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The eco-friendly escape is powered by solar panels and a wind turbine—and it even includes a full bath.

Elsie’s grandmother crafted the wool wall art that hangs at the end of the space, where Elsie stashes her fabrics and Birdie Lou, the couple’s daughter, plays with toys.

Bauer Brothers Salvage

Byron Courtyard House floor plan

“Watching the sunrise and moonrise from the living room is gobsmacking,” says James.

A built-in counter by the kitchen acts as a workspace.

“We kept coming to the dog beach and driving past this house until, one day, we decided to take a look.” Cheryl, who works in tech, is perched on a banquette built cleverly into the narrow deck that skirts the home’s new north-facing wing, wide open to the winter sun.

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.

To his credit, the original owner and builder of an ’80s-era home in Byron Bay, Australia, kept it “in pretty good nick,” as designer Micka Etheridge puts it. “He’d dusted the window frames once a week for thirty-five years.” Etheridge took that same care expanding the house for its new owners, Cheryl and James Kitchener, who love its greenery and mellow, vintage vibe.

The Shinomotos have filled their Southern California home with furniture by Taku and pieces by some of the artists and craftspeople whose work they also showcase at their Tortoise shops and showroom. The couple worked with architectural designer Ken Tanaka to remodel the house, once a cramped, two-bedroom rental. A sofa and tables by Taku join Jasper Morrison’s Three Sofa De Luxe sofa for Cappellini. The sliders are by Western Window Systems.

The flooring is terrazzo. Vanbesian designed custom ash-wood cabinetry for storage throughout the home.

Bruno transformed the building’s ground-floor bakery into an office for his eponymous firm.

The beams were part of the original structure of the home. Ceilings are quite tall—10 feet or higher.

The slats on the window offer solar protection and privacy. “Before the slats were installed, it really felt like you were just living on the street,” says Vanbesien.

After: "We wanted to restore the missing components back to their 1890s original form, while inserting additive elements that would transform a schoolhouse with classrooms into a building for apartments and modern day living," says Brian Rome, the principal of Rome Office.

While the owners really liked the idea of shou sugi ban, they opted for a more cost-effective black stain. The random-width, reverse board-and-batten siding reflects the wabi-sabi concept. “The builder said the math for the random siding was torturous,” the wife said. “We didn’t know how hard it was to make things look simple.” DeNiord planted hay-scented fern and lowbush blueberry sod around the house. “We didn't want any side of the house to feel unconsidered,” he says. As for the local boulders he placed around the house and terrace, he says, “They give the feeling that the house grew up around the outcroppings.”