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As an artist & engineer that explores the beauty of natural objects and scenes, the homeowner tasked us with creating a building that was not precious - one that explores the essence of its raw building materials and is not afraid of expressing them as finished. We designed in opportunities for kinetic fixtures, many built by her, to allow flexibility and movement. The result is a building that compliments the casual artistic lifestyle of the occupant as part home, part work space, part gallery. The spaces are intended to be interactive, contemplative, and fun.

Raw, common timber materials were used in rhythm to create a warm and casual canvas for the sunken and double height living space in our Not Precious house.

Light & air

The desk folds up and the installation swivels to pull down the bed.

An LGM wall bed from Resource Furniture is a convenient work-from-home spot. After the pandemic, the Paulas wanted to incorporate plenty of work stations in their home, as before the carriage house, “We had four of us all sitting at the dining table working,” remembers René. “It was super loud, like a trading floor at an investment bank, because all four of us would be talking at the same time.” With desks in the kids’ rooms and two offices, every family member can work in quiet.

The designers were able to expose the original brick in some areas to reference the building’s past.

The designers were inspired by René’s upbringing in Puerto Rico, choosing Valencia tile from Fireclay to reference the colors and cobblestone streets of Old San Juan, joining it with a custom cane and wood vanity by The Build With Ethan.

Part of the new addition, the second-floor studio has desks for Eric and Emily, and the family often does crafts or plays games here in the evening.

The studio is kept simple to give creativity room to flow. "We often come up here after dinner and play a game in the corner nook," Emily says. Eric says that light from sunrises makes the space feel magical in the morning.

"The idea for the shower room is that it would be like a retreat," Eric says. "There is a long hallway between it and the bedroom, so it becomes an intentional procession every time you want to get there." The floor is a large-format tile in a geologic-inspired pattern. "It almost looks like it's full of fossils," Eric says. He and Emily populated the room with green plants for a natural layer of color.

Modern furniture in the primary bedroom adds color and texture without taking away from the main view—a lush green yard with several bamboo groves. "Maybe it's because we're older now, but we've been birding from the bedroom," Emily says with a laugh, noting that the bamboo attracts a lot of avian life.

Custom cabinetry and millwork were expenses the Hughes didn't mind splurging on. Clark's room has a strip of shelving painted sky blue; the color appears throughout the house in various iterations (it's Emily's favorite).

The kitchen's painted, high-density MDF cabinets are durable storage options. The backsplash is white porcelain tile with blue grout that matches the cabinet hardware.

The original ceiling, made from old-growth pine, adds warmth to the living room, balancing out the white walls and salvaged white oak flooring.

The primary bathroom includes oak cabinetry and quartzite counters. Michelle found the salvaged Rejuvenation bathtub that retails for $10,000 on Nextdoor for less than one-tenth of the price. It had a small scratch, but they opted to paint the exterior, so the imperfection didn't show in the end.

The primary bedroom, which Michelle wanted to be a calming oasis, has a minimal palette of oak wood and white paint. "It's nice to have a private space to read for the first time ever!

To create a visual connection between the two sections of the house, Janusz used white-painted shiplap, oak flooring, and globe-shaped pendants in each. Refined details, such as vertical oak trim in the hallway, elevate the project's feel. "I thought it was important to mark transitional spaces,

Custom built-in storage was a splurge Michelle and Haden were willing to spend on. In the laundry room, Fireclay tiles were another high-spend choice. "It was out of our budget," Michelle says, "but it was so dramatic, and we saved so much by using inexpensive white tile in the bathroom.

The kitchen remains mostly untouched, but the design team added new cabinetry around the refrigerator. “We changed the light fixtures over the island,” Janusz says of the Dutton Brown pendants. “We used simple shapes like squares and balls. We repeated globe light fixtures throughout, so you see them in the kitchen, the dining room, the laundry room, as well as up the stairs.”