Exterior

In 1962, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architect Arthur Witthoefft won the AIA's highest honor for a home he built in the lush woods of Westchester County. Having fended off a developer's wrecking ball, Todd Goddard and Andrew Mandolene went above and beyond to make this manse mint again.

In addition to its curved powder-blue cabinets to its bold cutouts and red-tiled entrance, the front facade presents its own set of oversize cutouts. “We wanted to use pure geometries throughout the home,” says architect Marianne Amodio.

Ali and Adrian Fluevog’s Vancouver house is a series of delightful surprises. Designed by MA+HG Architects, it bursts exuberantly from a narrow lot in an otherwise humdrum neighborhood.

Artist Charles Gaines plays the piano in the Los Angeles home he shares with his wife, art historian Roxana Landaverde. For years, a piano took up most of the living room until they asked TOLO Architecture to expand the space. The project eventually included adding a series of distinctive metal screens to the facade reminiscent of Charles’s work.

The architects retained the previous deck’s footprint but updated it with ipe boards. The sconces on both levels are the Bower model from Schoolhouse Electric.

In the entryway, stained white-oak cabinetry provides a tidy place for shoes and bags. An unexpected but delightful moment of Brooks Thomas’ Martha Armitage wallpaper adorns the ceiling. The front door is a custom design.

Dubbed the Little Shingle for its unique exterior cladding—inspired by the homeowner’s college years spent in New England—the house is finished with Benjamin Moore’s Arborcoat stain in Decorator’s White. The awnings at both entrances are through Seattle Metal Products, powder-coated in pastel blue. A matching planter near the front door doubles as a handrail.

Sitting jauntily on its block, this renovated residence in Seattle’s Mount Baker neighborhood retained the original home’s footprint. The architect (and daughter of the homeowner) opened up the living spaces inside and overhauled the exterior and landscaping to give it a more contemporary presence. Cambium Landscape created the outdoor spaces which perfectly balance hardscape with greenery.

Relocating windows and doors meant the original brick needed to be patched and painted in a lighter terracotta tone. Lake Flato Architects added exterior mahogany accents for a new motif that subtly recalls the previous bright red trim. Office of Tangible Space tapped L.A. artist Ben Medansky to craft custom ceramic house numbers.

“Metaphorically, the cabin’s exterior is like a cut log,” Lane says. “The black-stained Western red cedar is the bark, and the Douglas fir siding under cover is the exposed wood once the log has been cut.” Beyond the house and native sod gardens, a meadowscape blends into the mature pine forest at the lakefront. “We wanted a woodland garden quality,” landscape architect Soren deNiord says.

The owners built the house as a place to gather with their three adult children on Loon Lake, where they had vacationed at the husband’s family home for years. The modern Adirondack chairs are by Loll Designs.

Outdoor furniture by Restoration Hardware sits on the terrace off the living room.

The designers introduced new Alaskan yellow cedar glulam beams for the updated roofline and windows by Pella. The front door is painted in Sherwin Williams "Rose Colored."