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Oak herringbone floors, white walls and black accents define the ground floor living areas.

Rather than use large panes of glass to open the house to the view, Louis suggested stacking rows of more conventional windows to save on cost and make cleaning easier. The cladding is tongue-and-groove cypress.

The deck is framed as an open-air room where the ceiling and walls have been peeled away. The grill is a vintage Weber Genesis 1000. LG solar panels from Pick My Solar contribute to the home’s net-zero energy profile, as does a moisture barrier in the walls that allows heat to escape.

The dichroic glass in the front door appears to change color in different light.

Architectural fragments are posted cheekily around the room, a nod to the Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, the home of the Regency-era architect who collected bits and pieces of "important" architecture to display. "It was a bit of a piss-take. There are these bits of antiquity that are expensive and historical, but you wouldn’t know unless you were told," says Mat. "So I went to a plaster shop and asked what spare, damaged bits they had for free."

To contrast with the light, airy back of the house, Mat created a cozy blue living room in front. "We wanted to create different spaces with different moods," says the architect. In here, there are no overhead lights, just warm lamps to set the vibe for evenings by the TV on the Habitat sofa.

Blue, laser-cut trusses provide lightweight support. On display, they offer a playful contrast to the heavy roof.

Orange paint and blue-and-white checkerboard tiles are a gleeful match in the bathroom.

In keeping with the mountain theme, there’s a bit of a play on the landscape here. Posts are painted to reference surveyor poles, and the enamel-topped dining table shimmers like a still lake. The exposed, jagged brick mimics the entrance to a cave.

The foamed aluminum mountain range—hoisted on posts that mimic surveyor poles—is a joy-sparking addition to the aptly named Mountain View residence, its design inspired by the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland (though architect Mat Barnes admits he "is no Disney fanatic").

In the main bedroom, the large upper windows connect the interior to a third-floor roof deck.

Flat-front maple cabinetry and a soapstone counter keep the kitchen backdrop simple.

The mezzanine level hosts the bedrooms and overlooks the lower living spaces.

Saez Pedraja Architecture designed a two-bedroom, 1,600-square-foot home on a narrow city lot in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica.

“We did a lot of things for us that some clients are hesitant to do, like shou sugi ban. Our idea is that the house and materials will weather over time. They will change, but that’s part of the beauty of it,” says Maria. Here, the double wall lamps are by DCW Editions. Real Good Chairs in copper line by Blu Dot surround the wooden table by Ethnicraft.

The home’s charred-cedar rain screen facade blends in with the forested 15-acre site.

Questions about supportive partners have really come to a head during the pandemic, says Abigail. "I'm grateful that my husband and I chose each other, and we can balance our daily lives truly as a team," she says.

Interior designer Abigail Marcelo Horace started Casa Marcelo just before the pandemic hit, but has found it to be a bustling time for her new business.