Favorites

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

The blackened timber–clad cabin that arba designed in Longueil, Normandy, France, is marked by large glass doors, layered with wood slats that slide open and connect the home to its lush landscape.

The barn-style front doorsstay open during warmer months, giving a view of Eugenia’s garden. A floating desk, Hay Design coffee table and separate couch offer additional seating in the downstairs area.

A bed built into the bathroom wall pulls down to replace the sofa. An Olio teapot designed by Barber Osgerby sits on the counter.

"It's simple, yet it's expressive,” Scardulla says. “We don't like excesses. We don't like when you enter a space, and everything is immediately declared, everything is clear. We like discovery and complexity. That's why we love that you get there and you get to the door, and you have one perception, then you enter and get another, step down, and have a new perception, and so on. You take the bed down and get a new perception again."

The home is clad in corrugated iron coated with Zincalume. “We chose the cladding so we could curve the metal sheets and create barrel vaulted roofs,” says architect William Samuels. “The finish gives a natural reflection to the surface of the house, picking up on the colors of the surrounding bush and the changing daylight.”

The concrete flooring is complemented by maple plywood walls, creating a warm, neutral interior.

One of the benefits of building into the hillside is that Catherine and her dog, Lydia, are able to access the home's rooftop deck.

After reading about landscape designer Ryan McWhirter’s firm in a local paper, architect Karin Scott reached out about working on a San Antonio, Texas, lot where she and her husband were building their new home.