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Project architects Studio Marshall Blecher and Jan Henrik Jansen Arkitekter opened up the center of the house, previously comprising a maze of fourteen small rooms, creating one large and airy kitchen and dining space with a high, chapel like ceiling. A six-meter-long concrete plinth standing at the center of the room which doubles as an island bench and dining table, had to be lowered into the house by a crane while the roof was being reconstructed.

Backdrop’s After Hours, a soft charcoal hue, gives Carlos Naude and Whitney Brown’s home in Woodland Hills, California, sleek curb appeal. Lund Sconces by Kuzco Lighting punctuate the exterior, and the streamlined garage doors are by Amarr.

At their A. Quincy Jones house in Los Angeles, architects Cory Buckner and Nick Roberts used permeable pavers to help the soil retain moisture.

Board and batten paneling, painted in Benjamin Moore’s Nimbus, nods to the home’s history.

Floor Plan of Glen Road Residence by Risa Boyer Architecture

Brothers’s workspace uses skylights to let in sun. The lack of windows helps him focus on his craft.

At an idyllic home designed for an artist, architect Michelle Linden designed a gravel path leading to the front door that passes through firewood storage and the central courtyard. The firewood is stacked high on either side, so that one can pick up the firewood on their way inside.

A panorama of sylvan hills and ocean views surrounds artist Richard Brothers’s environmentally minded Orcas Island, Washington, home.

The sun room, located between the kitchen and outdoor deck on the main floor, is furnished with a Herman Miller Striad lounge chair from DWR, an Odyssey rug from Driscoll Robbins, and a Kade accent table from Arteriors.

The architects were mindful to include materials like teak and travertine that would hold up against the strong Southern California sun.

Travertine tile flooring was used inside and outside the Clear Oak Residence to create visual consistency.

The warm wood of the front door, leather sheath on the brass handle, and glass panel set an inviting and relaxing tone for the home.

The wall-wrapped courtyard provides private outdoor space and blocks noise from the facing street.

Eero Saarinen’s Womb chair is the star of the book-filled den.

The Arguedas family especially loves hanging out on the lanai. “We wanted to keep the indoor/outdoor connection, while recognizing the realities of Florida’s climate,” says Roberto. “The 45-foot span of sliding doors provides a lot of flexibility in that respect, and ensures that even when the heat makes us keep them closed, you never feel disconnected from the main room when enjoying the pool or sitting under the roof extension.” The pool’s surrounds were upgraded, too. Previously, guests would be staring at a “mishmash of aberrant elements; there’s just landscape out there now,” adds Epstein.

All of the bathrooms, which were sans doors in the previous iteration of the house, were reconfigured.

Show It Off While the couple’s art collection is a focal point of the house, the structure’s abundance of glass walls means there are fewer places on which to hang it. Custom one-and-a-quarter-inch hardwood-plank shelves and a credenza from DWR provide places to rotate favorite pieces.