Big Rocks

Outdoor Spa

A private courtyard creates shelter from wind and sun, centered around a wood-fired hot tub from Goodland.

Angelika and Scot Whitham tapped their son Todd McMillan and his wife Kristen, both principals of the firm Ben Homes, to build a retirement home on their property near the Muskoka River in Ontario, Canada.

Concrete and weathered steel form the home’s low-profile western facade, anchoring it to the desert.

Tucked into one end of the garage, a potting area is a favorite of Joan, who is an avid gardener and plant lover. The design team used leftover cedar from the ceilings to create the work surface.

At the back of the house, an extended steel downspout is positioned over a boulder to create a waterfall every time it rains. Over the years, moss will grow on the stone, further propagating the local plant life.

During site excavation, a collection of large, glacial boulders was discovered. Ken, who is interested in geology wanted to keep them on property, so Signal Architecture worked as many as they could into the landscape. The slatted fir wall separates the home’s dining area from the guest wing.

DeNiord designed a simple concrete bench with a honed top to run parallel to the randomly sized concrete pads that lead to the covered entry. He planted blueberry bushes behind the bench and a river birch tree behind the boulder. To conjure a wabi-sabi feel outdoors, diNiord poured concrete around a boulder. “It represents the interruption of perfect geometry,” he says.

An exterior shot of the hillside residence offers a glimpse of the property's spectacular vistas.

The lower level features Lezanne's in-house studio.

A contractor drilled holes in a boulder, creating a fountain that he placed in the backyard outside the master bedroom, where the sound of water lulls the Kreadens to sleep.

Entry at Betasso Overlook, landscaped with native grasses.