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The corner bedroom’s inspired ocean view is made possible by wall-to-wall Marvin Modern Multi-Slide doors.

A Hikvision video camera on the roof (top right) streams a live feed of the city to a television on a windowless wall inside.

Scott and Regina’s toolkit of electronics extends outdoors. A Sonos sound system is installed on the patio and a retractable sunshade from DeFauw Design protects the kitchen cabinets’ gray Tabu veneer from fading.

Azevedo left the staircase mostly untouched, a rare exception in her to-the-studs renovation. From the gray leather Roche Bobois sofa, one can take in a view of the surrounding city via a television wired to a rooftop camera. The control center for the home’s automation systems is concealed inside a nearby cabinet.

Just because your kitchen is on the smaller side doesn’t mean you can’t make it as efficient and effective as possible.

Australian expats Carla and Paul Tucker tasked designer Dan Gayfer with expanding their Melbourne bungalow without adding any square footage. In the kitchen, a soft palette of wood, laminate, and tile created cohesion, impressive considering the clients didn’t see a single finish, color, or material in person prior to their homecoming. The kitchen cabinets were clad in Russian birch plywood, and the countertops were concrete.

The loft get lots of natural daylight through three rows of windows. The stairway to the mezzanine originally had open treads, but Sims and Hanna closed them off and utilized the area underneath for storage. A new wooden dowel handrail complements the original pine floors.

Custom MDF cabinetry was built by local cabinetmakers InGrain Custom Millwork and painted a soft gray shade.

The home's overhangs provide shade. “We wanted to make sure the house was comfortable,” says Ikegami. “You have cross-ventilation, and the interior is filled with light from the clerestory.”

Derek Gray of Bay West Builders made the entry bench from wood earmarked for an unbuilt breakfast bar. Radiant-heated concrete floors offer a polished counterpoint to the board-formed walls outside.

“From anywhere in the house, you have a sense of the outdoors,” says Melonie, “and yet it’s very private.” Ikegami agrees. “The building was really about the landscape—it can dissolve into the background,” he says. In the master bedroom, Japanese Tansu chests from the couple’s previous home flank a Duxiana bed. The full-height windows and swing door are from Western Window Systems.

Steps lead from the master bedroom balcony to a spacious deck. Situating the deck away from the house gives it the feel of a getaway, says Trainor, who worked on the project with colleague David LeRoy. “We liked the idea of going further into the garden amid plantings for privacy,” adds Trainor. Granite boulders and persimmon, Japanese maple, and oak trees lend what he calls “a California-Japanese feel.”