Favorites

An energy-efficient, Danish wood-burning stove by Rais anchors one corner of the living room.

Deadwood

The two-sided stove is installed in the heart of the house, elevated slightly to bring the fire closer to eye-level. The stove marks the meeting of the new concrete floor with the old wooden floor. Photo by Laura Stamer.

The restrained 820-square-foot interior is defined by the angular ceiling. Garlick left the prefabricated structural panels unfinished to save on material costs. A True North wood stove from Pacific Energy heats the house. Max, the family’s cat, naps on a vintage rug purchased on eBay.

Eager to flee the city at a moment’s notice, a couple who run a creative studio in Bratislava decided it was time for a weekend home. On a forested plot overlooking a lake in nearby Vojkanad Dunajom, architect Peter Jurkovič of JRKVC created a calming cabin that frames views of the countryside.

Shiplap pine walls, primed white, complement unfinished concrete floors and a wood stove by Jotul.

Brit and Daniel embraced elements that were original to the A-frame—like the wood stove.

The ceiling drops down significantly over the built-in bench in the living area to create a cozy nook. “Like the kitchen, it’s a space within a space,” Thomas says. The wooden boards are flush with the window frame, allowing the sun to wash down the wall.

In Hampshire, PAD Studio replaced a rundown cottage with a new gable-roofed timber design that looks as if it’d been there all along.

The lounge has clay plaster walls to create a simple and timeless feel.

On one side of the house, a white central staircase leads to a split-level landing the Robertsons call "the reading room." "We needed a place to hang out and for the kids to read," explains owner Vivi Nguyen-Robertson. Awaiting the birth of the couple's son, she relaxes in a built-in reading nook in the library.

A second spruce alcove frames a nook with wool-covered custom seating, and features Nendo’s Innerblow coffee tables with blown molten-glass tops; the geometric pillows were designed by Yovanovitch.

Nestled in a historic village in the Kent countryside, the two-bedroom home is cozy incarnate.

The cozy interior is wrapped in hemlock wood, which Esherick also used in the house he designed following this one in the Kent Woodlands area. A Thonet chair joins a Ben Soleimani rug for Restoration Hardware in the seating area.

As part of the renovation, the former entrance hall was converted into the main living room.

The custom zinc cabinets and quartzite countertops of Mark Berryman’s Tribeca apartment reflect the sun as it sets over Manhattan. Workstead designer Robert Highsmith kept the apartment’s original fir beams and painted its existing pipes Onyx by Benjamin Moore. The counter stools are by Sawkille, and the floors are white oak from LV Wood. The range is by Viking.

Firebrick lines both the wall and floor so that the fire can be lit right on the ground for an ultra-cozy night in.

The design team retained the old supports, which now frame the kitchen. Jessica picked DeVol cabinets and systems for their traditional-meets-streamlined style.

"At Tara Iti, south of the Mangawhai Heads, a former pine plantation is gradually being restored to native habitat on the windy coastal sand dunes. On a site overlooking the world-renowned golf course is the Dune House, designed by architect Julian Guthrie as a retreat for a family with four children. The clients had holidayed in Palm Springs, a city noted for golf, mid-century modern design and a California desert climate—all of which factored into the brief for an expansive yet relaxed house at Tara Iti."