Features

The Hive was completed in May 2015 for a total construction cost of $160,000.

The home also includes a large, walk-out basement that directly connects to the landscape. Gardens are spread out along the 14-acre property, including orchards of lemon, orange, pear, apple, olive, fig, prune, quince, and pomegranate trees.

walnut shelving and flip-down desk

The RACV tiny home is sided with charred shiplap and features a pitched roof and bright yellow hydraulic panels that fold up and out, providing wing walls, sun shades, and decking.

To take advantage of the astounding views that extend beyond the Strait of Georgia to the cityscape of downtown Vancouver, Trim Studio oriented the home so that it faces northeast.

In Charlottesville, Virginia, a heavily wooded lot saddled between two small rivers was slowly renovated for over a decade—starting with an existing 1983 ranch house. The property was slowly transformed into a gathering place for extended family with a versatile outdoor space, ideal for elderly visitors and children alike. The homeowners built out the backyard to fully enjoy the changing hues of the seasons with a Gloster-furnished patio.

While Edwardian timber homes are common in Sandringham, a beachside suburb in Melbourne, this one features a custom rear extension with two gable roofs that house the master bedroom, kitchen, and dining room. The open plan allows the spaces to flow into the yard, which features a new patio with a timber pergola for open-air dining.

A maple tree grows through an ipe deck in this garden that Mary Barensfeld designed for a family in Berkeley, California. A reflecting pool separates it from a granite patio, which is furnished with a Petal dining table by Richard Schultz and chairs by Mario Bellini. The 1,150-square-foot garden serves as an elegant transition from the couple’s 1964 Japanese-style town house to a small, elevated terrace with views of San Francisco Bay. Filigreed Cor-Ten steel fence screens—perforated with a water-jet cutter to cast dappled shadows on a bench and the ground below—and zigzagging board-formed concrete retaining walls are examples.

An antique door in a modern steel frame marks the entry path to the house.

Abstracted ocotillo cut outs in steel panels frame the entry courtyard

A palette of stone, concrete, and greenery greets guests at the home’s front entrance.

Large slider doors from Marvin allow easy access to the patio. The couple chose long rectangular stepping blocks in the exact width of the slider to further enhance the view outward.

Any chance they get, the active family takes a dip in the backyard pool, often with a running start from sliding doors in the living room.

One of Kevin’s favorite rooms is an indoor-outdoor area he calls the ‘screen room.’ With a full-width retractable screen across one wall, the space is a modern take on an all-season screened porch.