Narrowsburg Perch River House

The back patio and fire-pit area are central entertaining spaces. When the weather is nice, homeowner Joan and Ken wheel their dining room table outside for parties and dinners with friends. The fire pit was built using a steel cut-off from a natural gas tank.

Floor plan of Forest Pavilion by Signal Architecture & Research

A large deck extends from the front of the home as well.

The courtyard divides the "bi-nuclear" house into adult areas and children's areas, including a playroom.

Floor Plan of Templeton Eichler by Blaine Architects

Finishes repeat to ensure a continuity of feeling throughout the home. In the primary bathroom, the floor is the same large format porcelain as the exterior spaces, the vanity counters are Concrete Collaborative terrazzo, and the shower wall tile is Mutina Rombini, which is also found on the kitchen island.

The expanded kitchen has a large central island, with room for prep, seating, storage, and cooking. The cabinetry is a mix of wood, Shinnoki Milk Oak, and white fronts, Fenix NTM Bianco Kos. The terrazzo counters are by Concrete Collaborative. There are two types of tiles: the Mutina Rombini fluted tile on the island and Cepac Krave Sugar Tiles on the backsplash. “It looks very mid-century modern,” says Blaine of the backsplash tile. “But in this application, it also adds that little touch of depth that I think is really important to making the house feel interesting.” The counter stools are from Hay.

Before: The owners needed a bigger kitchen, with better storage and prep space.

Blaine Architects capped the front addition to this Eichler home with a shed roof that mimics the slope of traditional Eichlers, but slants in the opposite direction to make it distinct. The wood screen is made from Accoya.

Stones excavated during the foundation dig were redistributed to level out the yard while simultaneously creating a drainage curtain around the leach field.

The home features triple pane aluminum clad wood windows and doors from Ikon, which were about 20% more compared to a traditional double pane quote from Pella. But Douglas notes that the Ikon doors and windows "provide larger free glass areas with fewer mullions paired with multipoint locking,

Open-joint larch siding clads the exterior. The wood is as rot- and pest-resistant as cedar, but came at a significantly cheaper price. It acts as a rain screen, with a gap behind the boards, to promote ventilation. "It looks just as good today as it did when we put it up,

A jewel-box-like bathroom with walls painted Black Forest Green by Benjamin Moore juxtaposes the light schematic of the rest of the home. "It's very relaxing thanks to the darker color,

One big budget-saver was eliminating the drywall and embracing the raw plywood finish (plus a light stain).

Storage was built in all down the hallway, making efficient use of a linear space.

Seattle firm Wittman Estes designed this compact cabin floating above a meadow on Whidbey Island.

Wittman Estes designed and custom fabricated the pulls on the front door and the refrigerator, which are in stainless steel.