Favorites

Mandy restored the front door herself and installed cement tiles from Arto Brick, a local company.

Madera produced 14-inch-wide heart oak timber flooring in up to 24-foot lengths for the large first floor, which includes a kitchen and dining area that spans nearly 40 feet. The brand’s reputation for high-quality timber flooring is driven by its “forest to floor” approach, which allows them to oversee every aspect of the process, from the cutting of the oak at the partner mill in Bavaria, to the installation.

After: The new bathroom is straight out of Laura's Pinterest dreams, with stacked white ceramic tile (from Zia) and matte black fixtures (from AF Supply). She plans to add more plants to make the space even more serene.

“They are quite cute and very wild,” Leah says of her three kids. The hot tub and surrounding deck were the starting points for the exterior remodel, with the transformed outdoor space incorporating numerous areas for the children to play and explore.

The spacious primary suite on the first floor overlooks the tree canopies, offering a retreat from the everyday. “We love that the house doesn’t look too grand on the exterior and often surprises people with how much space we have on the inside,” says Heather. “We also really love that we were able to vault the ceilings.”

On a sought after an idyllic island in the center of Amsterdam an old warehouse, formerly in use as a pillow factory and a garage has been converted to a warm and eclectic family home. The kitchen features a mixture of green tiles, green painted mullions, and exposed wood beams for a warm, soft feeling that contrast sharply with the more industrial stainless steel island. The kitchen island incorporates a stove top and storage, and benefits from natural light from the skylight overhead.

An open shelf displays the couple’s glassware collection.

The window in the kitchen that overlooks the garden is intentionally free of any structure, with the small ventilation openings discretely located to the side. This ensures the view is uninterrupted and the woodlands become part of the interior.

After: The kitchen’s countertops and backsplash are “all those 1950s-30s enamel card tables,” Geoffrey explains. “That was a decision I made early on; it took me a year and a half to collect them all.” The beams were a great surprise; they were hidden away in the ceiling. The appliances are former Consumer Reports test appliances bought at auction, and the ceiling lights are a custom design, intended to look mid-century.

Three-quarter partitions divide up the colorful, tiled bathroom into zones. Light pours through the skylight. “It’s a very hardworking little room,” says Dovey. “It’s my favorite place in the house.” Sandblasted glass creates privacy, without sacrificing light.

My Neighbor Totoro

The backyard sports a sequence of raised flower and vegetable beds and two green roofs—one atop the workshop and other atop the back entrance.

A healthy budget for landscaping allowed Leah to achieve a natural, wild look with plants. “I wanted to look out and see just lush plants growing wild,” she says. The collage of native vegetation was also used to soften the transitions between surface materials and backyard zones.

The balcony is an important part of tropical living, allowing one to enjoy breeze and light but also shade.