Collection by Christa Culwell
The long hallway from the kitchen to the master bedroom is often used as a racetrack for scooters or cardboard box bobsledding. The exposed steel support beams are at the heart of the home, and the project's design.
The side yard connects the courtyard to the backyard. At the center is a downspout fountain that Young designed (an up-close look reveals a collection of gears and found metal objects from Renningers, the antique flea market in Mt. Dora). He later added a second chain to the right that guides overflow water from the gutters into a submerged drain added to the patio.
Walnut panels make up the floors and ceiling, in a subtle material nod to the former home’s midcentury provenance. Jack and Ellen lounge on a Thayer Coggin sectional, which is joined by a Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe and a coffee table by Brad Ascalon; Chris designed the custom built-in shelving.
Modular corrugated steel protects the house against year-round rain. Home automation company Home Control outfitted the residence with energy-efficient LED lights and zone-specific audio systems.
The hanging beds in Casa Norte recreate the feeling of the surf.
Large sliding glass doors allow daylight to fill the living room. Smaller windows are placed in the kitchen area and the sleeping loft. The exterior is clad in heart pine which needs very little up-keep and is known for its strength and hardness.
To keep costs down elsewhere (the house was built for just over $118,000), architect Brun and his partner Lizmarie Esparza specified Ikea kitchen cabinets and a black refrigerator, which is less expensive than stainless steel. "It was really important that the kitchen opened up to the outside deck. Its designed in an L-shape with an indoor-outdoor table," Brun says. "The idea is that when you open the door, there's a continuous environment connecting the inside with the outside—it's as open as possible." Gordon purchased the hand-crafted solid teak antique table from Indonesia.
Shaped like a cross, this four-cornered villa offers four different views of its location on an island in Finland. Avanto Architects created a black exterior, dotted with large windows, to make it invisible from the nearby lake.
The master bathroom extends the same visual themes found throughout the rest of the home to keep the overall scheme unified. Ipe wood was used for the shower flooring and lightly oiled cherry wood forms the cabinets.
Honest materials appear throughout this Los Altos home. In the double-height living area, Mantis chairs by BassamFellows surround a custom live-edge dining table, fashioned from an old Claro walnut tree with help from Menlo Hardwoods.