Exterior

The home's overhangs provide shade. “We wanted to make sure the house was comfortable,” says Ikegami. “You have cross-ventilation, and the interior is filled with light from the clerestory.”

Steps lead from the master bedroom balcony to a spacious deck. Situating the deck away from the house gives it the feel of a getaway, says Trainor, who worked on the project with colleague David LeRoy. “We liked the idea of going further into the garden amid plantings for privacy,” adds Trainor. Granite boulders and persimmon, Japanese maple, and oak trees lend what he calls “a California-Japanese feel.”

A 100-year-old oak shades the front of the house, which is clad in weathering yellow cedar.

Walnut and Formica cabinetry, Neolith basalt counters, and concrete floors make up the kitchen’s minimal palette; a large clerestory ushers in natural light.

Recently retired and ready to downsize, Paul and Melonie Brophy found a lot in Palo Alto that gave them the chance to start fresh. Their glass, concrete, and wood house, designed by Feldman Architecture, seems to float above a landscape by Bernard Trainor. Of the board-formed concrete wall, architect Taisuke Ikegami says, "It connects the building to the ground plane while allowing the house to be a landscape element."

The entrance now has a new glass front door and bespoke casework.

Tama and Lauren Bell renovated a three-story condo in Sebastopol, California, where Judy Tyrus and Eric Waldman could live and run their non-profit. In the ground-floor office, sliding panels made by Lattice Stix separate two desks from a larger work space.

"As an amateur astronomer, Roberson made sure to also include a well-equipped observatory,

A 580-square-foot terrace complete with outdoor kitchen sits above a new garage. The terrace’s design was inspired in part by New York’s High Line, says Rick, with its varied and immersive plantings, expanded steel-mesh guardrail, and lighting beneath ipe handrail caps.

A move to Palm Springs gave designers Joel and Meelena Turkel the opportunity to imagine a new home for their family of four using the same prefabricated systems they’ve developed for clients.

Six slabs were placed in a row on top of prefab concrete walls (inset). The architects chose the components in part for their length, which could span the width of the house, eliminating the need for columns.

The third wing of the home ends in a family room, added by Busche's firm as part of the 1980s expansion. A large patio surrounds the in-ground heated pool and overlooks a 150-acre nature preserve that borders the property.

The increased square footage and the outdoor patios are welcome additions to the home.

“Courtyards are a fantastic way of controlling the sun here,” says architect Cavin Costello. “We live outdoors primarily in the late fall/winter, when the sun angle is very low, and tall walls are often more effective than roofs in providing shade for the outdoor spaces.”

The side patio doubles as a parking spot for a custom-built 1970 Honda CB750.