Favorites

Custom bunks built by the contractor are covered in vintage throws from Elsie Green and lit from within by Schoolhouse Electric sconces. "Rainy Afternoon

The entire design team worked with the clients and their children to populate the green roof with mosses and grasses harvested from nearby, which they planted with groupings of sedums and other native plants.

The clients loved the sound of rainwater splashing onto the rock outcropping and didn't want to lose it, so the design team rigged up a spout that deposits water at the right place to accentuate the sounds the clients love. They then had the idea to collect and recycle the water back on the roof so that the tonal experience can be enjoyed in the dry summers as well.

The addition was designed with overhangs—and foot-thick insulation—to keep the interiors naturally cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Overhangs and one-foot-thick insulation keep the interiors naturally cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

The rock outcropping in the backyard of this house in Victoria, British Columbia influenced the design scheme of the home's addition. To visually integrate the form, architect Bruce Greenway took shorn-off pieces of rock and constructed a curving wall that extends into the house.

The rock outcropping in the backyard of this house in Victoria, British Columbia, influenced the design of the home’s addition.

Floor Plan of St-Pierre by La Firme Architecture

A mirrored wall in the back of the bathroom reflects light.

Béliveau incorporated a desk and display space along the living room wall, as well as a pocket door to the primary bedroom.

Before: “I called them wings,” Solk says of the bump-outs fanning out from the fireplace, which had a pink stone façade that the owners covered with a television. The owners needed more and better storage in their Cobble Hill neighborhood loft.

The entire property is less than 450 square feet, but feels much larger thanks to careful planning.

After: The primary bedroom. Walnut sheaths a wall of closets that leads into the bathroom, where the walnut continues on the opposite wall and behind the vanity.

The sculptural chimney breast and 60-inch void skylight accentuate the height of the room.

After: The soaring new living and dining space benefits from an abundance of natural light from every side, and they spent a lot of time trying to find the best lighting for the kitchen. The final choice: long, narrow copper pendants from Denmark suspended by ultra thin wires to not disrupt the visual flow of the room.

A floating Fireorb wood stove warms the living room. To avoid the odd nooks and crannies that an A frame’s roofline creates, low shelves were built along the wall to hold fire wood.

The Alerce shingles change color when it rains, moving from red to grey. “It’s alive,” says Marambio.

Located off paved roads, across a river, and up a mountain, Pablo Pérez Palacios’s cabin in the Mexican wilderness has a rooftop terrace designed for entertaining.