Concrete

Just outside the studio, Ground Studio Landscape Architecture created a natural courtyard with a meadow and an edgeless pool that mimics a pond.

Sharon and Mike Matas use the studio to design, create, and research.

One of the concrete supports rises from a steep hillside and stands among surrounding trees.

The studio cantilevers over a steep hillside and provides a tree house effect.

The remote studio/office that Robert Swatt of Swatt Miers Architects designed for a Healdsburg, California, property is marked by glass walls that provide the feeling of working in nature.

Extra-wide concrete pillars help to support the studio at its core.

Inside, an MDO-and-metal dresser, designed by the architects and built by Custom Manufacturing and Tutto Ferro, doubles as a headboard. Perched atop it is a bust by Manuel Neri. The lounge and ottoman are TK.

A cutaway in the standing-seam zinc roof creates an outdoor area for the guest suite. The chairs are from Teak Warehouse.

Michael Doherty Construction completed the 5,900-square-foot house in 2017. Along with landscape designer Delphine Huetz, architects Luke Ogrydziak and Zoë Prillinger envisioned a series of giant earthen berms for the yard. A cluster of deer grass, tall switch grass, blue grama grass, and heatwave hyssop grows near the garage.

Contrasting materials, like blackened steel, silvery zinc, and white sheetrock, converge at odd angles.

Sticking out above the kitchen, the triangular library showcases a sculpture by Stephen De Staebler.

When the blinds are up, the owners can take in the Old Southwest neighborhood from their bed, a custom design.

Clever engineering allows the NanaWall systems to fold easily out of the way and offer an unobstructed transition to the outdoor living areas.

The couple loves to entertain, and the oversized kitchen island is the perfect place to prep. The countertop is quartz; the backsplash, hot-rolled steel. Barstools are from Pottery Barn. Lighting was sourced from West Elm.