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“I suppose you could consider me part of a subculture who lived in various inner-city spaces,” says Simpson, whose previous homes include ad hoc spaces in industrial warehouses, floors of office buildings, and units above shops and bars. In designing his Island Bay home completely from scratch, he retained his experimental spirit: “We wanted a house that responded to our wider social, environmental, and economic concerns rather than something that blindly followed convention,” he says. Unassuming in sight, the home’s corrugated-metal cladding (above) recalls the tin shed, a vernacular housing type in the region.

A private terrace overlooks an alleyway on the main floor’s southeastern end. “[The home’s] outdoor spaces are all to varying degrees extensions of interior space,” Schaer says.

“Durability drove the selection of metal panels,” Schaer says of the home’s industrial exterior. Manufactured by AEP SPAN from corrugated cladding, it looks like zinc but costs significantly less. It also contrasts nicely with the natural siding and trim. “All of the wood inside and out is Douglas Fir, the predominant wood species in the northwest,” Schaer explains.

NSW spotted gum surfaces and cabinetry painted with Dulux Forest Canopy give the kitchen a calming, forest-like feel.

In the kitchen, Suzanne and her team opted for stainless steel along the countertops and backsplash. “It's a material that amplifies natural light while appearing more slender and lightweight compared to a thick stone slab,” she says. An aluminum-lined lightwell also hangs over the space. Photo by Kevin Scott

The kitchen island is nine-and-a-half feet long, made possible by knocking down non-load-bearing walls and enlarging the room’s footprint. The island is “much larger than what most people would do in that space, because it's not that large of a space, but knocking down those walls and going with a large island makes the kitchen feel a lot more grand,” says Devlin.

Modern Windsor chairs by Hay surround an oak extension table by Ethnicraft. “You flip a lever and it gets larger,” Lachapelle says. The original plan called for a center island, but the owners wanted the flexibility of a table they could also use as a prep surface. The oak cabinet behind the sofa is on casters for additional utility. “We can even use it outside,” the husband says.

Lambert & Fils lights are suspended over the island.

Another view of the kitchen, which also opens onto the side garden. The cabinets are by Conestoga Wood Specialties, and the paint is Decorator’s White by Benjamin Moore.

Joaquin Altamirano and Silvia Martín worked with Daniel Bergman Vázquez of Estudio Untercio to create an open-plan oasis in an apartment building in central Madrid. Estudio Untercio designed the medium-density fiberboard cupboards, which are coated with lacquer paint matching the ceramic-porcelain countertops. The tubular hood above the island is by Teka.

The new kitchen is outfitted with white oak cabinetry by Ramon Padilla, Trias counter stools and a La Cornue oven and range.

A tight construction budget informed the choices Sean Guess made as he designed a house for a couple in Austin, Texas. Budget-minded materials, like the James Hardie fiber-cement siding, helped hold construction costs to $130 per square foot. Sherwin-Williams’s Cyberspace hue colors the exterior and Parakeet coats the custom kitchen cabinets by Austin Wood Works. The planter is made from Cor-Ten steel.

A series of French doors extends the interior living spaces to the deck and meadow beyond.