lighting

In the primary bedroom, the leather headboard insert is from Citizenry, with a steel bed by Jobe Fabrications custom design in collaboration with JCA. The side tables are also a collaboration between Jobe Fabrications and JCA, with Hand and Eye Gooseberry pendant hanging above. The bedcover is by Vacilando Quilting.

Homeowners Heather Thompson, a literary specialist in Lake Oswego School District, and Sam Gaty, executive director at a nonprofit that supports documentary filmmakers, loved almost everything about their spacious, light-filled 1965 ranch house in Portland, Oregon’s West Haven neighborhood. But the one pain point was the kitchen, a cramped, dark space with a bad layout.

In addition to the dining table just off-camera, it's easy to pull up a barstool to the overhanging counterop.

After: The soaring new living and dining space benefits from an abundance of natural light from every side, and they spent a lot of time trying to find the best lighting for the kitchen. The final choice: long, narrow copper pendants from Denmark suspended by ultra thin wires to not disrupt the visual flow of the room.

In the dining room, a built-in banquette is surrounded by multi-functional cabinetry. The seat bench stores special occasion or serving dishes, while the tall cabinet against the wall is for everyday plates and glassware. An upper cabinet fronted with white mesh even conceals the air conditioner.

Studio kitchen- Stainless steel plate counter, stained casework, concrete floors and exposed 2x wood ceiling structure with concealed lighting.

Studio interior - The ceiling downlights are concealed into the structure of the 2x decking for a seamless ceiling.

BEFORE: Two bathrooms both featured awkward, cramped layouts.

Architect Ignacio Urquiza explains that in Valle de Bravo, everyone has two living rooms, an interior and exterior. “You spend the whole year in the exterior because of the weather, even if it’s raining. All the interior spaces become abandoned. We wanted to erase the interior one. With the design of the windows, it would turn into the exterior façade. That was an important part of the project.”

Daniel sits at an Artek Half-Round table by Alvar Aalto. The vintage oak chairs are by Bruno Rey.

The kitchen features custom-lacquered cabinets with white oak handles and, in lieu of upper cabinets, a wall niche to display dishes.

Floor Plan of Night + Day House by Edmonds + Lee Architects

Barber designed soaring white ceiling volumes with operable Andersen 400 Series clerestory windows to maximize light. “These features act as a room-scaled lightbox that creates a bright airiness to the light-toned wood surfaces below,” Barber says.

Aya Amornpan, who co-owns and manages three restaurants, in her dream home kitchen. Behind her is the refrigerator and wine fridge.

After removing an oak tree from the property to create a driveway, the Rodenburgs “transplanted” the tree to the home’s main living area, where it serves as a decorative centerpiece.

De La Espada Solo dining chairs by Neri & Hu surround a table that was custom-built in Shanghai for the owners.

The dining table and chairs were from Gylfir’s in-laws. “We wanted to use fixtures and furniture with history so that it wasn’t all new, so that it had character,” says Sævarsson.