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The semi-outdoor space extends the living room outward. Inside, a layer of glass sliding doors further facilitate breezes. The occupants can enjoy the sound and smell of rain behind shelter.

In this house in downtown Miami, lightweight, shuttered Western red cedar doors wrap the front porch to provide privacy and protection from the weather but support natural ventilation, which is important in biophilic design. The unstained wood will age naturally.

Lauren and Brittan Ellingson, the owners of Notice Snowboards, a custom snowboard and wakesurf company in Whitefish, Montana, approached Workaday Design and builder Mindful Designs to concoct a new lake home for their family. The brief was, perhaps unsurprisingly, focused on getting the family outdoors as much as possible.

On the other side of the porch is the guest suite.

All the kitchen cabinets and appliances are consolidated into one island. Both the island and light fixture were designed by Berman Horn Studio. The countertop is by Abet Laminati.

“The design for the house emerged from walking the property. We imagined that as we climbed up from the beach, we’d see little peeks of our home from behind the trees,” says Brad Horn, architect and resident.

The house is oriented north-south, with the broad side of the structure facing east-west. This guarantees not only gorgeous views of the sunset, but also minimizes wind exposure.