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Before: It was important to better connect the upper and lower levels.

Audi Culver and Ivy Siosi had never built a house before, but as the founders of Siosi, a decade-old furniture company known for its use of domestic, sustainably sourced hardwood and simple, Scandinavian-influenced forms, they were up for the challenge. A large parcel a few miles from downtown caught their eye, and when the owner split it into four smaller lots, they snapped one up.

Cork doesn’t absorb water, making it well suited for the backsplash in the bathroom.

The Alden Mason House, built for Seattle artist Alden Mason in 1958, features a sloping roof and a surrounding outdoor deck, maximizing natural light amidst its wooded setting.

Landscaping was another major investment in the project’s budget, turning the backyard into something more closely resembling a “golf course with trees.” Isaac spent $48K on the illuminated stone pathway that leads up to the space.

The office features bespoke timber shelves, desks, and cabinets crafted from white oak. “My wife and I designed each piece of millwork, and we reviewed each interior elevation for function,” says Joseph. “Our senior project architect prepared the fabrication shop drawings, and we hired the fabricator directly, which allowed us to bypass the costly middle man and gave us complete quality control. We then hired a local carpenter to install and then finish the millwork on-site.”

Wood panelling brings a warmth to the concrete-and-white space.

Light pours through clerestory windows in the master bathroom. Staying true to the home’s overall aesthetic, Sweet used simple, contrasting materials—white oak for the cabinets and Ann Sacks white tiles for the walls.

The entrance to the walk-in closet is marked by another bench floating across the window, and a mirror inset in white oak.

In a spare bedroom/playroom located in another section of the house, Berg played with juxtapositions of shapes, installing an oak-wrapped, triangular reading nook inset with a circular window.

The redesign opened up sections of the ceiling and removed sections of the existing walls to get light to flow through. There’s minimal trim throughout, so no means to hide imperfections. It was tricky, says Berg, to knit it all back together seamlessly, but the team succeeded, as is seen in this detailed shot of the ceiling at the entrance.

For the renovation of this Portland midcentury kitchen, Risa Boyer started by removing a wall and converting the former galley kitchen into an open plan that shares space with the living and dining areas. Now, the centerpiece of the kitchen is a generous island with plywood cabinetry veneered with vertical-grain Douglas fir and a Caesarstone counter with a waterfall treatment at one end.

The guest room's bathroom features a sconce by Lindsey Adelman and all-green tiles. Since this bathroom is also the powder room, the owners wanted it to be fun.

The lower-level bathroom enjoys a door to the outdoors so the family can enter directly after surfing. Green Emser tiles are arranged in a unique alternating pattern, and the shower floor is from Concrete Collaborative.

Feldman Architecture opens up a dark and cramped seaside house with big windows and a healthy dose of wood.