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The guest bathroom was enlarged and finished with Moroccan plaster.

One of the largest construction challenges was the plumbing in the showers. "After our bathrooms were finally completed, we found water leakage coming out the base of both the showers," says Elaine. "Nothing seemed to solve the problem. It turned out it was a faulty plumbing job, so we had to open up the showers, fix the plumbing, and redo all the tadelakt." This set their timeline back by months.

The kitchen cabinets are custom-made from 100-year-old wood purchased at Sliverado Salvage. There’s a breakfast nook and a nine-foot island finished in Tadelakt, a waterproof plaster often used in Moroccan architecture, creating a communal and open space that flows into the living room. "Tadelakt is such a beautiful material and provides an old-world, earthy feeling, but using it is very labor-intensive," says Elaine.

The kitchen features custom black wood cabinetry, Italian porcelain counters, and a black plaster hood above an Aga Mercury range.

An oversized soaking tub awaits in the spacious master bath.

In a 4,000-person village known for epic windsurfing vacations, Atelier Branco builds a striking courtyard home.

The kitchen features a marble backsplash and a precisely placed window. The floors and internal walls are also crafted from clay and concrete.

For cross ventilation, the residents can open and close the large sliding doors around the porch, which the architect describes as “the heart of the home.” Likewise, windows are positioned to provide breezes when necessary.

Plastered surfaces provide a calm texture to the shower, which was built to feel like a spa. Cal Faucets also supplied the showerhead.

A1000xBetter took some square footage from an adjoining guest closet to create space for a freestanding tub. The hexagonal floor tile is by Arto.

The team removed dropped ceilings in the relatively small bedrooms and painted the exposed rafters a glossy white to bounce light. “Opening the ceiling makes the [bedrooms] feel much bigger,” says Chernak.

A private outdoor shower is located at ground level, for easy access from the beach.

Clapboard siding was swapped out for narrow horizontal strips of Meranti wood, and the garage now has barn-style swing doors that fit into the facade.

“The landscape disruption and grading were kept to a minimum so the desert feels like it grows right up to the threshold of the home,” reflect Darci and Dale. “The terraces to the east are meant to be a transition from the wild and rugged desert landscape to a more cultivated desert garden that becomes more curated and manicured as you get closer to the home.” State-owned land to the east offers both inspiring beauty and built-in privacy for the master suite.

Lured to Phoenix by the promise of toasty weather and access to the great outdoors, former Montana residents Eric and Sondra McVeigh purchased a home on the outskirts of the city in 2007. “We bought the property for its proximity to hiking—there’s a trailhead two blocks away,” says Eric.

The apartment building dates to 1888, and the various residences feature high ceilings, mirrored doors, massive skirtings, and richly ornamented white stucco. “When it was built, there was no central heating, so each and every room had tiled, wood-burning stoves,” says resident Martin Ringqvist. - Gothenburg, Sweden Dwell Magazine : September / October 2017

Hope painted the bedroom walls, ceiling and floor bright white, adding a fresh look and a feeling of spaciousness. "It's small," she says, "so I went with a simple bed frame and all-white linens to keep things light and bright."