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These Are the Most Popular Homes of February 2023View 11 Photos

These Are the Most Popular Homes of February 2023

From an 1800s farmhouse renovated with a sunken courtyard to an overhauled Seattle midcentury, here’s where our readers found inspiration last month.
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Renovations reigned supreme in February: A beach house set in the dunes just south of Santa Cruz, California, sheds its dark shingles inside and out; an adobe home by Frank Lloyd Wright in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is retrofitted after its previous owner’s pack of dogs devastated the property; in Seattle, a painting provides a point of reference for a remodel; and a tumbledown cottage with a thatched roof in Germany is restored and opened up to the rolling countryside. Oh, and one new build, a cabin in Denmark that a passerby could mistake for a library, is one for the books.

Big Windows and White Interiors Punch Up a Gloomy ’60s California Beach House

Fuse Architects took a 1960s-built home in Pajaro Dunes, California, and renovated it as a retreat for their clients, a family of five. "The idea was to take the existing house and give it new life—one that met the needs and aesthetics of our designer clients," says the firm. "Although the shape and form of the remodeled home remains relatively unchanged from its original design, we wanted to take advantage of the ocean’s proximity by opening up the walls and providing framed views of the coast line."

Fuse Architects took a 1960s-built home in Pajaro Dunes, California, and renovated it as a retreat for their clients, a family of five. "The idea was to take the existing house and give it new life—one that met the needs and aesthetics of our designer clients," says the firm. "Although the shape and form of the remodeled home remains relatively unchanged from its original design, we wanted to take advantage of the ocean’s proximity by opening up the walls and providing framed views of the coast line."

The interior contrasts the dark exterior with white plaster, allowing natural light to disperse throughout the home.

The interior contrasts the dark exterior with white plaster, allowing natural light to disperse throughout the home.

"MA03 Library House was designed to meet the requirements of a ceramicist and a lawyer in need of a home capable of holding their extensive book collection as well as providing them with spaces for work and creative activity," say Fria Folket, the architect behind this cabin in Sweden.

"MA03 Library House was designed to meet the requirements of a ceramicist and a lawyer in need of a home capable of holding their extensive book collection as well as providing them with spaces for work and creative activity," say Fria Folket, the architect behind this cabin in Sweden.

She continues, "Four gable-roof buildings complement the centrally located library, each one solving its own specific part of the program in accordance with the adjoining section: The east building is for cooking and gardening; the south building is for arts and crafts; the west building houses law, science, and music; and the north building, accommodating the areas for rest and recovery, contains meditation and self development. Linking the volumes together—thematically as well as systematically—the library functions as the core and the bloodstream of the project.

She continues, "Four gable-roof buildings complement the centrally located library, each one solving its own specific part of the program in accordance with the adjoining section: The east building is for cooking and gardening; the south building is for arts and crafts; the west building houses law, science, and music; and the north building, accommodating the areas for rest and recovery, contains meditation and self development. Linking the volumes together—thematically as well as systematically—the library functions as the core and the bloodstream of the project.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Pottery House in 1943 for a client in El Paso, Texas, but it was never built. Developer Charles Klotsche finally erected the home in 1984 in Santa Fe, revising the plan by nearly doubling its size and reconfiguring its orientation east to west.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Pottery House in 1943 for a client in El Paso, Texas, but it was never built. Developer Charles Klotsche finally erected the home in 1984 in Santa Fe, revising the plan by nearly doubling its size and reconfiguring its orientation east to west.

A path leading through the home’s interior courtyard leads to a massive double-sided hearth that serves an outdoor patio and the interior living area. It takes visual cues from traditional American Indian ceramic vessels.

A path leading through the home’s interior courtyard leads to a massive double-sided hearth that serves an outdoor patio and the interior living area. It takes visual cues from traditional American Indian ceramic vessels.

This thatch-roofed brick cottage in Nieby, Germany, was originally built by tenant farmers or crofters from a nearby estate in the late 1800s. It stands on a small triangular plot of land surrounded by barley fields and faces toward the Geltinger Birk nature reserve. The home’s street-facing facade was preserved and restored with only a minimal, black-steel dormer window belying the more substantial alterations which open onto the private rear yard. A subtle black-framed addition containing an oak-lined living space is tucked under the thatched roof and opens onto a sunken timber terrace while large picture windows are cut into the historic brick volume in areas which had been damaged from the previous additions.

This thatch-roofed brick cottage in Nieby, Germany, was originally built by tenant farmers or crofters from a nearby estate in the late 1800s. It stands on a small triangular plot of land surrounded by barley fields and faces toward the Geltinger Birk nature reserve. The home’s street-facing facade was preserved and restored with only a minimal, black-steel dormer window belying the more substantial alterations which open onto the private rear yard. A subtle black-framed addition containing an oak-lined living space is tucked under the thatched roof and opens onto a sunken timber terrace while large picture windows are cut into the historic brick volume in areas which had been damaged from the previous additions.

Project architects Studio Marshall Blecher and Jan Henrik Jansen Arkitekter opened up the center of the house, previously comprising a maze of fourteen small rooms, creating one large and airy kitchen and dining space with a high, chapel like ceiling. A six-meter-long concrete plinth standing at the center of the room which doubles as an island bench and dining table, had to be lowered into the house by a crane while the roof was being reconstructed.

Project architects Studio Marshall Blecher and Jan Henrik Jansen Arkitekter opened up the center of the house, previously comprising a maze of fourteen small rooms, creating one large and airy kitchen and dining space with a high, chapel like ceiling. A six-meter-long concrete plinth standing at the center of the room which doubles as an island bench and dining table, had to be lowered into the house by a crane while the roof was being reconstructed.

In renovating this Seattle residence, Best Practice Architecture painted the exterior brick after patching it in places, like the section left by the removal of the door. "We could find the exact texture of brick, that classic Roman running bond, but we could not find it in the right color," says architect Kailin Gregga. Painting the entire exterior unifies the façade. Rich Brilliant Willing Hoist sconces in Black were also added.

In renovating this Seattle residence, Best Practice Architecture painted the exterior brick after patching it in places, like the section left by the removal of the door. "We could find the exact texture of brick, that classic Roman running bond, but we could not find it in the right color," says architect Kailin Gregga. Painting the entire exterior unifies the façade. Rich Brilliant Willing Hoist sconces in Black were also added.

"They really wanted to have tile in the kitchen and at the front door, but everyone disliked that hard edge line," says Gregga. "Doing the organic edge of the tile helped make the entry space and kitchen feel like one, and then it disintegrates into the living and dining room."

"They really wanted to have tile in the kitchen and at the front door, but everyone disliked that hard edge line," says Gregga. "Doing the organic edge of the tile helped make the entry space and kitchen feel like one, and then it disintegrates into the living and dining room."

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