Interiors

In the living room, the team raised the firebox, cladded the hearth in a tactile plaster finish, and installed a floating limestone bench that wraps the column. On the left (unseen) is integrated firewood storage, and a cozy reading nook sits on the right. "The bench was designed to be used as a social space/lounge, and is well-used," says Coffey. The wood beams and red brick were scraped and stripped many times to remove the silver paint and reclaim a natural state.

The renovation reconfigured the kitchen to include a peninsula, which has a secondary level for the owners' wheelchair-using daughter.

In the cobblestoned center of Andermatt, Switzerland, renowned for its skiing, locals Al and Francesca Breach scooped up a cottage dating from 1620 that they hoped to transform into an office with a ground-floor wine bar and guest accommodations. Although it was reimagined for contemporary living, it is graced with inviting old touches, like an original stone oven that still provides heat.

Michael and Teegan prepare lunch with their daughter, Perse, in the kitchen of their contemporary farmhouse in Australia’s Piccadilly Valley.

After more than 15 years spent in construction, high school friends Simon Fyall and Richard Egli started to imagine an architecture that blended in with the landscape of British Columbia better than industry-standard buildings. Soon after, the pair founded Blend Projects to build their vision: crisp gabled homes strung together from eight-foot-long cedar-sided glulam sections.

Glass folding doors from Panoramic Doors reach nine-and-a-half feet high to open the kitchen to the courtyard. “It's such a unique feature, especially in Brooklyn,” says Slocum. “You rarely ever see that type of thing.”

An expansive picture window frames views of the natural landscape in the bedroom area, where the headboard doubles as a bar for the dining space.

Although it’s “veiled” from the street, the light-filled hideaway amplifies its connection to the outdoors.

Note Mansawataphaiboon cooks something up.

The architects swapped a second-floor balcony for a first-floor deck.

The home features traditional kiva fireplaces throughout, with built-in benches crafted from hand-tooled plaster. “The rounded edges and details are quite beautiful,” says Moore.

The green plaster, a color inspired by the palette of architect Luis Barragán, now covers the stone fireplace and hearth, extending the column up to the ceiling so there’s no longer a line chopping up the wall. “It made such an incredible difference that it goes all the way to the ceiling. It draws your eye up,” says Brooke. The new built-ins are white oak, and evoke the style of what was there before.

The shower accesses an exterior deck via a door. “You're basically showering in the trees,” says Waterfield.