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The home features a combination of interior and exterior living spaces that afford privacy to the occupants. “There are social spaces for everyone to be together, but also spots outside the building where people can have a private coffee—and that’s so important,” says architect Line Solgaard.

“Where we let loose was on the window,” Matt says. “It’s an aluminium window frame, which is bushfire compliant and easy to install, but the way that we detailed it was about hiding the frame so that the eye is drawn into the space.”

Marie Saldivar’s experimental metal-clad dwelling is the perfect place to host family—and proof of concept for her new prefab company.

Note Mansawataphaiboon cooks something up.

Just past sunrise at Betasso Overlook.

Alicia Freska paid to redo the space with fresh cabinetry, appliances, and flooring, while her landlord shored up the structure.

The trees here “hug the building,” says Fritz. A Sycamore sits next to the house, providing shade for the patio in the summertime.

A series of “stacked boxes” laid the foundation for this Sea Ranch–inspired home on a narrow site set on two flood zones and filled with protected redwoods.

The single-volume home has been designed to appear to float over the lot on its deck. Ryan upgraded the existing foundation to support its passive design. "Originally, I wanted to make the whole house powered with wood pellets," he says. "But I decided against shoveling pellets in the snow. I'll get weird in a little bit less of a cold climate."

"We did our best to tuck the buildings into the site—the goal was to get up high on a perch. It was a matter of setting that elevation and working back down with the topography," says architectural designer Riley Pratt.

The new prefab unit is located just a few meters from the main home—a thatched-roof cottage that dates back to the 1950s. “The dark color of the cladding blends into the dark hedges in the garden, so the unit doesn’t attract too much attention,” says Vriesema.

In the primary bedroom, wood and Mediterranean aesthetics provide the common thread. The bedside lamps are from the Spanish decor chain Natura.