Beachfront House

Steps away from the water, the back patio provides an incredible setting for entertaining.

Walls of double-pane, tempered, laminated glass surround the upper living space furnished with Tolomeo lights by Artemide, vintage midcentury chairs, and a custom-made redwood burl table.

Thanks to a careful renovation that included a handful of preservation challenges, a family's Spanish beach house is given new life—and a big dose of light. Situated along the historic Camí de Ronda footpath in Spain's Costa Brava region, the Es Garbi beach house was renovated by Nook Architects to reflect the light and tranquility of the surrounding Mediterranean landscape, as well as to function as a well-designed family home.

Cannon Beach Living

Hillside Sanctuary (Hoedemaker Pfeiffer)

The material palette of Suns End Retreat includes Douglas fir that wraps the floors, walls, and ceiling. Wheeler Kearns Architects say the home's “calm, natural earth tones read quietly in concert with the natural surroundings.”

Wild bush, sand dunes, and scrub surround the circular home on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. The Austin Maynard Architects team was careful to minimize the building’s impact on the fragile landscape.

The interiors of many of Mickey Muennig’s houses emphasize natural building materials such as wood, concrete, and stone.

Front facade facing West at dusk

The Pierre | Olson Kundig

Bathed in natural light, the dining area is located in the most architecturally striking part of the home.

For Gabriel Ramirez and his partner Sarah Mason Williams, following the Sea Ranch rules—local covenants guide new designs—didn’t mean slipping into Sea Ranch clichés. The architects love Cor-Ten steel, with its ruddy and almost organic surface, and they made it the main exterior material, along with board-formed concrete and ipe wood. The Cor-Ten, which quickly turned an autumnal rust in the sea air, and the concrete, with its grain and crannies, mean the house isn’t a pristine box, Ramirez says. His Neutra house “was very crisp and clean,” he says. “This house is more distressed, more wabi-sabi.”

The influence of the beach is echoed in the living room's sandy, stucco masonry. A wall of windows brings a sense of the outside in.

The green roof blends this small home into the gentle slope of the five-acre lot, sheltering it from the wind while showcasing the spectacular view once inside.