Landscaping

Ceramic artwork gazes onto Bridge House, and Bridge House shall gaze back!

A pathway winds between a pair of Japanese maples and a myrtle tree that dates to the home’s original construction. The floor-to-ceiling windows and sliders are by Fleetwood.

A perfectly groomed backyard lawn with a paver patio.

“Our drive to have a landscaped garden was for the kids to be able to have a space where they could adventure around the place,” says Natalie. “And part of what we enjoy is being able to sit and admire something that’s so beautiful.” They chose hardy Australian native plants to make the garden easy to maintain with minimal water.

“Sustainability is very important to us,” lead architect Heather Dubbeldam says. “It is easy to design with passive systems, to use passive sustainable principles to influence the design and layout of the house.” Her team reduced the need for air conditioning and artificial lighting through carefully positioned doors and windows that draw in natural light and breeze. New insulation, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and low-energy lighting also minimize the homeowners’ dependence on utilities.

Sixteen-foot-tall glass walls, paired with seven-foot overhangs and three-foot solar screens, optimize the home’s passive climate control and capture views of the valley that unfurls across the couple’s 160-acre property.

Fashion designer Josie and her husband Ken Natori are big fans of traditional Japanese architecture, so when Brooklyn-based practice Tsao & McKown Architects designed their home in Pound Ridge, New York, they used a heavy, exposed-timber structure, and included Japanese-style gardens and landscaping.

Raise the Roof Using a commercial roof in a residential project was a first for architect Michael Epstein. While similar systems are often covered, Epstein chose this long-span roof deck from Epic Metals for its beam-like interior face, which hides fastenings in its deep grooves, creating a flat-panel appearance.

A dated midcentury dwelling in Santa Barbara is transformed into a bright, airy abode—perfectly suited for contemporary living.

Thick custom casework surrounds a set of solid mahogany lift-and-slide pocket doors.

The home is elegantly set into its surroundings and overlooks a serene garden patio with a koi pond.

A natural, stacked-stone fin is the grounding element below the cantilevered bedroom wing.

"Some of my favorite elements are the reclaimed Wyoming fence wood siding and cedar tongue and groove ceilings," reveals Mackay. "The use of reclaimed wood is pretty unique."