ADU

A wall of storage in the living area has become a revolving display of souvenirs and found objects, either from their travels or shopping trips around the city. A wide window was installed to make the room feel like a treehouse. "I really wanted the home to feel bright and serene,

"We did splurge in certain areas, but we made sure to be careful about where we did,

Backdrop’s After Hours, a soft charcoal hue, gives Carlos Naude and Whitney Brown’s home in Woodland Hills, California, sleek curb appeal. Lund Sconces by Kuzco Lighting punctuate the exterior, and the streamlined garage doors are by Amarr.

The original layout was very much of the time: a perfect midcentury modern flow, with a closed-off kitchen and a fire put in the floor. “They were cool but impractical spaces,” says Schaer.

Jason and Laura Miller-Smith tapped Cover Architecture and EEK Studio to update their Buff and Hensman midcentury home with custom casework, ribbed glass, and a grand fireplace while staying true to the original plans.

For more than 70 years, claims have persisted, without much evidence, that a home in Portland, Oregon, is a lost work by Frank Lloyd Wright. Regardless of authorship, the structure—a flat-roofed, cedar and glass ranch—endures as a sterling example of postwar American architecture. Its recessed entryway features panes of translucent glass.

The home office's built-in desk has enough space for parents to work while the kids tackle art projects or homework without feeling too crowded.

A bright reading nook captures the home's color and material palette: polished concrete floors, white walls, and oak cabinetry. The windows in the reading nook (and also the kitchen and the master bathroom) are a more expensive, frameless model.

"The forest outside our windows brings us joy from the moment we wake up in the morning," says Jonah, "while we watch the hawks and birds and drink our coffee to the period of dusk when the deer pass through on their evening foraging and the fox come out of hiding."

Perched high above Oakland, this expanded midcentury soaks up jaw-dropping views—even from the bathroom.

The owner and architect chose to outfit almost every aspect of the studio in Douglas fir plywood.

The studio is oriented toward the garden for privacy and views.

Keeping ample green space on the property was a top-tier goal. One of the house's original screened-in porches remains, but, according to Emily, "we dropped the screens so when you're sitting in the dining room, you can look out and see the bamboo." The divide between the new and old sections is marked by a gap in the roof that lets the sun into a small planted area.

Isaac invested in a video set up that easily and discreetly folds up into the cabinetry above his desktop computer, which was also a recent purchase.

The couple added the wainscot, installed by Seamus, and painted in Farrow & Ball Red Earth to continue the “color story” from the breakfast room. The white oak built-in has much needed storage behind the cane cabinet fronts and display. The Caitlin couch by Everygirl for Interior Define sits atop a vintage checkered rug with an Anthropologie coffee table and Hay Paper Shade overhead.

Renovated in stages over the course of a decade, a home in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood proves the power of thoughtful design using humble materials.

Unknown Works updated the space with floor-to-ceiling glazing and concrete floors that run from the interior to a tranquil backyard escape.