Favorites

Bathroom a few steps up

Now, a walk-in shower and soaking tub are tucked under the roof line.

The sunken living room features a built-in sofa and loveseat.

Rocks dug up during construction were saved and incorporated into the poured-concrete floors and walls. Hydronic heating coils in the floor are augmented by a wood stove during the damp winters.

The sunken lounge was designed with "slowing down and appreciating the environment" in mind. A custom-made, built-in sofa wraps around the space, bleeding into the stairs and a custom wood display shelf. Not having a TV was an intentional choice. "We wanted the client to be able to lie back and watch the clouds and the sky, to have conversations, to read a book, to play with their pets," says Knights.

The sunken living room features a multifunctional piece of built-in furniture that integrates a sofa, sound system, and television, and also contains a "secret door" that leads to a wine cellar. "[We incorporated this] as a clin d’oeil to the midcentury tradition of built-in work stations and bookshelves," says Morales.

The kitchen island and cabinets at this Melbourne renovation are made of recycled timber, taking cue from the wooden bookcase that designer Kim Kneipp installed during the home’s first restyling.

A sunken seating area by Bill Cleyndert & Company is nestled in the heart of the living room. Occupants congregate there, surrounded by custom joinery, upholstery, and a polished concrete floor. From this vantage point, they can admire the fireplace inserted in the building’s brick wall.

It’s a Family Affair A pair of brothers built a LEED-certified home in San Diego for all three of the generations in their family. Photos by: Ye Rin Mok

A free-flowing, open-plan dining and living area is built of local Dahoma wood and has sliding screens and jalousie windows to allow cross ventilation in the hot climate. Photo by: Dook

The living area is furnished with a Fjord swivel arm chair by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso and a Como sectional chaise by Giorgio Soressi.

A Frank sofa and chaise by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia furnish the main living space. The long tracking curtains are from JW Designs, and the leather Paulistano armchairs by Brazilian designer Paulo Mendes da Rocha are from Design Within Reach.

A Shaker-inspired rocking chair by Hans Wegner exudes country charm in the corner of the living room.

Farca furnished the living room with a Serge Mouille three-arm floor lamp, custom sofas from EF Collection, and Surface tables by Vincent Van Duysen for B&B Italia.