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The kitchen and dining area is furnished with a salvaged timber table designed by Matt Eastvold, white Panton chairs, and a Glo Ball pendant lamp.

Comprising 11 modules, this green-roofed prefab was built in 90 days in a factory near São Paulo and then transported to the site in three shipments on flatbed trucks.

A second bedroom was converted into a home office/dining room. A Dieter Rams 606 Universal Shelving System lines the wall.

Shelly walks along the perimeter of the house, near the central living area. The design of the house, with its many rooms, nooks, and open family spaces, "was so ahead of its time," Shelly says, "that, to young people coming here, it still feels contemporary."

Always put contingencies aside. During any renovation, it is critical to set aside money for the "what if" or emergency scenarios. For example, there might be plumbing that you didn’t anticipate needing to replace. Conventional wisdom suggests adding 15 to 20 percent to your contractor’s renovation cost to safely consider these contingencies.

Ray sits at the central hearth on the north end of the comfortable sunken living area. From this perspective, you can see how the interior spaces flow into one another, passing one half-level up into the breakfast nook and kitchen and out from there onto the overgrown hillside. The various built-in furnishings have all been there since the house's construction.

Ray Kappe relaxes in the central living space, which offers views onto other shared family zones. Behind him is a view down into his office. Half a level up, Shelly Kappe stands at the entrance to the upper family room.

One of three separate seating areas.

A Hem Puffy lounge chair by Faye Toogood sits in a corner of the primary bedroom. Reilly draped a piece of unhemmed gauzy fabric she got on Etsy over a rod to filter the sunlight.

Artworks made by Craig and Thomas’s friends complement a coffee table by Faye Toogood and a foam chair by Wentrcek Zebulon. The couple made the papier-mâché side table last year, “at the height of pandemic boredom,” says Craig.

Beside reduced construction time, SysHaus provides homeowners with a truly sustainable home that arrives at its site 95-percent ready for assembly.

Terra House | Bernardes Arquitetura