Favorites

The interior is kept clean and pure, making it easy for the owner to live in, and creating a contrast with the "rough and shaggy

The couple designed the great room to be a comfortable room for gathering with friends and hosting dinner parties.

After: The second bedroom is now a sunroom and TV lounge, and Michelle's favorite space in the home.

The couple rarely needs to turn on an interior electric light until sundown—and even if the ridge skylight extends their mortgage payments a little longer, Amy says “I’m so glad we did it—it’s what makes the house.”

Displaying functional kitchen objects on the open steel shelving offers moments of visual interest in the otherwise muted kitchen.

A custom steel shelf above the new Bosch cooktop provides storage and display space, while remaining visually minimal.

The contractors working on the project started referring to the bathroom as a "jewel box" because of the meticulous attention required to piece it together. "The 1" x 1" Japanese porcelain tiles were laid out in a grid that aligns with every element in the bathroom," says Eng-Goetz. "For example, the bathroom sink aligns with the adjacent grout lines, as do the inset cabinet doors below." The cabinetry is white-washed red oak and the vanity lights are by Anastassiades.

The bedroom is all about smart storage and privacy.

"We raised the bedroom walls to meet the ceiling and designed built-in storage that's truly tailored to our client's needs," says Eng-Goetz. "In addition, we designed an upholstered paneling which adds a sense of privacy and visual intrigue, as it's essentially a large, felt collage. We also designed the custom vanity and bed.

The arched sconce, inspired by Allied Maker’s contour light, was custom-crafted to perfectly fit the kitchen window. The brass faucet is by Waterworks. The sink and countertop are both custom concrete designs by JHID which were fabricated in Oregon by Cement Elegance.

The kitchen features bleached red oak storage cabinets custom-made by L&Z Specialties, Inc. The dining table is from Areti, paired with Eero Saarinen Tulip chairs from the client's collection, and a distinctive mobile from Gam Fratesi adds a commanding accent.

As a former librarian and true book lover, Williams liked the idea of storing her books in the living room. "At first, the built-in shelving we designed was more open, but the exposed books created too much visual clutter, so we added cabinet doors and kept a few open shelves to house a rotating display of our client's collection of quirky and artful artifacts," says Eng-Goetz.

Inspired by the small scale of Japanese residences—in particular, Makoto Masuzawa’s 1952 Minimum House—architect Andrew Simpson designed his own economical 538-square-foot home set into a wooded site in Island Bay, a coastal suburb outside Wellington, New Zealand.

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

A plastered fireplace column acts as a divider between the living spaces and the single bedroom.

The kitchen was designed so that the cooktop is in the Caesarstone-wrapped island, which means the cook can enjoy the view while they work. “I love cooking and looking out,” says Michele.

The kitchen, which was moved to the sunny side of the house, embraces Anyeley’s taste for simple, modern forms. Cabinetry painted in Hague Blue by Farrow & Ball surrounds a central island fitted with Nerd bar stools by Muuto and a Dot Line Suspension pendant by Lambert & Fils. Completing the kitchen is a Litze faucet by Brizo and a Crosstown sink by Elkay, along with rangetop and wall ovens by Dacor and a Benchmark refrigerator from Bosch.