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A Reform Kitchen is the spot for frequent baking and cooking, two of Julie's passions.

A wall of built-in storage cubbies, shelving, and a bench anchors the bright white-painted bedroom, which features a walk-in closet.

Floor plan of Two Square ADU by Shin Shin

Studio kitchen- Stainless steel plate counter, stained casework, concrete floors and exposed 2x wood ceiling structure with concealed lighting.

The landscape design, by Anna Boeschenstein of Grounded, followed a 2,200-square-foot extension by Formwork architects Robert and Cecilia H. Nichols. The front door is painted in Chinese Red by Sherwin-Williams.

Artist and corrective-exercise specialist, Ruth Hiller, moved to Winter Park, Colorado from New York knowing that her home would be glass and steel with wraparound windows. She hopped on the phone with architect Michael Johnson, he drew the sketch, and it took a mere five minutes to decide on the design. The common areas are suspended and cantilevered over the backyard ravine, offering views of a winding mountain creek while also doubling the square footage. A Bathyscafocus by Focus Creations fireplace warms up the modern abode.

The entrance to the home was painted in a uniform, dark blue-gray to visually unify the different elements and make it more contemporary. The existing latticed timber awning was exchanged for a more minimal, robust awning that provides shade and shelter from the rain, and the light fitting above the door was replaced.

The house has nine portals in total, each consisting of two structural walls that create a threshold. The portals also double as openings between the spaces, creating the vertical connections that the original house lacked.

The existing Ikea cabinet boxes received new Semihandmade fronts: the DIY Flat Slab painted Benjamin Moore's “Revere Pewter.” The butcher block was replaced with a Ceaserstone Empira White slab, and the wood shelves were preserved, though received new brass brackets. The brass hardware is from Rejuvenation and the pendant is the Pirlo from Tech Lighting. The new zellige tile is from Riad, in the Natural White color.

Another water-saving project in Menlo Park includes a rock bed with succulents.

The outdoor space includes a fire pit.

FormLA Landscaping principal Cassy Aoyagi integrates drought-resistant plants into her Southern California projects.

Garden

These no-fuss landscaping ideas yield gardens that practically take care of themselves.

The owners, a creative duo in the arts describe their home as “an unimaginable experience of modern loft living across four different levels. Sometimes giving you the feeling of inhabiting and owning half of the building.”

The guest loft features a bed from West Elm and custom plywood casework by Kansas City artisan Haynes Nichols.

A long gravel driveway leads to the two-level home, which sits nestled away from the road on a spacious coastal lot, surrounded by soaring trees and a meadow-like yard.