Concrete

"It was nothing but a muddy pit," landscape architect Terence Lee says about the 500-square-foot yard behind his Pacifica, California, house. Instead of filling the space with potted plants or paving it over for a quick fix, Lee devised a simple budget-friendly plan involving tilted lines and a few plants to fashion a functional, low-maintenance space fit his family of five's lifestyle.

When Belgian fashion retailer Nathalie Vandemoortele was seeking a new nest for her brood, she stumbled upon a fortresslike house in the countryside designed in 1972 by a pair of Ghent architects, Johan Raman and Fritz Schaffrath. While the Brutalist concrete architecture and petite but lush gardens suited her tastes to a tee, the interiors needed a few updates.

Stepstone's narrow concrete pavers add a graphic touch to the garden.

The unadorned street-facing facade of the house belies the light, open, tranquil space inside.

The concrete footings have cured and now preparations will begin for the concrete slab pour.

The home's different levels create a playful experience for the inhabitants. The concrete floor references the building’s past use as a garage for ambulances.

Pros: Concrete countertops are durable, resistant to heat, and can be less expensive than natural stone, especially when completed as a DIY project. Cons: Concrete must be sealed before being used; otherwise, its porous nature means that it will stain very easily.

Another sculptural design is the KME188earring set.

The bathrooms feature the same polished concrete flooring and poured concrete counters found elsewhere in the home. A honed granite recessed shower provides a visual counterpoint to the sea of white and steel.

A minimalist approach to design can make spaces feel thoughtful, bright, and more spacious than they really are—qualities that are paramount to a recent project in Poznań by Polish architecture firm mode:lina. The architects employed several tricks to make the home feel more spacious. Among them, mirrors were installed to visually enlarge the room, and smart storage spaces—even a recessed dog house—were built directly into the home’s walls. “The less visible [storage is], the better,” they say.

A spacious deck was created as part of the addition. A cantilevered concrete bench stretches out to the rear garden and complements the adjacent concrete wall.

Concrete is used for the walls and ceiling and stone for the floors to maintain an urban, industrial feeling.