modern

This warehouse conversion by Ian Moore Architects also features an equine genetics laboratory and an enormous garage filled with classic cars.

To flip the house, they eliminated the second story, taking the ceilings high and the windows wide. To make up for the lost square footage, they added on a wing, built a separate garage with a guest apartment above it, and brought the hangout spaces to the front to capitalize on the views. "The original house had good, solid bones,” says Jennifer. “What if the whole wall was windows?” the homeowner asked, and that certainly worked—sunlight pours in through entire house from the front floor to ceiling window wall.

A street view of the low-slung compound.

The South Elevation provides complete transparency through the main level to established gardens beyond

Sliding glass doors enable easy indoor/outdoor circulation.

View of Entry

Set on 21 acres at the top of the Snoqualmie Valley, the 3,200-square-foot Maxon House represents a major lifestyle change for the Maxons, who previously lived in a split-level in a planned subdivision. "When you’re here, you just sit and watch what’s happening outside," says Lou. "It’s like the Weather Channel. We don’t even need the TV." Kim adds, "In spring everything explodes." Cedars, hemlocks, and vine maples shoot up from the fern-covered hillside.

“Although the LDK (living room, dining room, kitchen) faces east, it is bathed in light reflected off the hill in the afternoon,” say the architects. “With the absence of beams and sealing strips, the rafter seems to protrude from the white structural wall, making the LDK seem like a semi-outdoor veranda. The living room has become part of the garden, where you can naturally engage with the children playing or sprawling on the slope of the hill.”

The reclaimed hickory facade of the Micro Cabin by BC-OA is punctured by windows that overlook National Forest Service land.

The $33.5M expansion not only provides 3.4 acres of additional space to the 9.1 acre garden to accommodate its rapid visitor growth, but also—and most importantly—enhance its ability to immerse visitors in traditional Japanese arts and culture. It also provides space for educational programs and events, and a training center to teach the tenets of Japanese gardening in English.

The kitchen sits just off the living room area for easy entertaining. The roller shades are from J Geiger.

City Cabin | Olson Kundig

Dada

In a family home in Mill Valley, California, Lauren Goldman of l’oro designs kept her clients’ goals of “modern yet accessible” in mind while also looking for opportunities to add functionality. This proved successful when she discovered that the empty space under the steel-and-glass stair landing was the perfect scale for children to sit and read under. The team was inspired to create a kid-sized library, turning a useless space into a perfectly cozy reading nook.