Favorites

Best Practice Architecture transformed a former garage in the Oak Park neighborhood of Dallas into a light-filled casita filled with art by local makers and vintage finds.

The built-in furniture, including the couch, low shelf, and coffee table, is all made from the same wood with the same finish so as to bland with the floors. Bespoke velvet cushions line the couch and the artwork is by Jon.

For the heart of the space, Hale designed a double vanity—fabricated with wood from the original house—around an existing column. The pendant is by Lindsey Adelman.

The Rosy Mound Retreat is comprised of two intersecting volumes: a wood-clad main house and a living room wing.

In the sprawling, double-height living room, a built-in bookshelf with a rolling library ladder sits below an open loft.

The homeowner, an inventor, shows off a working Bunsen burner in the kitchen.

cedar hot tub,

A long, linear window brings light into the Heath Ceramics tile-covered shower, which is curbless, so as to accommodate aging-in-place.

A birds-eye view of Metal Lark after a fresh snow. The building's solar panel sits just behind the cabin along the gravel road. A dividing line of deciduous trees separates parking and dwelling space.

The compact rental features plenty of wooden ledges, nooks, and shelves for keeping belongings organized. In the living room, a low white wall is capped with fir wood salvaged from the garage’s former posts. On the east wall, a half-door made of reclaimed cedar looks out on a garden. “It looks and lives a lot bigger than it is,” Schaer says.

Schaer replaced the garage’s crumbling wooden posts with an earthquake-resistant steel frame. He also excavated beneath the building, establishing a basement level for a workshop, storage, laundry, and water heater. The earth removed in the process was shoveled into concrete “boxes” in the yard. These form a raised terrace from which you can see the Olympic mountains.

The staircase design was dictated by the need to let the light in – and spread it to the cellar below, which has now been finished into a children’s playroom. The staircase is suspended from the structural supports above it. “Engineers always write to me about this stair, because they're like, ‘Whoa, I can't believe you did that without stringers or anything like that,’” says Kaplan. “Because it's the opposite of how you'd ever normally design a stair.”

Now, a picture window frames the views into the garden, and a tall glass and steel door accesses the backyard.

Kitchen appliances include a SMEG refrigerator, Bertazzoni Range Oven, and Bosch Dishwasher. The counters are honed white quartz, and the pendant over the island is the Cirrus Float by Edge Lighting.

The kitchen is just steps away from the living room, with an office space tucked in the corner.

A peek into the other cottage on the compound, which includes an additional 'bonus area' and second bathroom.

A closer look at the outdoor terrace emphasizes the lot's lush, surrounding greenery.

Tucked away in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Echo Park, 1623 Landa Street contains two historic cottages. Dating to the 1920s, the one-bedroom bungalows were recently updated. Here is a look at the living spaces inside one of the two homes.