Paint it Black

Boxy Rebellion: "I like simple shapes, and for a house," says Winterhalder, "a box is very good." The two downstairs bathrooms are located in freestanding larch-covered cubes; the kitchen island is resoundingly rectilinear; and a square-shaped area in the guest bedroom serves as a home office, where Winterhalder designs UV-blocking children’s beach wear for her label, Beach Heroes.

Measure Twice: When determining the height of the concrete blocks that form the outer wall of the kitchen island, the couple took a hands-on approach. "We measured our coffeemaker and a bottle of oil, and that’s how much higher we made the concrete blocks than the counter,"Winterhalder says. The blocks themselves were made to measure by a concrete supplier.