The new deck lets the owners glory in the incredible views.
“We bought the land not knowing what we could build or where. It’s off by itself and pretty isolated,” says Jeff.
They converted the garage into a flexible performance space, which became a workout room and practice space for their teen kids during the pandemic.
The owner is a filmmaker who works from a cozy editing studio on the second floor. “You need electricity to run a computer—and a lot of it when editing,” he says. “I can't work at night or during cloudy days if there are several cloudy days in a row—when there’s no sun, there’s no editing because I save the electricity for the refrigerator.”
The main living area on the ground floor has 20-foot-high ceilings and an open floor plan. The high ceilings allow the 395-square-foot home to feel expansive, light, and breezy. In cold weather, the owner grows seedlings by the south-facing windows.
The L-shaped kitchen is located by the entrance to the home, and has a window looking out to the north. Medicinal plants and flowers foraged from the surrounding forest are hung from the roof to dry.
“I’ve been looking at cabins and small homes since I was a teenager,” says the owner. “I knew I wanted the home to have a small footprint, but for the interior space to still feel open and expansive.” This informed the interior planning, as he knew he didn’t want the upper floors to completely enclose the ground floor. By minimizing the second floor and including an open third-floor loft bedroom, he was able to maintain a spacious feeling and avoid making the interior spaces feel too enclosed.
The home is situated on a steep site and is accessed from a cedar stair that leads to a wraparound deck on the east side of the house. The construction all follows the shape of the cliff. “The vision was to hold to the expansive and unobstructed feeling of the land,” says the owner. “If I were to build something else, I would consider finding a flatter space or building near a field. Sometimes it’s just nice to walk on a flat surface.”
Outdoor seating helps make the deck and the living room on the other side of the movable glass feel like one combined space.
The bedroom now doubles as a home office. A Lyle Owerko photo of the same boom box Christopher owned as a breakdancing New Jersey teen hangs above the desk.
In the double-height living area, a pair of vintage Sirocco chairs by Arne Norell face an oval coffee table from Elte.
The dining room addition, which increased the total square footage to 2,700, features a Semi pendant by Bonderup & Thorup for Gubi and a table and chairs from Atelier Arking.
People stop us and say, ‘Oh, I went to school here,’ or, ‘My mom went here,’ and they’re so glad we’ve restored the building,” says Ben.
A look at the building exterior before the renovation.
A new cedar and glass dining pavilion extends through the back of a weekend retreat in rural Ontario designed by architect Brian O'Brian for Ben Sykes and Erin Connor. The 19th-century timber and stone structure, formerly a one-room schoolhouse, proved to be the perfect palimpsest for a modern intervention.
Morrison’s personal collection of artwork and mementos can be seen throughout the apartment.
The living area features a gas fireplace, as well as a band of windows overlooking Manhattan.
“Architecture and sculpture are both about breaking norms,” says Winka Dubbeldam, designer.
Winka Dubbeldam chose recycled ipe wood for a fence she designed in New York State, because of its oily and dense composition, which can withstand the elements.
A discreet entryway to a hidden litter box perforates a white wall.
The weekend house that architect James Cutler designed for Jeff Albertson and Ben Vogt on a remote stretch of Washington State’s Pacific coast fits unobtrusively into its surroundings. The building pad was small, so Cutler stepped the structure up the slope. Rough-sawn red cedar cladding was chosen for textural contrast and its resistance to rot.
Cutler designed the window in the couple’s bedroom to extend below floor level. “It’s almost like you can walk right into the view,” he says. The platform bed is from West Elm.
An aerial view of the home's site along a wooded bluff in Grays Harbor County, Washington.
Instead of concrete, the columns at the center of the home were built with local stone for a more tactile feel.
The parents’ bedroom is intentionally small, with a custom storage unit framing a giant window. “It makes the views feel that much bigger,” says Handa.
A classic Jeanneret Chandigarh armchair sits by the fireplace.
The bathroom continues the colored theme of the kitchen with a slate blue Kateryn bateau cast-iron skirted tub by Signature Hardware.
A Metro modular sofa from Room & Board offers a comfy place to perch. A Hase Collection Tula 8191 wood stove by HearthStone strikes a balance between refined and rustic.
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