Inspirational Homes

The U-shaped, one-level home is composed of two volumes connected by bright orange doors that pop against the dark wood facade.

Now, the furniture grouping comfortably occupies the living room. A sectional from Gus Modern sits with a custom steel coffee table and a Paulistano armchair.

The carpeting was removed to reveal the concrete slab underneath, which was finished with epoxy paint. “That room just beckoned to be an entertainer’s paradise,” says Wei.

Two awnings on casters can be adjusted to shade or expose the interior to sunlight.

Whereas others might look at a board-formed cement wall in a basement and see, well, a concrete wall, Jess and Jonathan Taylor, the design duo behind the L.A.-based firm Taylor + Taylor, were inspired. The couple had purchased a virtually untouched 1952 house in east L.A. and that concrete wall became the backdrop for a new guest kitchen in the basement. "It was really the starting point of the whole design," says Jess Taylor. "As designers, our goal is to always try to incorporate the existing surroundings whenever possible, utilize them in practical ways, and be inspired by them."

Amagansett Modular House by MB Architecture

Preda elegantly reallocated the space to contain a side-by-side living room and dining room area, with the latter defined by a custom Cor-Ten steel and zebrawood bookcase designed by the firm. The dining table is by Alepreda for miduny, the firm’s sister furniture company. The fireplace is an ethanol model, since incorporating a chimney wasn’t possible in the building.

This midcentury kitchen was well-positioned so the updates maintained its original footprint, adding plenty of storage space for all the family's cooking and dining essentials.

A band of clerestory windows runs along the south side of the garden room. Sliding glass doors separate the space from a formal dining area.

Living/dining area and kitchen.

The living room extends into the great outdoors with a spruce deck.