Favorite Homes

Bambi—long a nickname for Airstream’s light, single-axle offerings—launched this year as a family of approachable travel trailers.

In architect Nildo José’s Loft Ninho, a bedroom box clad in ceramic tile rests within an oak wood-wrapped space, creating a quirky and nest-like retreat within the space. A steel ladder leads up to an indoor garden.

When Marlene and E. Dale Adkins’s home of 22 years, a 1960s ranch house in Greenspring Valley, Maryland, was lost in a fire in 2013, the couple vowed to rebuild. Finished last year, their new home is covered in dark slate shingles for the sides and roof, Cor-Ten steel accents, and charred cedar for the gable fronts.

The post-and-beam ceiling is highlighted with pendant globe lights.

The L-shaped central space has high ceilings and holds the dining room, living room, kitchen, and work area.

Beyond the large pedestrian gate, “which is really the home’s front door,” says Gottschalk, “the house begins to reveal its strong indoor and outdoor relationship. Blurring the boundary between the two is a key design element.”

Jody’s favorite spot is outside on the deck. “I spend most of my time there. We’ve got two braais, and I braai just about every night,” he says, using the Afrikaans word for barbecue. “It’s not about the food for me,” he adds, “It’s about standing around the fire.” The platform sofas were designed by Scott, the dining table is by James Mudge Furniture Studio, and the Hee lounge and dining chairs are by Hay.

After: Wood beams and concrete walls emerge from cutaways in the drywall, revealing the building’s industrial skeleton. The custom steel-and-oak dining table is by Ohio Design.

The main house was given a contemporary look by way of a metal roof and a black exterior.

Concrete pavers line the new hardscape, which steps up to a deck built of ipe wood. Ipe wood has also been used for the built-in benches and fencing.

The garden has been prepared with electrical and plumbing services in case they are required for the future installation of a summer house.

Working with a sumptuous material palette, Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects designed a sprawling new residence in Palo Alto for Mark and Laura Pine. The teak wood and handmade Danish bricks that define the exterior are used inside as well; distressed stainless steel panels by Chris French Metal sheathe one side of the upper volume. Blasen Landscape Architecture chose Peruvian feather grass to flank the entrance walkway.

The master bedroom's sliding glass doors open up to an outdoor terrace, garden, and the pool.