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"You can see [with] this building how the design is in the small details and at the urban scale," says Cynthia.

Stepstone's narrow concrete pavers add a graphic touch to the garden.

The outdoor space includes a fire pit.

Layered landscaping by Boxleaf Design transforms the property.

Floating steel siding shields the home from the elements.

Perched high above Oakland, this expanded midcentury soaks up jaw-dropping views—even from the bathroom.

The goal was to turn the space into a guest suite that “feels like an out of body experience; a Willy Wonka vacation hideaway,” says the designer, who now lives in the ADU

Embodied energy, gray water, black water, carbon footprint—the list of sustainable design terms goes on and on, and we're here to help you make sense of them.

In California's idyllic Sea Ranch community, a vacation home privileges views of the Pacific Ocean and fog-shrouded trees. The bright and airy interiors, following a crisp, Scandinavian aesthetic, are pared back to retain focus on the spectacular surroundings.

<span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">The exterior windows don’t have any trim. Rather, they’re recessed into the siding. "I designed it to have a minimal aesthetic but to have elements that would help blend in,

The new deck lets the owners glory in the incredible views.

A cedar-clad ceiling emphasizes the dramatic volumes of the combined living spaces, and the windows bring in the “dappled light” from the trees, says Rogers. The new plan makes entertaining much easier for the couple, with easy flow from the interiors to the roof deck and yard.

Windows along the new staircase connect the family to the outdoors, and allow more natural light inside.

Another view of how the white oak stairs wrap around to become the bench. Rogers wanted the simple interior material palette to both celebrate and gently contrast with the site’s features, becoming a backdrop for the “bark on the trees and the texture on the boulders.”

Walkways bridge over the site to disturb it as little as possible.

The original home was converted into a bedroom level, and given a second-story addition and roof deck. The dark exterior color, a charcoal-eggplant hue, lets the landscape colors stand out in contrast. “The existing house roof became the roof deck,” says Rogers. “And then I just shifted over the addition so that it floated over the landscape.”