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Exterior View from Lake

Exterior View from Lake

The double-height opening connecting the main living areas also peeks at the "think tank

Bhat Residence exterior view

The "C" shaped living room boasts with a 18' tall ceiling, cantilevering over a street corner.

Rear View

Dining and Kitchen

The Hijau stone swimming pool finish from Palimanan.

Julie and Chris Hill’s home in Austin is built around a pair of massive oak trees, one of which shoots through an ipe deck, past a Loll deck chair, and into a void in the overhanging roof. “The hole also allows light to penetrate deeper into the house,” notes designer Kevin Alter. A limestone brick wall mirrors the curves of the Western red cedar roof, the edges of which are coated in stucco.

A graying cedar slated wall at the covered porch and narrow windows provide privacy to the street. Large floor-to ceiling windows to the side and South open up views to a tree filled property and allow sunlight in.

“We designed the house to have beautiful views of the countryside and of the village where our family has very strong ties,” says architect Jan Vanweert.

The getaway protrudes like a sculpture from the hillside.

In October 2017, the catastrophic Nuns fire incinerated the ’70s-era A-frame in Napa County, California, that had served as a family retreat for 20 years and that the owners, who are mostly retired, were in the process of turning into their permanent home. (When the fire hit, the couple had already brought nearly all their family keepsakes and heirlooms, making the loss especially poignant.) Working with architectural designer Brandon Jørgensen, the couple turned the loss into a chance to build what is now their permanent home with fire resistance baked into the design.