Dream Haus

The team carried through the same Douglas Fir millwork featured in the kitchen into the primary bedroom. These intentional material choices connect the interior to the locale, as Douglas Fir is a native tree species to the coast of British Columbia.

This revamped Montreal flat includes a rooftop sauna lined with torrified, or dried, cedar. Outfitted with glass paneling and oriented to capture views of Mount Royal, it is the ideal haven for this hardworking homeowner.

"The fixed glass without a door really makes it feel like a room within the room, and the plastered walls allow a continuity of subtle texture from wet to dry areas," Lanigan says. The lightwell is connected to the roof deck above.

Walls of glass blur the boundary between indoors and out in this bathroom. The floors are Jerusalem Bone limestone.

Some laminate cabinets offer the sleek appearance of wood at a fraction of the cost.

New custom walnut cabinetry syncs with the rest of the built-ins throughout the home, to create a pleasing rhythm in the open plan. The backsplash is Heath Ceramics tile, and the counter is Pental Quartz. Open shelves at the rear overlook a cozy den, and allow sightlines out the new windows at the front of the home.

Beneath the postcard-like backdrop of La Concha mountain, a previously abandoned Spanish villa received a modernist revamp for a couple and their young child. Natural, earthy interiors connect the living spaces to the lush surroundings, with the light-filled kitchen opening directly onto an outdoor pergola and pool.

The heart of the home incorporates an inclosed winter garden that allows the residents to be surrounded by their plants, even in bad weather. The enclosed garden features automated skylights that regulate the temperature of the courtyard, as well as an irrigation system.

Sometimes all it takes is a little luck. For a young married couple, it came in the form of this rare find: a 19th-century, three-story, single-family home in the heart of Paris. The building was a charmer with good bones, but was in need of some serious care. In a vibrant retrofit by architect Pierre-Louis Gerlier that includes structural reinforcements, the reimagined design is set off with a new floor plan. The lower level now serves as a space for the couple’s children, with the public areas—including an open-plan living/dining room and kitchen—on the floor above. Upstairs, the attic has been transformed into a very large primary bedroom with a green-and-white bathroom suite. The living room (pictured) showcases the firm’s bespoke carpentry work with a beautiful, mossy-green built-in bookcase that frames a new fireplace, and a staircase surrounded by arched doorways that hold hidden storage. “We created visual breakthroughs in order to connect the different spaces,” says Gerlier. “The rounded arches are there to help magnify these moments.”

Lutron Sivoia automatic roller shades in a custom valance were mounted to the window mullions, which were also painted Benjamin Moore “Wrought Iron.” The sofa is the Kasala Venice five-piece modular sofa tucked up against bespoke cabinetry by Beechtree Woodworks.

In the new living area, a brick plinth is positioned at just the right height for sitting. It extrudes out into the garden to serve as an outdoor bench.

Built-in bookcases in the living room echo the birch ply of the kitchen cabinetry.

The sunken living room allows for delineation of space while keeping an open-plan environment

The architects incorporated sustainably sourced parota wood into the living room’s sunken seating area. The Turn Tall side table is from Blu Dot, and the pillows are from West Elm.

Speaking to his original design, architect Saul Zaik says, “We were really just building boxes with a bunch of windows but experimenting with how you integrated indoor and outdoor spaces.” The house has seven different openings to the exterior, allowing different courtyard or patio settings for a range of outdoor activities, including seating for a gathering on the street-facing side. The Milfords hired Lilyvilla Gardens for the landscaping around the house, including variegated bluestone steps with thyme joints.

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design, with project manager and lead designer Emily Kudsen Leland at the helm, remade a Portland abode with a crisp paint palette: Benjamin Moore’s Wrought Iron for the cladding and Venetian Gold for the front door. The home was originally designed by Saul Zaik in Southwest Portland, complete with a wood-clad exterior, in 1956. As part of the renovation, landscape design was completed by Lilyvilla Gardens.