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The minimalist living room includes built-in seating.

The bulk of Chen's budget went to the new galley kitchen with Dekton Kelya engineered stone countertops and backsplash.

Hygge Supply cabinets with shelving inserts in kitchen.

“From anywhere in the house, you have a sense of the outdoors,” says Melonie, “and yet it’s very private.” Ikegami agrees. “The building was really about the landscape—it can dissolve into the background,” he says. In the master bedroom, Japanese Tansu chests from the couple’s previous home flank a Duxiana bed. The full-height windows and swing door are from Western Window Systems.

Before: The house was designed and built in 1978 by John Rause. Interior finishes had seen excessive wear and tear. "The house had little opportunity to access fresh air," says StudioFour director Annabelle Berryman. "In fact, the heart of the home received no direct fresh air as it opened directly into a large glazed pool enclosure. The air that dissipated from this zone was both damp and stagnant."

In the front yard, an existing jacaranda tree anchors the otherwise new landscape design.

The floors in Tetris Extension by Crosshatch are hydronic-heated, polished concrete.

The entry hall is another snapshot of design experimentation with wood built-ins, open cubbies, and simple brass hooks.

Lush landscaping softens the concrete stair.

The kitchen features hacked IKEA cabinets—Brit and Daniel built custom fronts and side panels out of Valchromat, a recycled engineered wood. The cabinets are topped with black steel, which extends up the wall as backsplash. “We wanted to find an inexpensive way of doing a really terrific kitchen,” says Daniel. “The metal, which is a cold-rolled sheet of blackened steel, is a unique material that will develop a patina over time, but will also be super durable—and again, very cost effective.”