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Crisp white walls serve as blank canvases throughout to highlight the exquisite wooden features.

It was Elsie, the goldendoodle, who started it. “We were living in a tiny house in the center of Byron Bay with two little children and Elsie in the middle of the wet season,” says homeowner Cheryl Kitchener.

“Courtyards are a fantastic way of controlling the sun here,” says architect Cavin Costello. “We live outdoors primarily in the late fall/winter, when the sun angle is very low, and tall walls are often more effective than roofs in providing shade for the outdoor spaces.”

The garden was planned by Megan, who selected agaves amongst other plantings as a tribute to her California roots.

The home boasts numerous outdoor spaces, many protected from unpredictable rain showers.

“By using a hybrid model that includes both prefab and site-built construction, we were able to push the architectural vocabulary of prefab construction beyond the expected, with a bold, new visual vocabulary,” Denton says.

The recently completed home—dubbed the Hawthorn House—was created for a couple who asked Edition Office directors Kim Bridgland and Aaron Roberts to apply rural design sensibilities to a more suburban context.

5. "What are the top 10 most important things I must have in a home?" "If there are two people buying the home, write your answers down separately, starting with your absolute must-haves," Hoffman explains. “Putting together a list separately can give both parties and the realtor a clear picture of what the perfect home will have for both of you."

Located at The Proxy in Hayes Valley, San Francisco, AETHERsf is a concept space constructed from three 40-foot shipping containers stacked on top of each other. In addition to a curated selection of design-focused outerwear, the space features a custom, glass-encased cantilevered lounge with reclaimed oak floors and a belt-driven "dry cleaner-style" conveyor system.

“Brick was such a good material for this project,” says Hughes’s partner, architect Heather Rowell. “It creates a rhythm and simplicity on the outside—a mathematical rigor—but on the inside, it’s so easy to set up a playful contrast with bright white drywall.”

In the kitchen, the couple found barely used appliances instead of new ones to save money. The cabinetry and butcher block counters are from Ikea.

In one of several distinct outdoor spaces, a pink terrazzo tub creates an oasis under the palms.

Perched below the Griffith Observatory and overlooking Hollywood is a lush lot crowned with four towering olive trees and a 1965 home designed by modernist architect Craig Ellwood. When a young couple purchased the home in 2018, it needed substantial work. For a historic restoration, they called on Woods + Dangaran, a local firm fluent in modernist history. The team completed a meticulous restoration of the home while keeping original components like the linear shape, open plan, and expansive windows. One of the most striking features is the original koi pond (a feature deemed so essential that its preservation was a condition of escrow) that is now crossed via a bridge that leads to a new lap pool—perhaps the biggest intervention on the property.