Houses with a View

To the west, the house faces the rugged coast of Piha Beach.

The deck off the front is also minimally furnished with elegant lines of beach rock and two Leaf chairs by Arper.

The bedroom has a view of the cherry trees.

The cantilevered deck juts out from the home. “You really feel like you’re floating,” Harnkess says.

Into the Fold A pair of Slovakian expats open the doors (and enormous roof!) to their airy Hawaiian home. Photos by: Cristobal Palma

The house rests just below the crest of a gently sloping hilltop and commands powerful views. Its transparency and small size aim to minimize its impact on the land.

In 1910, when the building was constructed, Barcelona’s economy was booming and, as a result, so were the arts. Architecture was especially popular among the city’s wealthier citizens, and splendid buildings were built in the new neighborhood of L’Eixample, on the edge of the old, Gothic city center.

One of the early challenges of building the house was defining the property lines of the lot, which had come to be known as "the floating acre" among the local fishermen.

The Trues host parties in the glass-walled structure, located steps from their vacation home, or they escape to it to catch some rays and read a book. Bill reclines on cushions hidden under the reclaimed-fir floorboards that are propped up with Sugatsune hinges.