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Ed learned to build through first working on a home in Cornwall. Drawing from the Segal method, a self-build approach popular with timber-frame spaces, the design later inspired Ed’s garden retreat.

The original owners made the shoji panels themselves, and John and Erik replaced the rice paper. “There’s something special about knowing the screens were made by hand,” Erik says.

“Using only wood to form a cabinet results in artistic moments. Diagonals read as decorative, but these strong triangles are necessary when you’re not using plywood,” Caleb says. “It’s pure joy to use the kitchen, knowing that all parts of it are built with meaning and without compromise.

Karen White, David MacNaughtan, and their sons, Griffin and Finlay, hang out on the front deck, which lines up next to the neighbors' porch.

In his renovation of Kate Brien Kitz and David Kitz’s Los Angeles home, architect Andrew Hall reinterpreted the original gable roof and siding. Landscape designers Mary Lange and Molly Funk transformed the yard with drought-tolerant plants. The walkway decking is from Kebony kebony, the Seaspray paint from Benjamin Moore, and the front door hardware from Emtek.

Floor Plan of Templeton Eichler by Blaine Architects

New living spaces now provide enclosure to create a 400-square-foot, open-air atrium at the center of the home.

Crisp white walls and hardwood floors continue into the cozy bedrooms located upstairs.

Expansive glazing wraps around the double-height living area, drawing in ample sunshine.

Before the remodel, the house had no front door. A path led to the deck between the structures, and you entered through glass sliders. Now, a custom bridge leads to a new entry. The door is made of pitted steel salvaged from a ship bottom and fabricated by Seattle-based studio She-Metal.

The architects specified an aluminum roof that “ghosts” the structure—it’s a material that recalls the typical use of corrugated metal on agricultural buildings, yet it subtly contrasts with the historic form. “It’s not quite what you’d use on a normal barn,” says Powell.

The Shinomotos have filled their Southern California home with furniture by Taku and pieces by some of the artists and craftspeople whose work they also showcase at their Tortoise shops and showroom. The couple worked with architectural designer Ken Tanaka to remodel the house, once a cramped, two-bedroom rental. A sofa and tables by Taku join Jasper Morrison’s Three Sofa De Luxe sofa for Cappellini. The sliders are by Western Window Systems.

Aino’s 1943 watercolor of the pair’s Riihitie House in Helsinki, Finland

Located in La Unión, a city and commune in Chile’s Los Ríos region, Refugio 3x3 is set in a forest on the side of a new lot of residential houses that were built in response to the recent expansion of city limits.

A long, paved drive leads up to the elevated, wood-clad home, surrounded by tall trees and lush vegetation. The lower level houses a spacious five-car garage.