Favorites

The home’s exterior features Trespa Meteon panels, a durable and sustainable high-pressure laminate cladding. By design, expanses of glass reflect the surroundings where the home is placed.

A marble-clad bathroom joins the bedroom and overlooks the skylit living area below.

A look at the couple's bedroom on the upper level.

Milla and Nigel thought the kitchen island should anchor the first floor, and they wanted colors that matched the frescoes. Stone specialist Nick Blok found exactly what they were looking for: a monolithic piece of Italian quartzite with muted pinks and umbers in the veining.

In a raised sitting area surrounded by arched windows, a pink couch by Be Pure Home matches a wall hanging made by Milla.

During the renovation, workers uncovered frescoes painted on the walls, and the couple decided to leave portions of them uncovered.

That’s how Milla Novo and her husband, Nigel Nowotarski, came to live in the top of what was once a chapel. As you step into their apartment, large arched windows hint at its ecclesiastical past, but the couple’s eye-catching textiles and artworks—set against pristine white walls—make the biggest impression.

Bleached walnut replaced cold concrete floors in this family-friendly renovation of a dated loft in West Chelsea’s late 19th-century Spears Building. To make the loft feel more welcoming, architects Ravi Raj and Evan Watts toned down the heavy industrial elements of the 2,700-square-foot loft with a warmer and lighter palette and added custom built-ins for a streamlined look. At the same time, the loft still preserves much of its historic appeal—from the exposed brick seen throughout the home to the oversized openings left intact.

Before: A teardrop-shaped island monopolized the kitchen space, and the bank of wine storage was removed.

The couch swing was the last element of The House to be designed. "I wanted something comfortable and unique, but not weird," says Tarah. "In a stroke of genius, Drew suggested a couch swing." The piece was made by the couple in the garage just days before the first booking and is one of the guests’ favorite features.

The main entrance to the property is on the lower level and leads directly to the living area of The House. The entrance is marked by a vintage rug, and the timber walkway shares the same material as the upper level deck that extends out from The Loft.

"We love that our multipurpose space can act as a venue for productivity and collaboration in The Loft, while The House invites rest, relaxation, and connection as guests unplug at a quiet retreat in the woods," says Tarah. "The cherry on top is that we can do this from our own backyard, with our kids playing a special role in maintaining the property and hosting guests alongside us."

Atwater Hideaway floor plan

Owner Stacey Hill was instantly drawn to this shipping container’s existing blue color and chose to leave it unchanged. Architect Jim Poteet added floor-to-ceiling sliding doors to allow light in, as well as a cantilevered overhang to shade a window on the left side, which houses a small garden storage area.

The floor-to-ceiling sliding doors and windows were the most expensive line item in the renovation. “The house would simply not be the same without them,” says architect Miguel Rivera. “When you are in the living area with the doors open, it creates one large indoor/outdoor space that is simply stunning.” Just beyond the kitchen, a bookcase in the hallway is painted to appear red from one side and gray from the other.

Garcia clad the ADU’s exterior with a local Texas limestone, similar in color and texture to the main house, “just to tie the two together visually,” says the architect.

The house is surrounded with rammed-earth walls, built by Austin construction services company Enabler via an ancient construction method that requires mixing, tamping, and creating a structure from the land itself.

The weeHouse exteriors are clad in corrugated Cor-Ten, but with a custom pattern of folds to create an organic randomness. The foundations were designed with a shallow recess around the top to make the modules look like they’re hovering. After they bought the property in early 2014, the Siegels camped there for two summers while they saved up money and planned a permanent structure. In his research, BJ came across this design, a customizable prefab house by Alchemy Architects. "Of all the things that I found, I was drawn to that one because it was absolutely the simplest and cleanest," he says.