver driveway to poured concrete. The roof is designed to collect rainwater, which travels through a set of pipes for storage in a 39,000-gallon cistern behind the house.
According to the homeowners, one concession they made to save money was downgrading the exterior retaining wall from a gabion retaining wall to native limestone blocks.
Cover Architecture and EEK Studio redesigned the fireplace so it no longer obstructs the side of the window. The surround lighting creates a warm and inviting effect, even when the fireplace is not lit.
The design team restored the cork floors. The island lights are Sven Middleboe for Nordisk and are original to the house. The counters are Ceppo Di Gre Marble and the door to the restored pantry is painted Tarrytown Green by Benjamin Moore, and given a porthole window with reeded glass.
The design team added a skylight to the shower room, which has a ribbed glass partition and wall tile from Solistone.