Cerritos

The firm tucked an entry bench into the curved wall to create an easy spot for taking off shoes by the door, then lined the passageway with shelves. A curved bench under the stairs creates a nook.

Living area, looking toward entry alcove and through front bay window up street.

Located in Sierra Madre, California, an existing ranch home with clean architectural geometry, was transformed into a contemporary home with an expanded open floor plan, improved circulation and access, and carefully placed clerestory windows. On the exterior, revised garage orientation eliminates excessive driveway paving and reestablishes the front yard as usable space.

Now the living area flows gracefully into the dining room and connects the view to the backyard. The new eight-foot by 11-foot window on the back wall ensures lots of natural light and "a true indoor-outdoor feel," says Naber. "We have beautiful sunsets and love being able to look out the windows into our backyard."

Oakley furnished his living area with a Karlstad sectional sofa from Ikea and a pair of City Slicker side tables from CB2.

Originally conceived as a jewel box that would evoke precious objects and fine woodworking, Architect Natalie Donne envisioned, “a box covered with smooth and black material on the outside and blonde wood on the inside.” Large sheets of lustrous black fibrocement were assembled using fine rivets to form two connecting prisms, complete with large opening glass walls.

The rear of the Chistopher Polly-designed Elliott Ripper house shows the most impactful design moves—windows that allow light and air to enter the house. Breezway Altair louvers, Viridian Comfort Plus low-e glass, and Western Red Cedar–framed sliding glass doors on the ground floor and pivot stay windows on the second story allow residents to control how open or closed the house is. Photo by: Brett Boardman