Landscape

Blue papasan chairs add a pop of color to a sheltered patio.

Backyards are enclosed within wire fencing that helps preserve a sense of openness in the neighborhood.

Speaking to his original design, architect Saul Zaik says, “We were really just building boxes with a bunch of windows but experimenting with how you integrated indoor and outdoor spaces.” The house has seven different openings to the exterior, allowing different courtyard or patio settings for a range of outdoor activities, including seating for a gathering on the street-facing side. The Milfords hired Lilyvilla Gardens for the landscaping around the house, including variegated bluestone steps with thyme joints.

Metal formwork for the curved seating area. The metal rusted by the rain.

Sunken conversation/fire pit area was made from recycled concrete from the carport slab.

Natalie and Lauren wanted to replicate the feel of a Zen garden with their home’s central courtyard. The garden features a Japanese maple that pops against the charred timber cladding, while structurally, the U-shape design ushers light right through to the back of the house.

On the outskirts of Grândola—a small Alentejan town in the Setúbal district of Portugal—a dramatic architectural form sits in the vast, arid landscape amidst cork trees and herds of cows. The whitewashed guesthouse is known as Casa da Volta, which translates as "Home of the Return,

Sited for maximum privacy and views within the Parc Andreas neighborhood of South Palm Springs, the newly built residence sits on a corner lot with only one adjacent neighbor.

A balcony adjoins one of the secondary bedrooms.

The modular homes are designed to be primarily produced in a factory in Grand Prairie, Texas, which is also designed by Lake Flato.

Oaxaca Interests is a Texas-based real estate operator, developer, and investment firm. The company partnered with award-winning architecture practice Lake|Flato to found HiFAB.

The front patio offers another outdoor space for residents and can be used to develop a sense of community amongst neighbourhoods of Haciendas.

HiFAB hopes to grow their business and, eventually, pass savings onto potential homeowners to make the homes affordable for more people.

The in-ground pool is placed between the primary bedroom and the casita.

Fredrik designed a rooftop deck that offers 360-degree views, including east to Dodger Stadium and southeast to the Downtown L.A. skyline.

New living spaces now provide enclosure to create a 400-square-foot, open-air atrium at the center of the home.

The reading nook corridor has a sizeable sliding glass door that pockets into more glass, with thresholds flush between the cork floors on the interior and the large format porcelain tile on the exterior. The center of the atrium is filled with raked 1/8” Desert Gold crushed granite.

The independent studio also has large picture windows looking into the atrium, and shields sightlines from the street, to create privacy in the rest of the home.

59956 Sunny Sands Drive in Yucca Valley, California, is currently listed for $664,000 by Clayton Baldwin of Kinetic Properties.