Modern American Houses

Tom Givone’s clients, Rose and Steve Smith, teach overseas and have owned their house for 26 years. They intended to fix it up slowly and retire there. As one problem led to another, they reached a point when they felt their only option, as Rose put it, was to “burn it down.”

A couple in Evanston, Illinois, asked John Issa of Perimeter Architects to add on a two-story, 650-square-foot addition to their traditional farmhouse. The new volume is clad in composite slate siding by Inspire Roofing Products; the windows are Pella.

To reinforce a streamlined aesthetic, materials move from the inside out and from room to room. A Caesarstone countertop in the kitchen extends through a window to the backyard. The basalt path in the house continues outside and up the outdoor stairs.

An Arco floor lamp from Flos arches over a Bend sofa by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia. A pair of Low Pad chairs by Jasper Morrison and a Sunset chair by Christophe Pillet, all for Cappellini, are arranged around a set of Pebble coffee tables by Ligne Roset.

The house opens to the rear deck, which the original architects projected into the setback to maximize the outdoor space. All the doors are from Western Window Systems. As in his own home in Venice, Dimster added a clear railingto the roof deck, so nothing would obstruct the view. He also designed the sun shades.

A swimming pool was on everyone’s wish list. Gray Organschi installed it on the east side of the house, along with an outdoor fireplace. The outside pathways and decks are paved in ipe and bluestone.