Dream Homes

Stuart Silk Architects made significant changes to the exterior with their addition of beige brick walls, thin custom-designed columns, steel trellises, and large roof overhangs.

The Cree House feels larger than its modest footprint thanks to expansive walls of glass and the enormous front deck and rear patio, which link the home to the outdoors.

For Gabriel Ramirez and his partner Sarah Mason Williams, following the Sea Ranch rules—local covenants guide new designs—didn’t mean slipping into Sea Ranch clichés. The architects love Cor-Ten steel, with its ruddy and almost organic surface, and they made it the main exterior material, along with board-formed concrete and ipe wood. The Cor-Ten, which quickly turned an autumnal rust in the sea air, and the concrete, with its grain and crannies, mean the house isn’t a pristine box, Ramirez says. His Neutra house “was very crisp and clean,” he says. “This house is more distressed, more wabi-sabi.”

When Ferdinando Fagnola co-designed a series of avant-garde Brutalist villas on the Sardinian coast in the mid-1970s, he had no idea he would return one day with a group of younger architects to transform a trio of them into one home for new owners. Each villa consists of seemingly discrete, half-buried concrete volumes emerging from the earth. A Spun chair by Thomas Heatherwick for Magis is oriented toward the sea.

This stunning forest retreat in England uses prefabricated panels to minimize site impact, shorten construction time, and protect against weather.

Formerly the site of a French polishing company in the 20th century, this building in Clerkenwell, London, was converted by Chris Dyson Architects in 2015 into a residence with an expanded basement and triple-height living space that allows a dramatic feature staircase to take center stage.

A private rooftop terrace with a Juliet balcony that looks down at a gallery space on the ground level.

Built as a warehouse, this 2,200-square-foot, one-bedroom home in East London kept its original layout, but now has an open bedroom on the mezzanine level.

It’s important to confirm that there are no rotten columns, beams, or other damaged supporting elements before you buy a home.

City Cabin | Olson Kundig

Stinson Beach House floor plan.

The home is surrounded by an acre of woods and overlooks the Great Salt Lake which provides stunning sunset views.

"The family are very close-knit with a lot of nostalgia for a cottage that their grandparents once owned. Things like cedar shakes, painted pine paneling, handmade bed quilts, and ceramic tiles reminiscent of quilt patterns bring those memories back. The clients' children are now young parents with contemporary taste and needs, so the design had to feel youthful," says Hope.

The floor plan of Casa Bambu.

A new floor plan opened up the home taking advantage of both the natural lighting and cross-ventilation—minimizing the need for electricity and air-conditioning.

First built in 1959 as acclaimed architect Jim Olson's first project, this modest bunkhouse in the woods grew into an extraordinary family retreat.

The original building is set around an L-shaped courtyard. The main entrance is next to the carport on the street side, with a second entry toward the back of the house.