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“I’m a huge fan of yellow,

Staircase with rift-sawn white oak handrails and pour-in-place terrazzo in green.

To deck out their vacation-rental property, Nicolas Potts and Emma Pilkington Mead crafted a cushy, rose-hued space. In the kitchenette, a comfortable upholstered daybed sits above the breakfast nook.

Fujita incorporates multiple textures to add variation to the nearly monochrome palette.

A view of the exterior by night.

A view of the exterior of the concrete live/work space.

A gently winding set of exposed aggregate concrete pads leads to the Wabi House’s front door. Mariscal sought to “hide the house behind a dense forest front yard.” As the crape myrtles grow in, they will further filter the home’s facade.

With doors open, Shino and Ken pull an Eames LCW chair for Herman Miller outside to enjoy the space.

After entering through the front door, visitors pass over the large koi pond on a cast-concrete footbridge chiseled to look like stone.

Protected by an overhang, and floating above ground level, this tertiary space is known in traditional homes as the "engawa." To sustain a unified look throughout, the floor and ceiling are clad in ipe wood.

At the opposite end of the house, the soaking tub gets almost daily use. The bath and shower fixtures are by Dornbracht

The couple asked for a “no maintenance, not low maintenance” backyard. However, Shino tends to “Carlsbad's largest public bathroom for cats” (otherwise known as their Japanese-style rock garden) about once a month. Don't miss a word of Dwell! Download our FREE app from iTunes, friend us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter!

The limestone-clad volume at the east end of the house extends to the second story, housing Shino and Ken’s master suite, which opens onto the planted roof deck.

In the master bedroom, a small, cramped closet was replaced with a wardrobe that is partially obscured by a slatted wooden screen that was built by Metalworks & Design Studio of Seattle. "The idea was you see through it, so in a sense it doesn't feel like a small space," Smith says.