Outdoor path

The purple flowers of sage and succulents are part of a landscape that reflects seasonal changes. Blu Dot Hot Mesh Lounge Chairs are on the main bedroom deck.

Along with the sage, citrus trees irrigated by gray water from the house provide the couple with lemons and limes for mixing drinks, among other things.

The team removed the outdated exterior detailing and replaced it with vertical strips of Kebony Clear siding and a Freedom Gray copper standing seam metal roof. “Kebony offered that same sort of silvery weathering that would get us that [Cape] aesthetic, and the feel of this house being set in the landscape,” says Yoon.

The firm streamlined the window plan for the apartment above the garage.

The addition encompasses two bedroom suites stacked one atop the other, and it’s topped with a roof deck.

A southern view shows the exposed concrete foundation and entrance bridge. “As you approach and enter, the front door is at the top,” explains Sokol. “It’s a three-story house with the entrance on the third story, and the master bedroom in the basement—it’s sort of upside down.”

On a lot studded with old-growth oaks and redwoods and crossed by a creek, Ian and Krista Johnson asked Field Architecture to design a house that would defer to its natural surroundings.

A gravel trail winds through greenery into the entryway of the home, reinforcing the parklike nature of the site.

"The H-shaped plan and outbuildings create an assemblage of forms that celebrates the site and creates a continuing sense of surprise," Epstein adds.

Amagansett Modular House by MB Architecture

Vibrant red siding references the original buildings on the site.

The exterior of the new, two-story home in East Austin, Texas was designed with a minimal palette, bronze windows, and steel details in order to blend into the existing cityscape.

Sleeping Cabin rain chain and rain garden.

Sleeping Cabin at dawn.

Entry drive to the new Sleeping Cabin and remodeled Long Cabin.

Sleeping Cabin arrival.

Just north of San Francisco, the Mill Valley home of former Phish manager and current restaurant owner John Paluska takes its place within its eclectic neighborhood and natural surroundings. A guest cottage flanks the family's garden. The "casita" has hosted friends, family, and even wildfire evacuees; Rachel Paluska refers to it as a "revolving door, in a fun way."

A guest cottage flanks the family's garden. The "casita" has hosted friends, family, and even wildfire evacuees.