entryway

The birch millwork includes a special cubby for Ryan and Rory's cat's litterbox—you'll spot the access hole on the far left.

A pegboard niche creates a space to drop keys and sunglasses.

The primary suite's half wall allows for sunlight and fresh air to reach the full bathroom on the other side.

The entryway has enough storage for the family of four, with spots for guests.

The entry, marked by a blue door and bifold doors,

Simple brass screws affix the bathroom’s antibacterial copper cladding, reclaimed from a barn roof in Connecticut, to the walls. Bronze screen frames, salvaged from buildings on Shope’s Amenia property and then cut into small decorative strips, line the bathroom door frame.

He carefully crafted the black walnut floor to fit like a jigsaw puzzle.

Quality millwork in the primary suite—small details such as the cylindrical handles and channeling around the doors—gives it a modern sophistication. The white oak cabinetry complements the white oak flooring, salvaged from a renovation in a different neighborhood.

The entry has a cubby for Roberta’s shoes and a branch-shaped grab bar made of bronze by British designer Phillip Watts.

Derek Gray of Bay West Builders made the entry bench from wood earmarked for an unbuilt breakfast bar. Radiant-heated concrete floors offer a polished counterpoint to the board-formed walls outside.

Coach houses must include a garage, so the entry hall leads directly upstairs to the living spaces.

A coat of white paint lightens up the scheme, as do the polished travertine floor tiles.

Even though a terrible fire took most of her home, Sammie took the accident as an opportunity to grow into the next phase of her life. She keeps a sense of calm—and humor—as seen in this cheeky doormat.

Double-height cedar cladding enhances the verticality of the structure.

Scott Glass, cofounder of New York–based firm Guerin Glass Architects, designed this six-bedroom retreat in Amagansett on Long Island for himself and his wife, former MSNBC host JJ Ramberg. The Hamptons residence comprises three volumes clad in cypress, cedar, and glass.

DeNiord designed a simple concrete bench with a honed top to run parallel to the randomly sized concrete pads that lead to the covered entry. He planted blueberry bushes behind the bench and a river birch tree behind the boulder. To conjure a wabi-sabi feel outdoors, diNiord poured concrete around a boulder. “It represents the interruption of perfect geometry,” he says.

The formal entry space features a built-in bench and is defined by a timber detail that runs up the walls and across the ceiling. “Built-ins are an excellent way to bring a human scale to a project,” says architect Nicholas Fiore. “People seek an intimacy—a coziness—in their homes, and we think that niches, window seats, benches, nooks, and other ‘hand-scale’ details can satisfy that human need.”