When Libby May and Eoghan Mahony purchased a 1950s post-and-beam house in Los Angeles’ Santa Monica Canyon, they envisioned someday transforming the garage and adjoining workshop into livable space, with an office for each of them and a family room they could share with their sons, Wes, 14, and Duncan, 10.
Here's what you need to know before undergoing a building project with a contractor but no architect.
Whether you’re battling noise or are short on space, these guides can turn your office into a distraction-free zone.
Just Glaze
Double-glazed windows are typically composed of two layers of glass with a layer of air in between. You might spend more on them upfront ($200–$1,500 each), but the extra insulation can save loads on your heating bill and more than recoup your investment over time. weathershield.com
The Square Staircase By Amir Zinaburg
Before its recent renovation and restoration, Kim Colin and Sam Hecht’s home in London’s Primrose Hill neighborhood served time as a mechanic’s garage.
Arc Dome Pendant is a minimal light created by New York-based designers Allied Maker. This pendant is designed with a focus on simplicity, emphasizing the high quality of the material and the balance of the form. The carefully shaped arc of the bent brass, turned hardwood top, blown glass diffuser, and spun brass dome serve both an aesthetic and functional purpose. This pendant is the perfect marriage of craftsmanship and materials. Height is cut to order.
On an island 20 miles off the coast of Maine, a writer, with the help of his daughter, built not only a room, but an entire green getaway of his own.
Updating the A-frame of yore, this home’s liberal use of windows makes the most of panoramic views spanning two valleys. Catalonia, Spain. Cadaval & Sola-Morales from the book Rock the Shack, Copyright Gestalten 2013.
Estate Bungalow in Matugama, Sri Lanka, by Narein Perera as published in Cabins (Taschen, 2014).
Sebastian Heise’s wooden structure, seemingly atilt, overlooks a green valley in Oberwiesenthal, Germany. The two horizontal windows on the side and the front porch give the home its own unique sense of balance.
Anka Lamprecht and Lukas Wezel shared their rustic domicile in a valley in Grotli, Norway. Boasting an enviable view, it’s the first cabin archived in the book’s “Backcountry” category that features homesteads in the wilderness.
Though the retreat is clearly meant to afford the solitude writing so often requires, Kathleen reports that "it's very lively. Deer approach, birds bathe. The sun warms my desk and you can hear the rain."
A polychrome facade made of salvaged, 100-year-old barnwood gives this small, lofted cottage space its unique character. Its copper roof is also reclaimed, a lucky Craigslist find from a local remodel. Though the structure has a footprint of just 11' x 14', it provides a useful space to entertain, catch up on work, or relax.
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