Favorites

The Uphill Utilitarian sits at the back of a sloping site, which the owners left as natural as possible, while adding a small seating area.

The shed's garden-storage space opens outward, with the door itself doubling as storage.

The Uphill Utilitarian Shed when fully opened.

A closeup of Aaron's woodworking tools

becomes this wood cocoon with ambient light coming through the clear wall panel. You don’t need to even turn on a light.”

A creative couple combine their talents to give a camper a retro-inspired revamp.

The team painted the exterior brick after patching it in places, like the section left by the removal of the door. “We could find the exact texture of brick, that classic Roman running bond, but we could not find it in the right color,” says architect Kailin Gregga. Painting the entire exterior unifies the façade. Rich Brilliant Willing “Hoist” sconces in Black was also added.

Preproduction model with optional features shown.

The custom sliding window screens, which shield from solar gain, were designed by the couple and are a modernized reference to the operable shutters that Denise remembers from her childhood in Austria. They first used the idea on one of their apartment buildings.

Before: Over three years, Jake Wetzel worked with friends and neighbors to overhaul this 1930 cottage in Kamloops, British Columbia, where he and wife Sigrid live.

“We definitely wanted to preserve the character of the home and make sure that it always fits the neighborhood,” says designer Jenny Bassett. To that end, the team kept the front façade intact, only repainting and adding new landscaping. The fireplace in the living room was also retained, so wood is stored in the front yard for easy access.

The garage was converted into the primary suite, and a modern landscaping treatment added, with staggered pavers intertwined with ground cover.

New concrete pathways, all built by Jake and Antony, are arranged around an artful tool shed, which has a weathered steel wall punched with a pattern from the Faroe Islands in Denmark, where Sigrid is from. “That was a nod to Sigrid’s heritage,” says Bassett. The shed also acts as a privacy screen for the patio below it.

The group continued the weathered steel elements throughout the landscape, designed by friend Catherine Howell, such as in the planter beds at the “afternoon” patio, which faces West.

New folding glass doors connect the downstairs living room to the revamped yard. The floors are concrete and the ceilings are Hemlock.

The team dug down two feet in the basement to add ceiling height and remodel while staying within the footprint of the house. “Without doing an addition, we could more than double the square footage in the house,” says Jake. A concrete bench topped with wood runs sixty-five feet along the perimeter of the room, and serves as a useful bench.

A preserved brick support column is juxtaposed against a streamlined kitchen, with Corian counters and a marble slab backsplash.