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In Sunnyvale, California, architect Ryan Leidner cracked open a 1962 Eichler with a crisp remodel flush with foliage. He replaced the home’s vertical plywood facade with one-inch strips of American red cedar set at two depths. The rhythmic slats conceal a garage door that swings open on a hidden hinge. At the entryway, two massive panes of frosted glass shimmer with light and shadow from the atrium inside. Homeowners Isabelle Olsson and Matthaeus Krenn stand out front.

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“We pulled apart one volume and staggered it along the buildable area of the property,” says architect Matthew Ahlberg of Portland firm Barrett Made. The home is clad in unfinished cedar, meant to weather over time.

RIC Design Build paid homage to the midcentury era and architect Alan McCullough’s legacy while making the house work for today.

MASS Design Group cofounder Alan Ricks upgrades his “not structurally sound” bungalow with innovative materials and enough solar panels to produce more energy than it consumes.

The overall home is constructed with larch timber, a British wood, and features a central ridge beam that gives it a butterfly-shaped roof. Shou sugi ban was done on the wood to give it a charred finish.

In the dining room, Guillerme et Chambron armchairs from Maison Gerard surround a CB2 table. The ceiling light is by Lambert & Fils. In the kitchen, rich blue cabinetry with wood details from GD Arredamenti is topped with a Caesarstone “Aire Concrete” counter. The gold artwork is by Joyce Billet.

Jette Egelund, owner of the famed kitchen brand Vipp, builds a summer home that is a master class in Scandinavian coastal living.

Surrounded by forest and accessed via a fairy-tale bridge, the resilient forever home showcases the strength of cross-laminated timber.

Although synthetic slate roof tiles have been around since the 1970s, the way architect Stephen Bruns used them to completely clad Woven House is unusual. "I love this material," says Bruns. "The way light reflects off the tiles creates a specular effect, almost like a mosaic." That reflective quality is enhanced by the floor-to-ceiling windows by Loewen.

The home's three levels are framed by large planters containing fruit trees and other vegetation. The custom block makes up all of the home's exterior walls.

While the exterior facade is clad in cedar shingles, teak, and clay, the interiors feature French oak louvers, beams, and floors to further enhance the home's warmth and texture.

“Opening the house to the southwest also gave the best chance of hearing the ocean noises in the house at night,” says Sabbeth. A Malm Firedrum 3 fireplace anchors the corner, with a cream Piero Lissoni sofa, coffee table by Andrianna Shamaris and leather Cassina chairs placed before it.

"Fun fact, this yard is actually their front yard!,

In 2014, Jeff and Karen Gunning began researching building another house, hoping to create a single, contained volume without compromising their retirement funds. The resulting Tree House comprises three pitched volumes with cutaways to create a porch in phase one and recessed window planter ledges in phase two. Simple wood columns provide support.

The Linns’ home, which Andrew Linn and Jack Becker completed for Andrew and his wife last year, declares its commitment to natural materials with a patchwork of wood products on its exterior. The sassafras cladding the lower portion of the house’s east face peels away from the building to become a freestanding fence enclosing a small, private outdoor space in the middle of the alley.

The entrance to home is defined by two Foo dogs, which are feng shui symbols of protection—and these dogs also give the home its name. The board-formed concrete of the main living wing has been left as is, creating a play of constantly changing shadows. Over time, weather will naturally soften these joints, and the look of the home will subtly evolve.