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A custom-made black walnut dining table is surrounded by chairs from Matthew Hilton Designs. A Lindsey Adelman chandelier hangs overhead. The team chose to paint the dining room in Railings by Farrow and Ball to create a mood apart from the airier kitchen and living area.

The home is clad in corrugated iron coated with Zincalume. “We chose the cladding so we could curve the metal sheets and create barrel vaulted roofs,” says architect William Samuels. “The finish gives a natural reflection to the surface of the house, picking up on the colors of the surrounding bush and the changing daylight.”

Renovated in stages over the course of a decade, a home in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood proves the power of thoughtful design using humble materials.

A series of solar panels and green roofs by Recover Green Roofs contribute to the energy efficiency of the house, which produces more electrical power than it consumes. MASS Design Group senior principal and cofounding member Sierra Bainbridge designed the home's landscape.

The new staircase to the bunk room also has a privacy screen made of a bookcase with storage.

Cle tiles, a Duravit sink, and Vola fixtures were used in one of three bathrooms.

"My goal was to carry on the client’s family legacy by creating a very special place that took inspiration from the landscape,” explains architect Tom Kundig.

Richens invested money in certain high-end items, like the stove and timber. “The stovetop is five times more expensive than it could be, but it works and looks 10 times better,” he says.

The breezeway and entrance act as a transitional moment linking old and new

Floor plan of Centered Home by HYCArch & aalso architecture

The living room’s showpiece is a Zircon stove by Malm; its flue snakes 25 feet to the ceiling. “We really wanted the fireplace to be the anchor within this large space,” says Raj. A rust velvet Lenyx sofa from CB2 provides a punch of color within the minimalist palette. Nearby is a custom maple credenza by Croft House. The white-trimmed windows are from Loewen and the white paint throughout is Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore.

"In some ways the strongest attributes of the house are probably the outside spaces,” says Court. The original cedar deck was replaced with Kebony decking that wraps around a century-old cherry tree. A pair of Andy rockers from Mamagreen face an ottoman by Kenneth Cobonpue. The accordion doors are a NanaWall SL-60 system that allows the main room of the guesthouse to open completely to the deck.

In the master bathroom, the teak vanity and wood screens were designed by Isaac-Rae and custom built by a furniture maker. The sinks by Apaiser were also made custom. The lighting is by Flos.

Handmade leather Fernando chairs by Jayson Home surround a live-edge custom walnut table by Ben Riddering in the dining area.

Exposed steel structural elements and cedar siding meet in the side patio, where 27-foot-wide doors merge inside and out. By enlarging the side yard beyond setback requirements, Saez Pedraja made the house more narrow. “But, by making it more narrow, we made the living space bigger,” says the architect.