Favorites

Second Floor Bedroom Suite

Dining Room

Foyer

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1955, the Louis Penfield House is a 1,730-square-foot, residence in Lake County, Ohio, that has details like ribbon windows, “goutenjou” coffered ceilings, and a floating wooden staircase inspired by Japanese minimalism.

Deciding to buy a home comes with its own unique set of pressures. Oftentimes, it’s seen as a seal of adulthood, an acceptance of permanence, and perhaps most importantly, it also means that you’re about to spend a large sum of money; it makes sense that no one wants to go about it in a casual way.

The Cesca cane chairs are from Knoll, the Nelson Bubble pendant is from Herman Miller, and the Bud vase is from Heath Ceramics.

“The final location of the unit required the crane company to drive a crane through our garden all the way around our house and to lorry the unit in via the same route,” says Vriesema. “Due to the location being so far from the nearest road this was quite a challenge.” In addition, t

The new prefab unit is located just a few meters from the main home—a thatched-roof cottage that dates back to the 1950s. “The dark color of the cladding blends into the dark hedges in the garden, so the unit doesn’t attract too much attention,” says Vriesema.

The accent wall is painted "Tofino Sunset

The fish-scale shingles are a nod to historic homes in the area, painted in "Smoked Salmon

Aleksandra shifted and shortened the window to pack in usable storage around it. The cabinets are painted Rainy Afternoon by Benjamin Moore, combined with white oak boxes for contrast. “We were also badly hit by the material price increases during Covid,” says Aleksandra, whether it was kitchen cabinets or framing lumber. The couple were receiving quotes that changed week to week.

A new powder room behind a pocket door in the hall reveals Nagoya Dark Green tile from Ames Tile. The salmon paint color is Benjamin Moore "Sharon Rose."

The staircase needed to be rebuilt to meet current building code, but being in basically its original location, is an anchor in the redesign. The wall color is "Hamilton Blue

Aleksandra restored the foyer's original proportions, adding porcelain tile, the Mutina Mews pigeon from Stone-Tile, in a herringbone application to the floor.

The bay windows were preserved, now with triple-glazed units to accommodate Vancouver building code, and yellow cedar added to the porch soffit. The Benjamin Moore colors "Deep River

The rear facade, like the top-floor addition, is faced in rectangular panels of black rainscreen Richlite over exterior mineral wool insulation.

The rental’s bathroom is finished in Benjamin Moore’s Hot Spice, paired with color-matched grout.

The kids’ bathroom features Zia Tile in Elemental Blue and fixtures from Rubinet and Duravit.