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"The homeowner describing that he loved the mossy, fern understory brought the idea to my mind to be up in the trees," says architect Russ Tyson.

A highlight of the overhaul is the floor-to-ceiling glass on the north side, which includes a five-panel bifold door. The door opens to the couple’s favorite area of the house, the backyard. The deck is shaded by the cantilevered roof, and Ren planted drought-resistant brush amid the existing oak trees.

At Las Rocas, you always have two views: the lake and the rocks, which was the impetus for erasing the corners of the home. “The corner openings were a must for this project, because they really connect you to the outside,” says architect Ignacio Urquiza.

“Where we let loose was on the window,” Matt says. “It’s an aluminium window frame, which is bushfire compliant and easy to install, but the way that we detailed it was about hiding the frame so that the eye is drawn into the space.”

Nigel Chouri and Crick King bought a tattered ’50s beach house for $911K and introduced water-resistant features, a Spanish-style plaza, and a dreamy garden ADU.

The house is clad with shou sugi ban-treated cedar siding.

Interior living room with custom designed dining table and Floyd furniture

Concrete and weathered steel form the home’s low-profile western facade, anchoring it to the desert.

In the reimagined earthquake shack, a brass pendant from Allied Makers is suspended above a bleached ash dining table. In the background, the backyard beckons through the enlarged glazing.