House Ideas

Updated siding and new windows create a cohesive exterior look.

When Austin-based firm Matt Fajkus Architecture was tasked with renovating this classic midcentury home, they sought to open up the interior—not only by unifying the common areas into an open-plan layout, but also by literally raising the home's roof. This strategy increased the ceiling height on three sides of the home, allowing for the insertion of clerestory windows to create a bright and airy open living space. "The raised ceiling maintains the original pitched roof geometry to stay harmonious with the existing gabled roof in the private zone," explain the architects in a statement.

Drawing inspiration from the farmhouse vernacular, the Clinton Corners Residence features gabled structures clad in western red cedar and topped with standing seam metal roofing.

“I’ve loved Moritz Kundig’s work for years,” says designer Josh Hissong, whose home in Spokane, Washington, turned out to be a 1971 work by the architect. Josh and his wife, Shiva, executed a thoughtful revamp of the house, which began with thinning an overgrown stand of pine trees to bring the entryway out of hiding. The exterior is painted Deep Space by Benjamin Moore.

The home is made up of four gabled forms: the main house—with an attached master bedroom suite in its own distinct volume (on the left)—an artist studio, and an attached three-car garage.

Orchard House Front

Frequent visits to Calistoga Ranch left a Los Angeles couple hankering for even more time amid Napa Valley’s tranquil vineyards, so they realized it was the right moment to build their post-retirement dream home in California Wine Country. Wade Design Architects and Geremia Design knew exactly how to bring it to life.

Organized around a central courtyard, the home’s three modules are oriented to maximize views of downtown Marfa; 20-foot-deep piers drilled below each concrete footing root the structure to the site and help stabilize it against West Texas winds, which can reach 120 miles per hour.

Wild Lilac is set on the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, far removed from the glitz of Los Angeles. LaHabra Santa Barbara Mission Finish stucco was used for the exterior to protect the home from strong sun.

A pair of Icelandic prefab pioneers deliver an efficient family home in Culver City. Building smarter is at the heart of everything designers Tryggvi Thorsteinsson and Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir do. Whether they’re testing the limits of indoor/outdoor living or developing a prefabricated wall system that they hope will make traditional wood framing a thing of the past, the founders of the Santa Monica design studio Minarc are consumed with making structures stronger, lighter, and more efficient.

Beyond the large pedestrian gate, “which is really the home’s front door,” says Gottschalk, “the house begins to reveal its strong indoor and outdoor relationship. Blurring the boundary between the two is a key design element.”

The L-shaped central space has high ceilings and holds the dining room, living room, kitchen, and work area.

The Mono structure's single-engineered truss frame makes it capable of withstanding harsh weather—from heavy snow, to downpours, to heat. It also comes in three variations.

Inserting a mix of texture, raw materials and functional elements, SHED Architecture & Design was able to artfully marry the new additions with the original industrial construction in Capitol Hill Loft by using a palette of concrete brick, stainless steel plate, blackened steel, and mirror.

Pole Pass Retreat | Olson Kundig

The view of the home from the driveway shows their staggered positions nestled into a slight slope. The materiality of the two volumes were an important element. The “private” structure on the right hosts the bedrooms and was constructed in stones pulled from the site, “adding a beautiful layer of the red colors from the region to the project.” The “social” structure on the left houses the communal living areas.

A custom Cor-Ten steel pivot door leads into the lakefront home

Four bedrooms and four bathrooms span two structures, with a guest wing and main residence. The Aspen, Colorado, home is 4,300 square feet.